Describing the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak as "unprecedented," Electronic Arts today announced that Apex Legends Global Series, EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series, FIFA Online 4 Live Events, Madden NFL 20 Championship Series, and announced that all live events in its competitive gaming series, including the Madden NFL 20 Championship Series, have been suspended indefinitely.

"This includes not only EA-operated events, but also third-party events operated under license from EA.

"Additionally, it includes all competitive gaming content, with the exception of broadcasts, which can be produced individually and remotely.

"Online events where participants and staff are remotely separated will continue. This suspension of events and broadcasts will begin today, March 13, and will remain in effect until the global coronavirus situation improves."

While EA does not run big money tournaments on the scale of Dota 2's The International, the FIFA Global Series is a big deal, and the Apex Legends Global Series Major with a $500,000 prize pool is The event was scheduled to be held for the first time today at the Esports Stadium Arlington; in a separate announcement, EA confirmed that the event has been postponed indefinitely. The next Apex Legends Global Series Online Tournament is scheduled for March 21 and 23.

"This decision was not an easy one, but given the large and global nature of this event, we believe that making this change is in the best interest of the health of the community, including competitors, participants and staff," EA said.

"As we continue to monitor the situation surrounding coronaviruses and receive guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), we will continue to evaluate and provide more updates as they relate to all Apex Legends Global Series events We will continue to evaluate and provide more updates related to all Apex Legends Global Series events.

We are managing roundups of esports conventions and other gaming events affected by coronavirus outbreaks; for more information on Covid-19 coronavirus, visit the North American Centers for Disease Control, the European Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, or the World Health Organization. for more information on Covid-19 coronavirus.