Advertisement
Advertisement

It’s an understandably sensible move given the Australian landscape. The continued outbreak in Sydney — which isn’t liable to have lifted until October, according to frank comments from the Police Minister — means no-one from the state would be eligible to attend. That includes many of the major gaming publishers, whose bases are located in and around Sydney.

The cancellation comes only five months after Reedpop, organisers of the PAX conventions, announced PAX Australia would return in-person. Despite a lack of COVID-19 cases at the time, precautions still meant capacity for the show was severely limited to 10,000 attendees a day, with time-gaps between sessions.

Advertisement

PAX’s closure follows a similar move by Oz Comic-Con, which postponed its Brisbane 2021 event indefinitely and delayed its Sydney show to October 23-24. “We are incredibly disappointed but without guaranteed easing of restrictions, we are left with little choice,” the organisers announced.

PAX Australia announced in March that all tickets would be refunded by any border closures or COVID-19 restrictions. Anyone seeking refunds should head to the PAX Australia website for more details over the coming week.

Advertisement

This story originally appeared on Kotaku Australia.