Xbox Is Planning a Digital Event After E3 Cancellation

E3 2020 has been cancelled, but Microsoft’s Xbox team is still planning on holding a digital event this year to showcase its lineup of games and updates. News of this planned event came from Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, who tweeted about the plans for Xbox’s upcoming presentation in the wake of the E3 2020 cancellation. Spencer said E3 has always been “an important moment for Team Xbox” and that this year’s celebration of games and the next gaming generation will continue via a digital event which we’ll know more about in the coming weeks when additional information is shared.

Spencer shared the message about Microsoft’s plans not long after the Entertainment Software Association announced that it would not hold its E3 2020 event as planned. The news from the head of Xbox promised more details to be shared soon.

Without knowing what’s going to be in Xbox’s eventual digital presentation, seeing more of the next generation of Xbox is guaranteed based on Spencer’s tweet. Xbox was expected to have a strong showing at the event with the Xbox Series X now out in the open and numerous games confirmed for a release on that platform, though it looks like we’ll be seeing those presentations in a different format this time. There’s still been speculation that Xbox has a second next-gen console being worked on alongside the Xbox Series X, though that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

The ESA is also pursuing options regarding online events and experiences it can coordinate to show off industry announcements in June, according to the organization’s statement shared today. With other companies likely to follow Xbox and others like Sony and Nintendo who present the bulk of their announcements through online events now, it’s unclear how many of them will be involved in whatever the ESA puts together.

“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, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles,” the ESA said in its statement.

Expect more news from the ESA, Xbox, and other companies in the future regarding their future plans.