Both companies will cancel the event that will be held in San Francisco this March. The fear of COVID-19 is still in the making.
Microsoft and Epic Games have confirmed in different communiqués that they will cancel the Game Developers Conference 2020 (GDC) that will take place in San Francisco, California, next March because of the fear caused by Wuhan's coronavirus. Like Sony PlayStation, Facebook, Kojima Productions and Electronic Arts, those responsible for Xbox and Fortnite: Battle Royale will be absent from the fair to prevent possible contagions of the so-called COVID-19.
“After a heavy Reviews of the indications of the global health authorities and a great abundance of preventive measures, we have made the difficult decision to deviate from the GDC 2020 in San Francisco,” says Microsoft, who claims that the “safety of players, developers and employees ”is above all. The presence of a public susceptible to being infected is a risk in which they do not want to be splattered.
In any case, Microsoft will offer all the announcements they had planned, such as a talk by Turn 10 Studios (Forza Motorsport) about ray tracing, during the days of March 16-18, which is when the event takes place. For its part, Epic Games (via Unity, its engine), have done the same with a statement whose message is very similar.
The GDC 2020 will take place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, from March 16 to 20
Coronavirus, how does it affect the video game industry?
To date of publication of this article, the Chinese authorities have reported this Friday that there are already 2,788 fatalities and 78,824 cases of infection by COVID-19. In Italy, 650 infected are encrypted for 17 deceased; In Spain, meanwhile, the total number of positives goes up to 23.
The video game industry and consumer electronics are not agents outside this epidemic. As we collect in this article, the coronavirus is influencing the production chains, assembly of products and when it comes to meeting the dates of products that will arrive throughout the next months to the stores. Likewise, the presence of companies in international fairs is being drastically reduced; like the PAX, Taipei Games Show or the GDC, if we stick only to electronic leisure.
