Sony, Facebook pull out of GDC 2020 due to coronavirus concerns
Sony also announced it wouldn't be attending PAX East earlier this week.
What you need to know- Sony and Facebook announced they're pulling out of GDC 2020.
- This is the second conference that Sony has canceled plans for this month.
- The Novel Coronavirus (COVID19 or 2019-nCoV) situation in China has caused a lot of upheaval across the tech industry.
Just one day after announcing it wouldn't be attending PAX East, Sony confirmed that it also won't be attending the Game Developers Conference (GDC) this year also due to coronavirus concerns.
In a statement sent to press, including GamesIndustry.biz, Sony reiterated that "concerns related to COVID-19" led to the decision.
We have made the difficult decision to cancel our participation in Game Developers Conference due to increasing concerns related to COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus). We felt this was the best option as the situation related to the virus and global travel restrictions are changing daily. We are disappointed to cancel our participation, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern. We look forward to participating in GDC in the future.
On the same day, Facebook, which owns VR company Oculus, also announced it won't be attending GDC. In a statement sent out to press, a spokesperson said:
Out of concern for the health and safety of our employees, our dev partners, and the GDC community, Facebook will not be attending this year's Game Developer Conference due to the evolving public health risks related to COVID-19," a Facebook company spokesperson said. "We still plan to share the exciting announcements we had planned for the show through videos, online Q&As, and more, and will plan to host GDC partner meetings remotely in the coming weeks.
Other industry conferences have been greatly affected by the spreading coronavirus. Mobile World Congress (MWC) was canceled earlier this month due to the pandemic. Informa, the organization behind GDC, said on its website that "all of our China-based exhibitors... have had to push their participation to 2021 or are sending North American personnel to staff their booth." GDC added that it wasn't canceling this year's event but it released a set of guidelines for attendees.
GDC released a statement today in response to the news. The team notes that it is working to provide a safe enviornment for attendees and will be following guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Get More PlayStationSony PlayStationWe believe that, based on the strict U.S. quarantine around coronavirus and a large number of enhanced on-site measures, we are able to execute a safe and successful event for our community. Locally, the Department of Health for both the State of California and the City of San Francisco support the convening of public events.
Playstation 4 Pro From $400 at AmazonPlaystation 4 Slim From $300 at Amazon
- PlayStation 4: Everything You Need to Know
- PlayStation 4 Slim vs. PlayStation 4 Pro: Which should you buy?
- Best keyboards for PlayStation 4 in 2019
- Best PlayStation 4 Games