Hideo Kojima planned to make a talk about the design of his most recent title, but the study has "made the difficult decision" not to attend.
The coronovirus epidemic is directly affecting the video game industry. The latest news confirmed the withdrawal of Sony from the PAX East 2020, something that the mayor of Boston has tried to stop. However, it is not the only event that an important speaker will lose, since Kojima Productions has announced its decision to cancel its participation in the GDC. The study led by Hideo Kojima, who had a talk on the design philosophy of Death Stranding, has revealed in his official Twitter account the change of plans.
"Kojima Productions has made the complicated decision to cancel its participation in the Game Developers Conference 2020 due to the worrying concern regarding the coronavirus", it can be read in a tweet published in the account in English. This means that neither the panel of Hideo Kojima, which was scheduled for March 19, nor that of Eric Johnson, planned for the 16 of the same month, will finally be carried out.
The official website of the GDC 2020 has not yet echoed the news. The event will take place in the North American city of San Francisco between March 16 and 20. Other large companies such as Nintendo continue with their plans to attend the fair, although the evolution of the coronavirus can still vary the agendas in the coming weeks.
Kojima Productions has made the difficult decision to cancel our participation at the 2020 Game Developers Conference due to increasing concerns related to coronavirus. (1/2) https://t.co/K6FJtq5Tpx
– Kojima Productions (@ KojiPro2015_EN) February 24, 2020
From Sapiens to Ludens
Kojima Productions is the studio that Hideo Kojima recast after his departure from Konami. Under the motto "From Sapiens to Ludens", the Japanese creative built his new video game, Death Stranding. The title, which recently premiered a new trailer that pays tribute to the 1917 film, features Sam Porter Bridges as the protagonist, a man who is dedicated to carrying merchandise across the United States. A North America ravaged by a terrible calamity that threatens to end the world and what lives in it.
Death Stranding is available on PlayStation 4 since mid-November, although it will be released on PC in early summer 2020.
Source | Kojima Productions (Twitter)
