GDC watching coronavirus concerns ‘closely’ as as Epic, Microsoft, and others cancel appearances

Game Developers Conference organizers are still moving ahead with the annual conference, despite losing exhibitors such as Epic, Microsoft, and Unity amid coronavirus concerns. In a statement published on its website today, organizers said they are “closely monitoring the COVID19 (coronavirus) situation and want to assure everyone that your health and safety are a top priority. ” The novel coronavirus has had an unexpected impact on the gaming industry, from delays to game league cancellations. Developers have pulled out of annual events like PAX East, citing health safety concerns.

In the weeks leading up to March’s annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, companies like Sony, Electronic Arts, Facebook, and Kojima Productions have announced that they’re skipping the event. As GDC draws near, many within the games industry have wondered if it will continue as planned or wind up canceled like Facebook’s F8 or Mobile World Congress. “If our assessment of the situation changes, based on new and evolving developments or updated information, we will promptly update this statement regarding the status of GDC 2020 accordingly,” reads the statement from today. On February 25th, organizers told The Verge that the conference would be “moving forward as planned” in San Francisco next month, despite concerns over the international coronavirus outbreaks.

A spokesperson told The Verge that “the California Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the San Francisco Travel Association continue to support the convening of public events. ” On February 27th, companies began to pull out more rapidly, including two of the industry’s biggest game engines. Unity, the company behind one of the most popular game engines in the world, says it is canceling all GDC-related activities and advising employees not to travel to the event. “We take our employees’ wellbeing very seriously,” Unity said in a statement.

“We do not want any Unity employee or partner to compromise their health and safety unnecessarily. ” Epic followed suit on Twitter. “Here at Epic we were excited about participating in GDC 2020,” the company said. “Regrettably, uncertainty around health concerns has made it unviable to send our employees, and so we have made the difficult decision to withdraw attendance.