Bethesda are feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including there being no plans for a “digital showcase” in June, the cancellation of QuakeCon 2020, and the delay of the Wastelanders update for Fallout 76.
After the cancellation of E3 2020, numerous companies (including Microsoft, Devolver Digital, and Ubisoft) announced they would be hosting their own digital events around the time E3 2020 would have happened.
However, it seems Bethesda will not one of those companies. Pete Hines (Bethesda’s Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Communication) stated on Twitter no such event would happen.
“Given the many challenges we’re facing due to the pandemic, we will not host a digital Showcase in June. We have lots of exciting things to share about our games and look forward to telling you more in the coming months.”
This message was later retweeted by the official Bethesda Twitter account.
While other companies have attempted to host their own digital events, it is curious Bethesda will not. Even a collection of trailers akin to a Nintendo Direct seems to have been written off.
It seems Bethesda is suffering from the effects of the coronavirus however. The first of these was announced delay of the Wastelanders update in Fallout 76– from April 7th to April 14th.
This delay has also delayed the game coming to Steam. Bethesda also confirmed they were using remote working, and limiting in-person interactions.
Fallout 76 is now available for Windows PC (via Bethesda, and Steam on April 14th), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In case you missed it – you can find our review for the game here.
The second was the cancellation of QuakeCon, due to the challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
“In recent weeks we have spent a lot of time discussing how we might still move forward with QuakeCon this year, particularly given that it’s the 25th year of the event. However, with all of the logistical challenges and uncertainties we currently face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s QuakeCon. The health and safety of our employees, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and players will always be our top priority, and in these times it felt wrong to be talking about a gathering when gathering is the last thing any of us should be doing right now.
While we don’t know what the state of the pandemic will be this August, we do know it will not be possible to complete the work and planning with partners, vendors, volunteers, and others that is required to make QuakeCon a success.”
QuakeCon 2020 would have taken place in August 2020, and been the 25th year for the event.
