After multiple cancelations over the spread of coronavirus COVID-19, there has been a pretty major problem. GDC 2020 has been hit with some pretty bad news. The event joins Fanfest 2020 in the gaming-related list of events that have now been canceled as part of the spread of this horrifying new virus. As of now, GDC has been officially postponed until “later in the summer.”
The Games Developer Conference was scheduled to begin in mid-March at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. The event would have seen many different publishers, developers and other industry insiders networking together to share insights about game development and the marketing of video games.
This delay means that the new run of GDC 2020 will have to compete with E3 2020 and Gamescom, both of which take place in the same timeframe. These three conventions have some minor crossover, although E3 is by far the most common source of new games announcements, with Gamescom close behind. GDC 2020 is more of an educational event, but publishers and developers will often share footage and gameplay for upcoming project on the show floor.
The decision to postpone the event came from GDC staff after “close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world.” And even though COVID-19 spread will possibly not be abated by the time the new window opens, there’s clear intent those putting on the event to try again. The staff behind the event has also said that more news is to come.
“As everyone has been reminding us, great things happen when the community comes together and connects at GDC,” reads their message. “For this reason, we fully intend to host a GDC event later in the summer. We will be working with our partners to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming weeks.”
If there is more news about cancelations surrounding COVID-19 coronavirus, we will be sure to update you on our site.