Man, E3 sure can't catch a break. Not even a day after the ESA released a statement saying the company is actively assessing the situation after LA declared a state of emergency, the event has been hit with another blow. Iam8bit just announced they are pulling out as the creative directors of E3. The company released a statement on their official Twitter, stating the following;

"It’s with mixed emotions that @iam8bit has decided to resign as Creative Directors of what was to be an evolutionary #E32020 floor experience. We’ve produced hundreds of gaming + community events and it was a dream to be involved with E3. We wish the organizers the best of luck."

It was previously revealed that this E3 was already going to be a different beast compared to previous E3's as it is geared towards content creators and trendsetters, as well as featuring experience hubs. However, the most interesting take away from iam8bit's statement is the "mixed emotions" part. This strikes me as implying there are some issues behind the scenes separate from the coronavirus. With so many conferences and companies sitting out of events due to the outbreak, you would imagine they would just come out and say it.

E3 2020 has found itself in quite the predicament in recent months. Worry began setting in with the previously mentioned announcement of the redesign of the show back in September.  In the months to follow, E3's problems would continue as Sony announced that the company would be skipping this year.  A month later, Geoff Keighly revealed he too would be sitting out of producing or participating in the event. If E3 2020 wasn't in dire straights before, I would say losing its creative directors would be the tipping point.

Whether or not there is an industry need for an event like E3 anymore is for another time, but one that is worth having nonetheless. We are seeing more publishers shifting to the Nintendo Direct style reveals. Additionally, the growth in popularity of established fan expos like PAX, E3 is trying to play catch up and figure out how to survive in a more digitally connected landscape. As much as I love E3, it wouldn't surprise me if it gets canceled this year.