In December 2020, PAX announced an "optimistic" schedule of live events for 2021. As expected, the dates were a bit too optimistic and have now been cancelled, but subsequent events such as PAX West and PAX Unplugged are still scheduled to take place for now.

"While we wanted PAX East to be a safe event, we remained pragmatic and did not sell tickets or space to exhibitors to avoid causing significant inconvenience to our friends and partners," organizers Reedpop and Penny Arcade said in a statement.

"As we have demonstrated through our actions during the pandemic, our primary concern is the safety of the PAX family as well as the local communities that host any gaming celebration, from attendees, exhibitors and show staff to media and content creators. We will only go live at PAX when we are confident that the show is safe for all."

"We will not go live at PAX until we are confident that the show is safe for everyone.

In place of PAX East, the PAX Online digital event will return the weekend of July 15-18. The online event, Indie Showcase, will also precede the event. More details on the online event will be announced soon.

PAX West is scheduled for September 3-6, and PAX Unplugged for December 10-12.