Geoff Keighley Will Not Participate in E3 2020

Video game host and personality Geoff Keighley has caused quite a stir by announcing that he will not be participating in E3 2020. 

“For the past 25 years, I have attended every Electronic Entertainment Expo”, writes Keighley in a letter posted via Twitter. “I have made the difficult decision to decline to produce E3 Coliseum. For the first time in 25 years, I will not be participating in E3. I look forward to supporting the industry in other ways and at other events in the future.”

The Coliseum that Keighley notes refers to the E3 Coliseum program which Keighley has hosted in the past. The program was generally devoted to interviews, industry talks, and similar content. As Keighley says, though, his participation in E3 (in some form or another) dates back to the origins of the show itself. 

Not entirely satisfied with Keighley’s explanation, some fans have begun to ask him further questions via Twitter and other outlets regarding his decision to not participate in this year’s show. Keighley hasn’t said much else, but he did note that this decision was not based solely on the fact that companies like Sony will not be present at this year’s E3. However, he mentioned that the absence of some major video game names was a “contributing factor” towards his decision. He also noted that he would be willing to returning to E3 2020 at some point and that “This is just a decision related to E3 2020.”

So what do we make of all of this? Obviously, we can’t tell you exactly what went into Keighley’s decision as only he really knows the answer to that question. What we can tell you is that this decision is about more than just whether or not Keighley will be at E3 2020. No, it’s really about the show itself. 

We’ve spoken before about reported plans to change the nature of E3, and recent details seemingly confirm that transition is well underway. Simply put, E3 will seemingly lean slightly away from being the industry hotspot for major reveals that it was in the past. Recent information suggests that it will instead be a more fan-focused event that may cater more towards live attendees. It seems likely that this change in direction simply didn’t mesh with Keighley’s intentions for the show.

With digital reveal programs such as Nintendo’s Direct streams and even the Game Awards show that Keighley hosts becoming increasingly popular ways to present much of the information that used to be largely limited to E3, perhaps it should come as no surprise that more and more figures and companies associated with the show are gradually walking away from it. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.