Questions about whetherE32020will continue as planned have been circulating the internet after multiple game developers dropped out, and theshow’s Creative Designers iam8bit abruptly resigned. However, speculation from a number of prominent game journalists has suggested that Warner Bros. will show off newBatmanandHarry Pottergames at the annual conference.
The speculation began on the forum site Resetera, where a member named Reverse-Flash2024 started a thread on March 5 talking abouta job posting from Warner Bros.-owned Avalanche Software. They invoke Kotaku News Editor Jason Schreier when lamenting the possibility that aHarry Potterreveal would decrease the likelihood of aBatmanannouncement, but Schreier responded saying, “If only there were a venue in which multiple games could be announced at the same time!”
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Then on Twitter today, Geeks WorldWide (GWW) writer James Sigfield posted a “confirmation” following Schreier’s lead, saying Warner Bros. will host anE3 2020conference featuringBatman,Harry Potter, and more. Immediately after that, he comments that Warner Bros. can opt to do a pre-recorded stream or live stream if E3 is canceled due to coronavirus concerns, which is in-line with a reply on Resetera from Schreier yesterday saying there’s a low chance of E3 happening, and that publishers could “decide to plan their own events on their own schedules instead.”
A new Batman game in development by Warner Bros. Games Montreal has been rumored for some time, and last month Sigfield published an exclusive with GWW suggesting it would bea soft reboot of theBatman: Arkhamseries. The game’s status as a reboot was further suggested by a LinkedIn profile at the beginning of March.
Meanwhile footage for what appeared to beaHarry Potteraction role-playing game leaked in 2018, and has fueled speculation ever since. Though the Avalanche Software job posting only indicates it is for a “soon to be announced AAA title,” many saw it as a confirmation that theHarry Pottergame was finally ready to be officially revealed.
Whether the reveal of these games will take place at E3 is currently still up in the air, as even though the conference is slated for the summer it may go the way of postponed events like the Games Developers Conference for fear of disease. The coronavirus scare has haddevastating effects on the world’s stock exchanges, particularly for video game developers, and it’s hard to tell whether Warner Bros. would fare better even with an exciting set of announcements.
E3 2020is still scheduled to run between June 9 and June 11.
