It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen a global outbreak on the scale of the coronavirus. It’s been a deadly force in Asia, especially in China, where it seems to have originated from, but it’s also been popping up throughout Europe and the Middle East. The gaming industry has been impacted as well, with several companies skipping major conferences. Now, it seems, it’s time for another.
According to Alex Sherer, EA’s Ad Product Development Specialist, he was told that corporate had advised him that the company will be ‘limiting’ their presence at the upcoming GDC 2020 event, and that employees have been advised to not travel, meaning that any meetings, panels, dinners, etc. they were scheduled to attend, they will most likely not be able to make. It’s not clear what their ‘limited’ presence entails at this point. You can see Sherer’s announcement via his LinkIn here. While he does not state this is related to the coronavirus epidemic, it seems most likely.
EA isn’t the first to pull away from GDC 2020. Kojima Productions canceled much anticipated talk from Hideo Kojima, and Sony and Oculus have pulled out of the show entirely. We will keep you updated as more companies react to the current situation.