Xbox confirms E3 plans after PlayStation says it won’t attend

Xbox has confirmed it plans to attend E3, following the news that rival PlayStation won’t be at June’s industry showcase.

“Our team is hard at work on E3, we look forward to sharing with all who love to play what’s ahead for us,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer tweeted.

“Our artform has consistently been propelled by the cross-section of creativity and technical progress. 2020 is a milestone year in that journey for Team Xbox.”

Confirming an earlier VGC report, Sony Interactive Entertainment said on Monday that PlayStation will not attend E3 for the second year in a row.

PlayStation attended every E3 show prior to 2019, but it said it did not feel “the vision” of E3 2020 was right for what it has planned for this year.

“We will build upon our global events strategy in 2020 by participating in hundreds of consumer events across the globe,” a spokesperson said.

According to VGC sources, Xbox’s events team had been working under the assumption that PlayStation would not return to the Los Angeles show in 2020 and upped its plans for the event accordingly.

Microsoft and Sony will launch their next-gen consoles, Xbox Series X and PS5 respectively, during the 2020 holiday season.

According to an E3 2020 pitch deck sent to the lobbying group’s members, which includes most major game publishers, the ESA has been attempting to re-brand the long-running industry event as a “fan, media and influencer festival” for this year’s show.

Influencers and paid celebrity appearances were a big part of the proposed overhaul, including a redesigned West Hall at the LA Convention Center, featuring eight “experience hubs” among traditional game company booths.

ESA members were said to have voiced approval for the new floor plan.

In August 2019 the group also angered media attendees after it leaked a list of personal details belonging to over 2,000 members of the media who attended E3 2019, including their home addresses and phone numbers.

E3 2020 will take place from June 9-11 at the LA Convention Center.