Covid-19 has affected the gaming community in a bad way. It was the sole reason behind why GDC 2020 and E3 2020 got canceled. Now, companies are hesitating on hosting competitive tournaments as well. EA recently announced via their website that they are canceling all live competitive gaming events indefinitely. The events that got affected are Apex Legends Global Series, Madden NFL 20 Championship Series, EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series, and FIFA Online 4 Live Events.
"This includes EA-operated events as well as third-party events run under license from EA," the company said on their official website. "Additionally, this includes all competitive gaming content except for broadcasts that can be individually produced remotely. Online events, where participants and staff are remote and separated will continue. This suspension of events and broadcasts will start today, March 13th, and will be in effect until the global coronavirus situation improves."
The Apex Legends Global Series Major tournament had a prize pool of $500,000 and was going to begin on March 13. We do not for how long this tournament is postponed. However, EA did confirm that the next Global Series Online Tournament will take place on March 21 and 23. We will keep you updated if anything else changes.
This is not the first time that an Apex Legend tournament has been delayed. Back in August 2019, ESPN delayed Apex Legends’ EXP Invitational tournament due to multiple mass shootings in the United States.
"This decision hasn't come easy, but given the large, global nature of the event, we believe that making this change is in the best interest of protecting the health of the community, including competitors, attendees and staff," EA said in a separate post. "As we continue to monitor the situation around the coronavirus and receive guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO), we’ll continue to evaluate and provide more updates as it relates to all Apex Legends Global Series events."
So what do you think? Were you looking forward to these gaming events? Do you think EA is making the right move? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
