E3 2020 is losing yet another major name. Geoff Keighley, creator and host of The Game Awards, will not be participating in this year’s E3 event. For the last three years, Keighley has also hosted E3 Coliseum show, a massive live stream at the center of E3, bringing on developers and exhibitors to talk more details throughout the three-day run of the event. This year, however, Keighley will not be producing the E3 Coliseum event or participating in E3 2020 in any way.
Keighley shared this update via Twitter, saying, “for the first time in 25 years, I will not be participating in E3.” From the way the phrasing makes it sound, he will not even be in attendance at this year’s show.
I wanted to share some important news about my plans around E3 2020. pic.twitter.com/EhrreKV9oR
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) February 12, 2020
While his own Twitter udpate didn’t have many specifics, Keighley told The Hollywood Reporter, “Given what has been communicated about E3 so far, I just don’t feel comfortable participating this year.” Reports last year said that Keighley was helping the ESA find ways to improve the event, but he was also quoted as saying that the ESA needed to find a way to bring everyone back to the table. With Sony skipping the show altogether for the second year running and numerous other high-profile exhibitors opting to reduce or eliminate their presence at the show, Keighley clearly felt that event is no longer espouses the themes of gaming togetherness he wishes it could.
He’s been answering questions about the announcement on Twitter but hasn’t said much more beyond simply “not feeling comfortable” given what he currently knows about the event.
A ton of factors, I just don’t really feel comfortable participating given what I know about the show as of today.
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) February 12, 2020
The ESA made a public statement just after Sony revealed that it would be skipping E3 2020, but many found it to be empty platitudes that didn’t actually address one of gaming’s biggest exhibitors stepping away from the show for the second year. A few weeks later, the ESA announced a partnership with iam8bit and other “creative partners” to try to breathe life into this year’s event, also noting that this year’s registration process would be more secure and require less information overall. The organization has been under fire from the games media for leaking the private information of thousands of attendees last year.
On the eve of next-gen consoles releasing, one of gaming’s biggest pundits opting out of E3 for the first time in a quarter-century doesn’t exactly exude confidence in the future of the show. Keighley still plans to produce Opening Night Live for gamescom in August, and says he will continue to support the industry through “other ways and at other events” throughout the year, which sounds a lot like the same verbiage Sony used when announcing its own absence.
[Via: The Hollywood Reporter]
