QuakeCon, the summertime gaming convention that began in 1996 as a small gathering of deathmatchers and grew over the years into a major annual spectacle, has been cancelled. The 2020 event wasn't scheduled to take place until August, but Bethesda said that "uncertainties" caused by the ongoing pandemic means that the planning and preparation required to pull the convention together simply isn't possible—and it's not something people should be focusing on anyway.

"With all of the logistical challenges and uncertainties we currently face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year's QuakeCon," Bethesda and id Software said in a joint statement. "The health and safety of our employees, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and players will always be our top priority, and in these times it felt wrong to be talking about a gathering when gathering in the last thing any of us should be doing right now."

"While we don't know what the state of the pandemic will be this August, we do know it will not be possible to complete the work and planning with partners, vendors, volunteers, and others that is required to make QuakeCon a success."

An update on QuakeCon 2020: pic.twitter.com/1FYUauI7PYMarch 31, 2020

Last year's event was a big one, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Doom, and Bethesda suggested that the 2020 QuakeCon could match it, given that it's the "25th year of the event." It's disappointing—Doom Eternal would surely have had a big presence this year, and I'll miss all those wild custom-built rigs—but under the circumstances, also absolutely the right (and unavoidable) decision.

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