Nintendo's Usual June Direct May Be A No-Go

If you were counting on Nintendo to host a new Direct in June, you may not want to get your hopes up. A new report today is saying that while the company originally planned on debuting a new Direct in June, it can no longer do that. The reason? Like everything else that's been delayed or even halted entirely, it seems that the COVID-19 pandemic is to blame.

More specifically, VentureBeat says that Nintendo is having trouble putting the Direct together as many of its employees are working from home. VentureBeat says that Nintendo has started telling partner developers that it won't be holding the Direct this year, during which it planned to detail the rest of the Switch's new game lineup for 2020.

Typically, Nintendo hosts a Direct each year to coincide with E3, opting for the video presentation instead of the stage show that other companies like Microsoft and Bethesda host. E3 is, of course, cancelled this year because of the outbreak, but while the show won't go on, many people expected companies to still make their big announcements through online presentations.

Nintendo in particular seems well-suited for this shift to digital presentations, as periodic Directs have become its preferred method for making new game announcements. VentureBeat, however, says that if there's going to be a summer Direct at all, it "may not happen until the very end of summer."

As always, take this report with a grain of salt, because until Nintendo makes an announcement, it's an unconfirmed rumor. With that being said, if the end of May or beginning of June rolls around and Nintendo says that it won't be hosting a Direct in place of what it had planned for E3 2020, it probably won't be all that shocking.