First there was nothing. Then there was a big bang (or God waved his hand depending on what you believe), then there was lots of other stuff, and then there was Covid-19. That managed to kill of E3 but developers and publishers are still going ahead with digital presentations, or at least were, as Bethesda are the first to announce that even that has been cancelled.
“Given the many challenges we’re facing due to the pandemic, we will not host a digital Showcase in June. We have lots of exciting things to share about our games and look forward to telling you more in the coming months,” tweeted Bethesda’s Peter Hines.
Many publishers and developers are now working from home and anyone who is in that situation will know it’s less than ideal, productivity takes a nose dive. Businesses have been forced to concentrate on keeping themselves afloat and that means cutting back on less important tasks, and it appears the Bethesda digital showcases has been deemed as such.
Bethesda and id Software have also confirmed that QuakeCon 2020 will not be going ahead this year as it will not be possible for the organisation to put together the convention with partners due to the current uncertain climate. QuakeCon has been going on for nearly 25 years and in recent years we have seen the gameplay reveals of DOOM (2016), Prey, and DOOM Eternal. It is a keynote event for the ZeniMax studios but as with E3 the cancellation has come due to COVID-19.
The full statement from Bethesda and id Software is below:
To all of our friends in the QuakeCon community,
QuakeCon has always been a special event for us and for you – a time when we gather together to play games and build bonds that, for some, have lasted a quarter-century now.
In recent weeks we have spent a lot of time discussing how we might still move forward with QuakeCon this year, particularly given that it’s the 25th year of the event. However, with all of the logistical challenges and uncertainties we currently face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s QuakeCon. The health and safety of our employees, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and players will always be our top priority, and in these times it felt wrong to be talking about a gathering when gathering is the last thing any of us should be doing right now.
While we don’t know what the state of the pandemic will be this August, we do know it will not be possible to complete the work and planning with partners, vendors, volunteers, and others that is required to make QuakeCon a success.
We thank all of you – especially the volunteers – for all your work in building and supporting this event year after year. We hope to work with you to come up with other ways to celebrate the spirit of QuakeCon this August, and we look forward to the return of this amazing event next year.
Until then, be safe, look after each other, and play games.
Peace, Love and Rockets,
id Software and Bethesda Softworks
Here’s hoping QuakeCon will be back next year.
