After the cancellation of E3 2020 due to the coronavirus, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has confirmed that Microsoft will be hosting an “Xbox digital event” instead.

Speaking on Twitter, Spencer said the following:

“E3 has always been an important moment for Team Xbox. Given this decision, this year we’ll celebrate the next generation of gaming with the @Xbox community and all who love to play via an Xbox digital event. Details on timing and more in the coming weeks”

Ironically, Sony announced on January 13th they would be skipping E3 for the second time. They stated they would instead focus on “participating in hundreds of consumer events across the globe.” 

While Nintendo have still attended E3, they have focused on livestreams (Nintendo Directs) since 2013. Out of the “big three”, only E3’s cancellation stopped Microsoft attending E3.

General Manager, Xbox Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg retweeted Spencer’s words, and echoed the high hopes for the future presentation.

“Bummed to miss celebrating @E3 in person with all of our fans, media, and partners,” Greenberg tweeted. “With that said we have an incredible amount of exciting things in the works and team is going to continue to work hard to share all of that with you in a digital format. The Xbox show must go on!”

It is likely we would have heard more details about the Xbox Series X, set to launch Holiday 2020. It seems we will now have to wait for that information via livestreams or other events.

Sony is also reportedly taking a “wait-and-see” approach to the pricing of the upcoming PlayStation 5, compared to Microsoft’s Xbox Series X. While E3 provided a concrete date for both to lay their cards on the table, now both companies could be waiting to see who blinks first.

We will keep you informed as we learn more.