PAX East is cancelled because of 'ongoing public health concerns'

(Image credit: PAX)

In December 2020, PAX announced "optimistic" dates for live events in 2021, beginning with PAX East, which was set to run from June 3-6. Predictably, that date turned out to be a little too optimistic, as it has now been cancelled, although subsequent events including PAX West and PAX Unplugged are, for now, still a go.

"While we hoped PAX East could safely take place, we remained realistic and did not sell any tickets or space to exhibitors to avoid significantly inconveniencing our friends and partners," organizers Reedpop and Penny Arcade said in a statement.

"As we have shown via our actions throughout the pandemic, our utmost concern is the safety of the PAX family—from attendees, exhibitors, and show staff to media and content creators—as well as the local communities that host our celebrations of all things gaming. We will only move forward with a live PAX once we are confident the show will be safe for everyone."

In lieu of PAX East, the PAX Online digital event will return for the weekend of July 15-18. An online Indie Showcase event will take place sometime prior to that. Details on the online event are expected to be announced soon.

PAX West remains scheduled to run September 3-6, while PAX Unplugged is slated for December 10-12.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.