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UPDATE: March 13, 2020, 11:26 a.m. CET The E3 has officially been canceled. "After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors, and our longtime E3 partners – we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020," a note on the official website says.
This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, has reportedly been cancelled, likely due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The major video game industry event is officially still scheduled for June 9 in Los Angeles, but there's mounting evidence that it's not happening, at least not in its standard format.
Ars Technica cites multiple sources familiar with the Entertainment Software Association (ESA)'s plans (ESA is the organizer of E3), which say the official cancellation is coming soon.
Furthermore, game publisher Devolver Digital posted a message on Twitter Wednesday, urging attendees to cancel their trips.
Tweet may have been deleted
The ESA would not confirm the news to Ars Technica. A notice on the official E3 site says the organization is monitoring and evaluating the situation related to the coronavirus outbreak "daily."
Bloomberg also reported the show is being cancelled, with an official announcement scheduled for 9:30 am PT on March 11.
SEE ALSO:Google's DeepMind is using AI to help scientists understand coronavirusE3 is a massive event for the video gaming industry, with many publishers announcing major new titles. Typical attendance for the event is more than 60,000 people.
The news follows numerous cancellations of major tech events, including MWC, Facebook's F8, Google I/O and SXSW.
The coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, has so far killed more than 4,200 and infected more than 115,800 people. The outbreak has been worsening in the U.S. in recent weeks, with 423 total confirmed cases and 19 deaths.
TopicsE3GamingCOVID-19