Sony has announced that it will no longer be attending PAX East 2020 in Boston, citing concerns over the growing worldwide threat of coronavirus. The developer updated a February 13 blog post in which it shared its plans for the yearly gaming convention.
The update to the blog says:
UPDATE: Today, Sony Interactive Entertainment made the decision to cancel its participation at PAX East in Boston this year due to increasing concerns related to COVID-19 (also known as “novel coronavirus”).
We felt this was the safest option as the situation is changing daily. We are disappointed to cancel our participation in this event, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern.
Sony was set to showcase The Last of Us 2 at PAX East, holding one-hour demos of the action-adventure title on the show floor. Naughty Dog’s follow-up to 2013’s The Last of Us further follows the story of Ellie and Joel.
Many, including us here at GameSkinny, were hoping to go hands-on with the game before its May 29 release on the PS4. But we’ll at least have to wait a little longer for that to happen.
Sony also planned to showcase other titles, such as Doom Eternal, Spelunky 2, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Nioh 2, Trials of Mana, and MLB The Show 20. Some of these, such as Trials of Mana, will still be shown by other developers.
Sony’s exit from PAX is the latest in a spate of announcements concerning the coronavirus. The Taipei Games Show, originally scheduled for February 6 through February 9, was canceled because of concerns regarding the virus. Games such as Elden Ring, Marvel’s Iron Man, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon were to be shown by Sony.
Meanwhile, Nintendo has denied that the virus will impact Switch manufacturing, but some analysts have said shortages are already on the horizon.
According to the official PAX website, event organizers are taking precautions to protect attendees and staff, including “enhanced cleaning and sanitization across the show.” The full statement from Penny Arcade can be seen below:
The entire PAX community wants to express our concern for everyone impacted by the COVID-19 virus. The gaming community is a global one and our hearts go out to every person and family affected.
PAX East 2020 will take place as scheduled with enhanced cleaning and sanitization across the show, including adhering to the recommendations set forth in the U.S. EPA’s Emerging Pathogen Policy regarding cleaning disinfectants effective against the COVID-19 virus. We are working closely with the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and following local, state and federal public health guidelines, including those issued by the CDC. For more information on those measures and the virus, please visit the PAX East travel page and the MCCA website.
While we are saddened that Sony will no longer have a presence at PAX East 2020, we look forward to welcoming our friends at Sony to future PAX events and are focused on making PAX East 2020 a successful and enjoyable event for all attendees and exhibitors.
The well-being of everyone at PAX – from our attendees and exhibitors to our staff on-site at every show – is of the utmost importance to ReedPOP and Penny Arcade. Across the more than 50 total PAX events around the world, we have provided a positive environment for over one million attendees to celebrate gaming. We will continue to work diligently to ensure PAX East 2020 and our other events live up to our high standards and we will proactively keep you up to date with any further developments as we get closer to PAX East 2020.
Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more on PAX East 2020. As of now, we still plan to attend the show, hoping to bring a slew of hands-on content your way. PAX East is set to for February 27 through March 1 … unless something changes. We’ll keep you up to date.
