Sony announced on Twitter that it would be postponing the June 4, 2020 PlayStation 5 games event. In its tweet, it stated that it felt now wasn’t the right to celebrate and it wanted to “allow more important voices to be heard.” A new date for the event has not been set.
Here is Sony’s full statement regarding the postponement of the event, which would have aired for over an hour on June 4, 2020 at 1pm PT/4pm ET/9pm BST/10pm CEST.
We have decided to postpone the PlayStation 5 event scheduled for June 4.
While we understand gamers worldwide are excited to see PS5 games, we do not feel that right now is a time for celebration and for now, we want to stand back and allow more important voices to be heard.
This comes about three hours after Sony made a statement on Twitter declaring its support for the Black community with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Here is the company’s previous statement.
We denounce systemic racism and violence against the Black community. We will continue to work towards a future marked by empathy and inclusion and stand with our Black creators, players, employees, families, and friends.
#BlackLivesMatter
Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog Vice President, also shared a tweet noting that Sony is matching all donations made by Naughty Dog employees. In it, it showed Sony had matched $500 worth of donations to American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Northside Achievement Zone, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, NAACP Special Contribution Fund, and Race Forward. (Naughty Dog had donated $100 to each charity.) Previously, Naughty Dog had released a statement committing the developer’s support to #BlackLivesMatter and standing against racism, violence, and injustice.
Thank you, PlayStation, for matching donations. #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/Tl0m2Q0uXK pic.twitter.com/RHbUAHjfFy
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) June 1, 2020
Sony had announced it would reveal its lineup soon at a May 2020 Corporate Strategy Meeting. After that, leaks suggested a digital event could be held on either June 3 or 4, 2020. The event was confirmed for June 4, 2020 at the end of May 2020. George Floyd’s memorial service will be held in Minnesota on June 4, 2020, as noted by the New York Post.
The PlayStation 5 will launch in 2020.
