After major tech firms pulled out of Mobile World Congress 2020 (now officially canceled) earlier this month due to coronavirus concerns, major game developers have also now canceled their attendance at the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2020, set to take place in San Francisco. Microsoft and Unity are the latest companies to withdraw from GDC 2020 amid escalating coronavirus fears.
Microsoft announced today that it will no longer join the event as it puts the health and safety of players, developers, employees, and its partners worldwide at the top of its priority. Instead, the company will hold a digital-only event from March 16 to 18, available on demand for streaming via the Game Stack website. Microsoft"s planned game developer sessions and experiences will be featured at the online event.
The software giant"s event will also feature the latest in cloud and game development technologies. The Xbox Game Studios teams including Double Fine, inXile, Compulsion, Rare, Obsidian, and Undead Labs will also hold discussions during the livestream. However, Microsoft"s Gaming for Everyone diversity initiative will be a no-show at the digital event.
Meanwhile, Unity also said earlier today that it"s pulling out of the GDC 2020 due to the same concern. The company is also advising employees against traveling to the event. Like Microsoft, it"s moving the GDC content it prepared to its online platform, instead. Late last week, Facebook announced a smilar move.