TwitchCon San Diego 2020 canceled due to coronavirus

TwitchCon has announced that the San Diego convention has been canceled for 2020. The convention, hosted by streaming giant Twitch, gives streamers and its viewers a chance to meet in real life. TwitchCon San Diego joins an already long list of events canceled due to COVID-19 and concerns over public health. The announcement isn’t entirely unexpected given the serious nature of the pandemic. The European version of the convention held in Amsterdam was canceled earlier this March over health concerns for attendees and the general public.

“Due to restrictions on large gatherings and ongoing concerns for the health and safety of our community, the Twitch team, and the local San Diego community, we have decided to cancel TwitchCon San Diego this fall,” TwitchCon said in a statement released on the convention’s Twitter account. Twitch went on to say that it is “gutted” that it won’t be able to join everyone in person. 

An update on TwitchCon San Diego and what comes next. pic.twitter.com/ft2P5gtRX2

— TwitchCon (@TwitchCon) June 18, 2020

TwitchCon is latest convention to be canceled

The decision to cancel this year’s TwitchCon was not an easy one for Twitch or the creators who were planning to attend. Thankfully, those who booked hotel and travel reservations will not have to worry, so long as they booked a room in Twitch’s hotel block. Those who booked a room outside of the block might have a tougher time getting refunds.

No announcements have been made about whether Twitch or its parent company Amazon is planning on hosting a digital event instead. Instead, the statement given by Twitch cryptically hinted that creators and viewers could “join forces in an alternate dimension later this year.”

Given the nature of the platform, it is positioned well to transition into an online event. There could even be potential for an in-game meet-up with some of Twitch’s most popular games, similar to concerts in Fortnite. Other gaming events, like EA Play and the Tokyo Game Show, have transitioned to digital live streaming shows. For more information on how the world of streaming and esports adapts, follow Daily Esports.