GDC 2020, like many events, was affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus. While this led to several indie developers being involved with the Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition to showcase their titles, the event was postponed instead of cancelled. GDC 2020 is now set to take place on August 4th to 6th.

The event will take place at Moscone Center in San Francisco according to Informa Tech. With regards to COVID-19, the organizer stated that, “GDC Summer will give the game development community a chance to come together in a way that hasn’t currently been possible due to COVID-19. Safety remains the GDC organizers’ paramount concern and the GDC team will continue to monitor the latest information from health officials to ensure a safe and compelling event for everyone at GDC Summer, GDC 2021 and beyond.”

While August seems far off, it may not be the most ideal month. Gamescom 2020 is still scheduled to take place but the organizers are prepared to cancel if COVID-19 remains an issue. E3 2020 was set to take place in June but was subsequently cancelled, leading to publishers like Microsoft to organize digital events in their place.

Time will tell but for now, we’re skeptical as to whether GDC 2020 will really happen in August. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

The Steam Game Festival will be returning today, offering more than 40 new demos for PC players to get their hands on. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley had a similar initiative back in December, helping to highlight various indie titles in the works. This time, the focus is on highlighting indies that missed out on this year’s Indie Megabooth, Day of the Devs and The MIX due to the postponement of GDC 2020.

The last Game Festival was pretty packed, featuring demos from Nightdive Studios’ System Shock, Pixpil’s Eastward, Thunder Lotus’s Spiritfarer and much more. Only a dozen games were highlighted and available for two days on Steam. Still, it was the first initiative of its kind and a good companion event to run with The Game Awards.

The Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition will start today at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET and ends on March 23rd, offering even more time to try out the games on hand. Considering there are several more games on offer, it’s probably for the best. Stay tuned for more details when the event goes live today.

Surprise! @thegamefestival returns tomorrow to @Steam with 40+ new games you can play at home, which were originally set for GDC. This is the Spring edition of @thegamefestival pic.twitter.com/lD7LE509Ge

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) March 17, 2020

Sony recently confirmed that after several long and torturous weeks of waiting, they will finally be revealing new information on the PS5, as lead architect Mark Cerny takes the stage in a live stream to “provide a deep dive into PS5’s system architecture.” As it turns out, their original plans for this reveal were slightly different.

While announcing this livestream, PlayStation’s official Japanese Twitter account also confirmed that all the info that will be unveiled in tomorrow’s livestream was originally planned to be revealed in a GDC session. With GDC 2020 having been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sony obviously had to alter their plans. Take a look at their tweet below.

While we will definitely be learning more about the tech that will be powering the PS5 tomorrow, question marks still remain over whether Sony will talk about things such as price, or what games it will launch with- though it seems very unlikely for now that they will.

Either way, we’ll keep you updated on whatever it is that they do unveil, so stay tuned to GamingBolt.

なお、本動画は米国でのGame Developers Conference（GDC）で予定されていたセッションを収録したものであり、言語は英語のみ（字幕なし）となります。予めご了承ください。

— プレイステーション公式 (@PlayStation_jp) March 17, 2020

You may be tempted to dismiss this as media fueled hysteria and panic – and believe me when I say that has been my reaction for the better part of the last few weeks, as such thinkpieces have grown increasingly common – but at this point, I think the time has come to admit that this is a very real possibility.

There are many, many, many moving pieces that go into a console launch, and just one being disrupted can have catastrophic ripple effects for everything else (an easy example: as a result of having to move the Saturn launch up by four months, Sega could not stock all retailers with the console at first, which caused many of the spurned retailers to blacklist Sega and refuse to stock the console at all, further perpetuating the insurmountable lead the PlayStation was already gathering at the time). The existence of the Coronavirus is throwing such a wrench in many, many, many of those moving pieces.

The most obvious impact it is having is on manufacturing and shipping. Given that the virus is highly contagious (and may also be communicable by surfaces), there is a chance of it spreading through simple electronics shipments. Essentially, at any point, if anyone with the Coronavirus handles the console shipments, there is a chance that the virus lives on on the surface of the console boxes (or whatever part was touched), and is then transmitted to a healthy person when they touch it next. 

Even not accounting for the possibility of remote transmissions through surface contact, however, the simple fact that the virus exists, is highly communicable, and that there are multiple incidences of it in China, which is also where most electronics in the world, including consoles, are manufactured, means that those factories and production lines have to shut down now. They have to, because otherwise one unwitting victim could pass it on to everyone else who works there. And that worker could also, conceivably, lead to the virus spreading far beyond just that factory, through the possibility of surface transmission.

This isn’t just me performatively clutching at straws either, mind you. We have already started to see real, tangible effects of electronics shortages caused by Coronavirus induced disruptions. The Samsung Galaxy S20 is all but impossible to find in stores, and closer to the gaming sphere, Nintendo has confirmed that Switch supplies, at least in Asia and Japan, are going to be severely constrained as a result of production being impacted. Meanwhile, fitness game Ring Fit Adventure has seen similar shortages in the west.

If the situation with this virus doesn’t improve soon – and it must be soon, because if the consoles are to launch this November, production of the final models has to start in a few weeks at the latest – then we are faced with the very real prospect of them slipping into next year.

The counterpoint to this line of thinking is, Microsoft, Sony, and AMD have all confirmed that the consoles are currently on track for a launch later this year. And of course, that is the official word – they aren’t delayed until they are. But of course no corporation will even consider having to delay a carefully planned launch worth hundreds of millions of dollars, causing a massive hit to their bottom line in the process, until they have absolutely no other option. So until it becomes absolutely clear that there is no way the PS5 and Series X will meet their intended release date, we will keep hearing things are on track – even if they aren’t, necessarily.

There are other ways we are starting to see the Coronavirus impact the rollout of the next generation consoles. The most obvious of these is the cancellation of several events (GDC got pushed into summer, Emerald City Comic Con is delayed, Sony pulled out of PAX East, and even the ESA has announced that it is looking into possibly delaying E3 this year if the situation does not improve). Sony themselves have been at the forefront of being cautious with the Coronavirus, with the aforementioned cancellation of their PAX East appearance (and, outside of the gaming sphere, Sony was also the first manufacturer to pull out of the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, back in January).

A console launch needs a carefully orchestrated marketing campaign – even Nintendo, who pushed the limits of how short the lead up time can be to a console launch with the Switch (nee NX), announced it five months before launch, opening pre-orders two months prior. And if we take that as our upper limit, then Sony (especially) need to properly announce the PS5 by June – which is hard to do if they (justifiably) keep pulling out of events out of valid public health concerns.

This is not an attempt at fearmongering, nor is it doomsaying. There is a far greater chance that these consoles come out this year, as planned, than not. My intent here is not to convince you that they won’t – it’s to raise the possibility that they might not, and ask you to at least treat the prospect of that happening seriously, and start to prepare yourself for it. Because in the end, people’s lives are far more important than video games, and if Sony and Microsoft have to prioritize the former over the latter, we should all support that decision, not criticize it. It’s not like there is any shortage of great games to play on our existing consoles in the meanwhile anyway.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

The last few weeks have seen many publishers and developers dropping out of the annual Game Developers Conference this year due to growing concerns around the rampaging coronavirus that has caused huge issues all around the world. So many companies have dropped from the show at this point, it should come to no surprise it has been pushed back.

As announced via the official Twitter account, the 2020 GDC has been postponed. As of now there’s no date given, though they say that it will happen during this “summer.”

When it’ll actually happen is up in air. Most likely it will depend on what happens with the pandemic ongoing now. It could very well be that the whole event could be cancelled. Other annual events are most likely in danger of the same fate with E3 coming in June, and the Tokyo Game Show in September. Fingers crossed that this thing will get contained in due time.

Important GDC 2020 Update https://t.co/EoReMGtZJJ

— GDC (@Official_GDC) February 29, 2020

Health concerns due to the international epidemic of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been affecting the upcoming Game Developers Conference quite significantly in recent days. The likes of Kojima Productions, EA, Sony, and Oculus have already cancelled their plans for the event- now, two more major companies have done the same.

Microsoft announced in an update that due to concerns about the coronavirus, they will be exercising “an abundance of caution” and will no longer be participating in the event next month. “The health and safety of players, developers, employees, and our partners around the world is our top priority,” they wrote. “Especially as the world is experiencing growing public health risks associated with coronavirus.”

That said, Microsoft plans on moving its events to a digital presence. They will be hosting the “majority” of their planned GDC sessions, panels, and experiences online and will be livestreaming these.

Meanwhile, Epic Games have also cancelled their GDC 2020 plans, citing “uncertainty around health concerns” as the reason for their cancellation. You can see their announcement via the official Unreal Engine Twitter handle below.

The Game Developers Conference 2020 takes place in San Francisco from March 16th to March 20th.

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.

Stay tuned for Epic news and more through other channels.

— Unreal Engine (@UnrealEngine) February 27, 2020

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 a 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.

Concerns about the coronavirus epidemic have impacted the games industry in recent weeks as well, including several upcoming yearly events and trade shows. The Game Developers Conference is scheduled for March, but a few companies have pulled out of the event due to said concerns, including, most recently, Sony and Oculus.

Another company that’s not cancelling it GDC 2020 plans is Kojima Productions. The indie studio recently made the announcement on Twitter, citing “increasing concerns related to coronavirus” as the reason for cancellation. This means that Hideo Kojima’s planned panel about the design philosophy of Death Stranding and AI programmer Eric Johnson’s session have both been cancelled.

Recently, Sony also cancelled its plans for the upcoming PAX East, which takes place in Boston, Massachusetts later this month, though the Mayor of Boston said that their decision – motivated by “fear, not facts” – “reinforces harmful stereotypes”. Read more on that through here.

Kojima Productions has made the difficult decision to cancel our participation at the 2020 Game Developers Conference due to increasing concerns related to coronavirus. (1/2)https://t.co/K6FJtq5Tpx

— KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (Eng) (@KojiPro2015_EN) February 24, 2020

Although much-anticipated, unfortunately this cancellation also includes Hideo Kojima’s session on the 19th and Eric Johnson’s session on the 16th. (2/2)https://t.co/K6FJtq5Tpx

— KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (Eng) (@KojiPro2015_EN) February 24, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has turned into a global epidemic with no end in sight. The outbreak has affected various aspects of life and entertainment to varying degrees. The gaming industry is no different as it’s rumored it could even impact the next generation of consoles. It also is impacting a lot of appearance plans, it seems, with GDC 2020 being the latest one.

Both Sony and Facebook/Oculus announced that they would no longer be attending the event due to concerns surrounding coronavirus. Facebook said they would still be doing things via digital formats with videos and online Q&As for GDC, though it’s not clear what that will entail. Sony has said nothing about alternative communications.

This is the second event that Sony has pulled out due to concerns surrounding the virus, announcing they would be skipping PAX East this year as well. Hopefully, for everyone’s sake, the outbreak will be contained at some point in the near future.

Microsoft’s next generation Xbox console will come this Holiday season, and we’re finding out about it in bits and pieces. Things like backwards compatibility and the CPU, for example, are stuff we’ve heard about in some form or another. Now we’ll turn our attention to the sounds of gaming. While nothing official has been announced, a new panel at GDC points to the Series X having some serious power behind its speakers.

A panel will take place at this year’s GDC (Game Developer Conference) called Building Audio Gateways Into Immersive Worlds With Spatial Sound. It will be hosted by Microsoft and will focus on audio design. In the panel description “dedicated hardware-acceleration” is mentioned as being part of next generation Xbox hardware.

While it’s not clear what audio dedicated hardware-acceleration refers to, the practice usually is about using the computer’s hardware to perform certain functions at more effective levels. Most likely we’ll hear more details at this panel, which will run March 18th at GDC 2020.