The impact of COVID-19 on the gaming industry continues as it has been confirmed two more events have been affected. First off, Paris Games Week, which was scheduled to take place between October 23rd and October 27th, has been cancelled outright. It would have been the 10th anniversary of the event but due to the current pandemic, the organisers have decided it would be too complex to try and get the event ready due to the long term situation remaining an unknown.
In a statement the Union of Publishers of Leisure Software wrote:
Dear players,
It is with great emotion that we have made the difficult decision to cancel Paris Games Week, initially scheduled from 23rd to 27th October and which would have marked our 10th anniversary.
The current context and the necessary anticipation of both the technical and logistical complexities of an event such as Paris Games Week have led us to cancel this edition.
This year should have been special, with a line-up full of new releases, and an anniversary edition which we were thrilled to celebrate with you.
We are going to work with all the industry players to enable us all to live our passion. We are already preparing next year’s edition and are looking forward to seeing you again.
Our Very Best Regards,
The Paris Games Week Team
The second event that has been impacted by COVID-19 is Tokyo Game Show 2020. The physical event was supposed to run between September 24th to September 27th, but that will be replaced with a digital event. The full statement from Tokyo Game Show 2020 team can be found below.
TOKYO GAME SHOW 2020(TGS2020), scheduled to be held from September 24 (Thu.) to 27 (Sun.), 2020, is now planned to take place online. TGS2020, which is usually held at Makuhari Messe, is cancelled.
Due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on a global scale and the situation remains unpredictable in Japan as well, the organizer and the co-organizers have reached this decision after a long consideration to place the utmost priority on the health and safety of visitors, exhibitors and stakeholders. We ask for your kind understanding and cooperation.
More information will be announced as needed on the official website and press releases from late May.
A lot of publishers have opted to create their own digital showcases in light of the pandemic, and it has led to the cancellation of events such as E3.