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Microsoft, Epic and Unity are the latest to pull out of GDC over coronavirus concerns (now Blizzard too)Microsoft and Unity to share their GDC content online
Microsoft and Unity to share their GDC content online
Update:Blizzard have nowannouncedthat they are also cancelling their GDC attendance, saying “the health and well-being of our teams is our highest priority.”
GDC organisers recently releaseda statement saying things are “moving ahead as planned”, afterthe city of San Francisco declared a local emergencyin response to coronavirus (though there have been no confirmed cases in the city yet).
They aren’t scrapping the sessions they had planned for GDC, however. Instead, they’re organising a “digital-only event” between March 16th and 18th to stream most of the content they had ready for GDC.
“Here’s what you can expect to see:
While this digital event has come about for unfortunate reasons, it’s an opportunity for those who may not have been able to travel to GDC in the first place to hear some of this behind-the-scenes info. It’s unclear if Microsoft’s streams will be available to everyone, but it’s worth keeping an eye on their website for any further details.
Epic announced they were dropping out from the conference viathe Unreal Twitter account, saying: “Here at Epic we were excited about participating in GDC 2020. Regrettably, uncertainty around health concerns has made it unviable to send our employees, and so we have made the difficult decision to withdraw attendance.”
Unity shared a similar sentiment ontheir blog, explaining that they “do not want any Unity employee, partner, community member or developer to compromise their health and safety unnecessarily.”
Like Microsoft, Unity will also be showing the content they had prepared for GDC online, and we can expect more info on what exactly they’ll be doing in the coming weeks.
These three join the likes ofSony, Facebook, andKojima Productionswho have all withdrawn from GDC due to health concerns. EA have also stated that they’re"limiting their presence"there for the same reasons.
Despite the drop-outs, GDC should take place between March 16th to March 20th. If you want to keep up to date with the conference’s plans, they’re posting updates onthe websitewhile they monitor the coronavirus situation.
