PS5 June 4 reveal event delayed by Sony out of respect for ongoing protests

Sony Interactive Entertainment has delayed the PlayStation 5 reveal event that was originally planned for June 4, 2020. This announcement comes as the world reacts to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparking worldwide protests against police violence.

Update: Sony Interactive Entertainment announced on June 8, 2020 that the PS5 reveal event will now take place on June 11, 2020 at 4 p.m. Eastern. This pre-taped program will be broadcast at 1080p and 30 frames per second. It is unknown if this delay has resulted in any changes to the contents of the presentation.

This new day and time for the PS5 reveal were announced after a week of silence on PlayStation's end out of respect for ongoing protests against system racism and police brutality. PlayStation also matched the donations of their employee to organizations like Black Lives Matter.

The original story follows...

Sony published the statement confirming the PS5 reveal delay on PlayStation's official Twitter account in the afternoon Monday, June 1. This was just three days before the event was supposed to take place, but it comes following a weekend of protests around the world over the death of George Floyd and police brutality. No new date for the presentation is set.

"We have decided to postpone the PlayStation 5 event scheduled for June 4," the post reads. "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 PS5 event was originally announced on Friday, May 29, and was supposed to "give you a first look at the games you’ll be playing after PlayStation 5 launches this holiday," according to PlayStation Blog. Players were hoping to see anticipated but unrevealed PS5 titles like Horizon Zero Dawn 2 or the 2020 Call of Duty game, but we will now have to wait a bit longer to learn about what games will be on PS5 at launch.

The PS5 reveal event was also set to kick off a busy June for game announcements, with many presentations planned by IGN, PC Gamer, Microsoft, and more this month. It remains to be seen if any of these other events will also be delayed like the PS5 event or EA's Madden NFL 21 reveal. As PlayStation's message explains, now is not the time to celebrate new video games and video game hardware. It's a time for companies like Sony to "stand back" to "allow more important voices to be heard." It's a tasteful decision that hopefully won't frustrate too many gamers out there who were probably looking forward to the event.

Many gaming companies like EA, Astro, and Riot Games have published messages in support of the protests over the past several days. Earlier on June 1, the official PlayStation Twitter account tweeted a message saying, "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."

Clearly, Sony knows that now is not a good time for the PS5 reveal, and has decided to push the reveal date back as a result. 2020 has been a year full of delays for the publisher, who pushed back The Last of Us Part II, Iron Man VR, and Ghost of Tsushima due to Covid-19.

PS5 will be released in time for the 2020 holidays.