E3 2020 might be officially canceled, but that doesn’t mean all the companies slated to appear are taking their balls and going home. Well, they might be staying home, but they aren’t going to be sulking in the corner.
Just hours after the ESA delivered the news, Microsoft was quick with a response. Phil Spencer took to Twitter to announce plans for an Xbox Digital Event. Spencer said they didn’t have all the details ironed out, but he would be telling people about the company’s E3 2020 replacement plans in the “coming weeks.”
Next, it was Ubisoft’s turn to make sure its supporters knew it wasn’t going to be taking the next few months off. As is the case with Microsoft, the company expected to show off trailers and announce games. The company also announced on Twitter it would be having some sort of “digital experience” to fill in the gaps.
An update regarding E3 2020. pic.twitter.com/cThkDIkfVm
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) March 11, 2020
In what has been a steady trickle of announcements, Devolver Digital was – somewhat surprisingly – next in line to announce they are planning their own digital event to replace whatever they had in the works for E3 2020. The exact wording of their post should raise a few eyebrows, simply because of Devolver’s history at E3. The company said it’s planning a Devolver Direct/ Press conference “and possibly more.”
The week of E3 has always been a big part of what we do and are genuinely bummed about the cancelation of the event itself.
Lots to juggle but right now we plan on having a livestream Devolver Direct / press conference and possibly more. pic.twitter.com/nGDAEsIzUs
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) March 11, 2020
Of all the companies that “attend” E3, Devolver has most often made their inclusion a part of a bigger joke about how violent most of the games they develop and publish are. The “more” in this statement could be anything. It’s bound to be theatrical.
While these three E3 2020 attendees are the first to come forward with stated plans for some kind of attendance, they will almost certainly not be the only ones. Meanwhile, companies like Sony already drew praise for skipping a convention many felt was no longer necessary. Now they get to sit back and watch the video game world scramble to figure out its next steps.
