Game Developers Conference, better known as GDC, is an annual conference for video game developers. With awards being presented, lectures, and a means to network, the event is popular for those that are wanting to dive into the industry rather than purely enjoy the content that comes out as an end product. However, much like other events this year, several big-name companies are staying away from the public in fear of the coronavirus.
The coronavirus is slowly becoming a pandemic. There are several big locations where the virus is spreading rampantly as the doctors attempt to figure out a way to cure the disease. Regardless, the disease is not stopping anytime soon and it’s causing several expos, conventions and even production factories to become affected.
For instance, PAX East was hit by Square Enix Japanese offices not attending and Sony pulling out entirely. Production shipments are dwindling for the Oculus Quest, Valve Index and potentially the Nintendo Switch. Now it looks like this year’s GDC will have some additional floor space after several companies had pulled out.
For instance, Sony, EA, Facebook, Kojima productions are just a few that are either not attending at all or scaling back the events that were previously scheduled to occur at the expo. The fear of catching or further spreading the coronavirus is on plenty of people’s minds at the moment.
With more companies scaling back, there is always the concern that perhaps it will continue with other big events such as E3 this year depending on if the virus continues to spiral out of control.
