Sorry, folks, it looks like E3 2020 is officially dead in the water, as organizer Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed that there won’t be a digital version of the highly-anticipated annual event.

Last month, after announcing that E3 2020 has been cancelled, the ESA stated that they were initially “exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020.” However, it seems like things didn’t go as planned.

In a statement to IGN, the ESA said:

“Given the disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be presenting an online E3 2020 event in June.

Instead, we will be working with exhibitors to promote and showcase individual company announcements, including on www.E3expo.com, in the coming months.

We look forward to bringing our industry and community together in 2021 to present a reimagined E3 that will highlight new offerings and thrill our audiences.”

There could have been a lot of factors that brought to this decision, including the fact that many developers and publishers have either opted to organize their own special events (like Microsoft Xbox) or forego any kind of event at all (like Bethesda).

Meanwhile, IGN will be holding their own Summer Of Gaming digital event in June 2020. They have managed to grab the support of major companies like 2K, Square Enix, SEGA, Bandai Namco, Amazon, Google Stadia, Twitter, Devolver Digital, and THQ Nordic.

My spider-sense is tingling, but I think that IGN blindsiding the ESA is highly-likely a large contributor to why there won’t be an E3 2020 digital event. Oh, well, we still have a “reimagined” E3 2021 to look forward to next year.