E3 2020 is officially cancelled, but with the PS5 and Xbox Series X coming out in late 2020, what does this mean for next-gen consoles? While Sony has confirmed that it won't be attending the gaming expo this year, we've been waiting for developers to announce their plans for PlayStation 5. Meanwhile, Microsoft has confirmed that it will be participating in E3 2020 and we expect the company to unveil the next Xbox, and their launch titles, at the event. What will happen now? With ESA looking at options for an online experience, here's what we think canceling E3 will mean for next-gen consoles.
What it means for PS5
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(Image credit: charnsitr / Shutterstock.com) The good news is that Sony wasn't there at E3 2020 anyway. The company confirmed earlier this year that it was skipping the show and is likely choosing to reveal the PS5 at its own event. So in terms of revealing the PS5, the cancellation of E3 probably won't have much of an impact. All PS5 exclusives will likely be announced at Sony's own event, rather than anywhere else. However, we expected third-party developers and publishers to announce or showcase their PS5 games at E3 2020. Publishers who have already announced that they are working on games for PS5 and Xbox Series X were all set to attend the conference, including the likes of Ubisoft, and those who haven't officially revealed it yet are likely to have done so at the event. Fortunately, the ESA is looking into online options that could see organizers streaming lectures and announcements instead. So we should still get the same announcements and news, but without the flavor of an E3 keynote. However, it depends on whether publishers and developers will want to take this option, some may simply choose to host their own feeds. But it is unlikely that we will see them organize their own events. It's also possible that when the PS5 is officially revealed, Sony will unveil some of the games that will be unveiled at E3, but the company won't want to unveil games for the two next-gen consoles. It's not likely that Sony will want to keep its reveal on. their PS5 exclusives. PS5 games shouldn't be delayed, but we might see their announcement sooner if it wasn't at the E3 event online.
What it means for Xbox Series X
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(Image credit: Microsoft) Microsoft will likely bear the brunt of the cancellation of E3 2020. The company has confirmed that it will attend the event and we were expecting a full reveal of the Xbox Series X, and its launch titles, during the Xbox conference. E3. But maybe all is not lost. Xbox boss Phil Spencer tweeted shortly after the ESA announced that the company would be hosting its own digital event instead of an E3 conference. Although Spencer hasn't released any details about what that will entail, it's likely the company is hosting some sort of live conference call. < p lang="en" dir="ltr">E3 has always been an important moment for the Xbox team. Given this decision, this year we will celebrate the next generation of gaming with the @Xbox community and everyone who enjoys gaming through an Xbox digital event. Schedule details and more in the coming weeks https://t.co/xckMKBPf9h March 11, 2020 Spencer said details of times and dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. this digital event is likely to take place on the scheduled date of the Microsoft conference or we may even see a reveal earlier without the E3 scheduling restrictions. At this time, we can only speculate on when the event will take place. Regardless, we'll still hear from Microsoft. However, like the PS5, when we hear about third-party games for Xbox Series X it may be affected, if the developers choose not to participate in the online E3 experience. Again, we don't think this will cause gameplay lag, but it will mean we're less sure how we'll receive in-game announcements.