Here are all the companies that have pulled out of GDC 2020 over coronavirus concerns
News is happening fast. Here’s a rundown of all the companies that have decided not to attend.
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It seems like every day now, a new company announces it’s pulling out of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco due to health concerns surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19). It makes sense since the outbreak is hitting the tech industry at large and gaming has seen delays and esports league cancelations.
While we await more news on GDC, one of the biggest events for gaming each year, here’s what we know and which companies have dropped out:
Related: Coronavirus: How COVID-19 shut down the tech industry
This means a lot of the big booths on the show floor won’t be attending, although a lot of smaller companies and indies are still set to attend. There is no word yet whether Informa, the company that owns GDC, has plans to cancel the event (Mobile World Congress was also canceled this year due to coronavirus concerns, so there’s precedent). It did state on its blog that it wasn’t canceling this year’s event and released aset of guidelinesfor attendees shortly after MWC was canceled. The conference is still set to take place from March 16-20 in San Francisco.
The team notes that it is working to provide a safe environment for attendees and will be following guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the meantime, San Fransisco Mayor London Breeddeclared a state of emergency in the cityamid outbreak concerns, even though there are no confirmed coronavirus cases in the city. This basically meant that city officials could start assembling the resources for rapid response and pull staff away from nonessential duties to focus on preparation. Later that week, a confirmed case from an “unknown” source (meaning the patient hadn’t traveled to affected areas and didn’t come into contact with somebody who was known to have the virus)was reported in Northern California.
The San Francisco Travel Associationsent a letter to GDC attendeeson Tuesday following the state of emergency news to reiterate that “the risk to the general public is low” and that people who are sick to stay home. It’s also worth noting that it’s also working with several federal organizations and the Moscone Center on providing updated information.
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The U.S. said on Tuesdaythat an outbreak is “inevitable.”
“Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the United States. It’s not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen,” Nancy Messonnier, a director at the CDC, said. At the time of this writing,47 countries have reported cases.
Update Feb. 28:Added that Amazon, Gearbox, and Activision Blizzard also pulled out of GDC.
Carli is the Gaming Editor and Copy Chief across Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore. Her last name also will remind you of a dinosaur. Follow her onTwitteror email her atcarli.velocci@futurenet.com.
