[Updated: PUBG Corp, EA, Epic] PlayStation and Facebook to Skip GDC 2020

Feb. 28, 2020

“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.”,Sony told GamesIndustry.biz.

Facebook has also published an official statement regarding the matter.“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 spokesperson said.

Oculus will still make announcements onlinealong with Q&A sessions.“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.”,the spokesperson added.

Organizers of the GDC event have taken various measures including the use of disinfecting electrostatic sprayers in high-traffic areas, frequent wiping in all common areas, increased hand sanitizer stations, daily carpet sanitization to ensure the safety of the attendees.

PUBG Corp and EA have now joined the growing list of companies pulling out of the PAX East or GDC over coronavirus fears, with both companies citing the health of their employees as the main reason behind their decision. In a statement to GameSpot, PUBG Corp Said it will reschedule its planned ‘Happy Hour’ event at PAX East“once the coronavirus is under control and travel returns to normal”.

Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.