VISIT US AT: STORE.EXERTIS.CO.UK
VIRTUAL DISTANCES During Lockdown we have lived more online than ever. Post Covid, will we find it’s changed us forever? High hopes for 2020 were replaced with international panic, economic fears, cancelled events and a sudden spike in the global sales of toilet paper. We ask: what’s next? Like most of us, the gaming industry had big expectations for 2020, with a jam-packed calendar of events, esports competitions and announcements. However, also like the rest of us, it has had to adapt to working from home, communicating online and reminiscing about what it used to be like having to get dressed before 2pm.
trade fair, tailoring to business and leisure visitors alike, with many retailers, developers and insiders attending the five-day event for the invaluable networking opportunities on offer. Gamescom was set to take place in Cologne in August, but due to an imposed ban on large events across Germany, it will now be operating as a digital-only event.
Many crucial events in the gaming calendar, including expos and esports competitions, have been cancelled due to regulations and uncertainties around Covid-19. E3 is the big event of the year for many in the gaming industry – and this year would have been no different. Microsoft had been expected to make a number of key announcements around the imminent launch of Series X later this year. The company has promised that while they cannot offer the usual spectacle, a digital event will take place instead. After the cancelation of E3, as well as uncertainty around other events, Microsoft have stated that all events, both internal and external, until July 2021 will take place “digital first”.
However, Gamescom isn’t a stranger to online streaming. Gamescom: Opening
With many developers and manufacturers often choosing to host announcements and conferences alongside E3 (which takes place annually in Los Angeles), there was already some debate among members of the industry as to whether we need such big events. However, the cancellation of E3 2020 hasn’t deterred its organisers, the Entertainment Software Association, who have promised that the 2021 event will be a massive, “reimagined” experience. Attracting over 370,000 guests in 2019, Gamescom is Europe’s leading gaming
10
large physical audiences, the move to online-only wasn’t too much of a shift for many international viewers, with 495 million people globally estimated to watch esports in 2020. The popular Overwatch League began its season moving across the US, with teams competing against each other in front of huge audiences. However, the league’s organisers announced that from April, the remainder of the season would move to
For some, gaming has been the perfect antidote to the confusion of Covid-19 Night Live (which features world premieres and announcements), has been available to live stream since its inception in 2019. Last year’s event accumulated millions of views, with 500,000 viewers from across the globe tuning in simultaneously to watch the announcements as they happened live. Along with events such as E3, Gamescom, and Insomnia 66 (which had been due to take place at the NEC, Birmingham in April), a number of esports’ top leagues have also been affected by Covid-19. While organisers and esports players were probably in a slightly better position than the rest of us to make the move to working from home, many leagues were suspended briefly, in order to switch from LAN (Local Area Network) to online-only play. Though competitions of this type regularly draw
online competition and broadcast, without “fan attendance, travel, or unnecessary interpersonal contact”. Riot Games, organisers of the League of Legends Championship Series – the most viewed esports competition in 2019 – also made the decision to continue their series via online-only competition and viewing. BACK TO NATURE… VIRTUALLY On the other hand, however, there have been several wins for the gaming industry as a result of Covid-19. On the 20th March, just three days before the UK entered lockdown, Nintendo released Animal Crossings: New Horizons, and the company couldn’t have picked a better time. Set to be the most successful Switch game to date, Animal Crossing beat the launch sales of any other game for the platform, other than the combined total of
