The E3 that never was is now also the E3 that was also delayed by far bigger things. Today two streams from teams that are part of Future plc were delayed by a week in respect for the ongoing protests regarding Black Lives Matter. Adding to previous postponements from gaming giants.
The now-established PC Gaming Show, and the just-announced Future Games Show, were both scheduled to take place this weekend – as they likely would have done if E3 was still a thing and not a smoking pandemic-shaped hole in the gaming calendar. Both shows have now been moved to next weekend, the 13th of June.
We’ll have to wait and see if even that proves possible, as given the number of furloughed and laid off staff in the US and globally (some 30m in the US alone are on the federal furlough scheme), the current protests may well be able to sustain themsleves well beyond what might normally be expected.
Based on quotes around the Future Games Show, it sounds as though at least that show has been pre-recorded, so the delay shouldn’t be too onerous, and with everyone else in the industry pushing back their release and reveal dates because of the protests too, these changes alone aren’t going to disrupt anyone’s plans.
A statement on PC Gamer said: “Like you, we have found it hard over the last week to focus on anything other than the demands for justice and the justifiable anger that millions of Americans are expressing. Right now, we want to make space for those speaking out and demonstrating about how to end the systemic oppression and police brutality experienced by black people.
In support of that movement, we are postponing the broadcast of this year’s PC Gaming Show by a week to Saturday, June 13. This year’s event represents the collective work of hundreds of passionate, committed, supremely talented developers whose vision we’re excited to help share.”
Daniel Dawkins, content director of games and film at GamesRadar+, said: “While we’re all excited to bring you our first Future Games Show, we feel it’s important to leave space for more important conversations right now. This is a time for our industry to stand together with the Black Lives Matter movement, and we’re proud to do so.”
That statement added: “For more information on how you can help the Black Lives Matter movement, check out our post from Elle Osili-Wood on how to donate, learn, support, protest, and seek advice.”
