With the coronavirus epidemic not showing signs of slowing down, some more companies have pulled out of a public convention over concerns of the spread of the disease. Earlier today, both Sony and Facebook Gaming announced that they would not be attending GDC this year. Facebook also confirmed it won’t be sending any employees to PAX East 2020, which is scheduled for next week.
In a blog post on its website, Facebook wrote, “GDC is always a highlight of our gaming event lineup, however, the health of our employees and the wider games community comes before anything else. Due to the evolving health concerns surrounding COVID-19, Facebook’s AR/VR and Gaming teams will not be attending GDC this year.” This echoes the same sentiments Sony shared about why it won’t be attending PAX next week.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony said, “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.”
While it may be sad to hear that these companies aren’t participating in upcoming events, Facebook assured its fans that it would return to GDC and PAX in 2021. For now, keeping its employees safe and healthy is its top priority (as it should be). GDC officials confirmed that the event will still be taking place and that it will also be putting the health of patrons at the top of its priority list.
It’s a little scary to see a ton of tech companies backing away from public events like this, but one has to realize they operate from foreign soil. The coronavirus has spread to more than a dozen countries now and everyone is taking the utmost precautions to prevent unnecessary ailment. You can’t blame a company for looking out for its workforce. Video games aren’t so important as to lose your life over.
Source: Facebook, GamesIndustry.biz
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