Skip to main content

GDC 2020 is officially postponed following coronavirus concerns

http://bit.ly/2HYdl8z

Multiple companies dropped out of the conference in the past couple of weeks.

What you need to know

  • The Game Developers Conference (GDC) announced it was postponing its event in San Francisco in March.
  • Multiple large companies pulled out this week, including Microsoft and Epic Games.
  • Another GDC event will be held in the summer.

After weeks of speculation, the Game Developers Conference (GDC) announced Friday that it'll be postponing this year's event in San Francisco.

The move comes after multiple large companies pulled out this week, citing fears surrounding the coronavirus. Sony and Facebook were two of the first to announce they weren't attending. Just today, Activision Blizzard, Amazon, and Gearbox announced they were pulling out.

"After close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world, we've made the difficult decision to postpone the Game Developers Conference this March," the organization posted in a statement. "We're genuinely upset and disappointed not to be able to host you at this time."

GDC did add, however, that it plans to hold a "GDC event" in the summer. It'll have more details in the future, but it's unclear at this point if it'll be a full event.

An FAQ sent to press and on the official website, it says that current paid attendees will get an email about refunds and registration status. It also says it plans to make many of the talks that would've been given at the event free online as part of the GDC YouTube channel or in the Vault. Speakers can submit their talks.

GDC, while a huge place for companies and developers to network, is also an outlet for indies, specifically with the Independent Games Festival (IGF). It also hosts the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDC Awards) during the week. The FAQ also said that the company intends to stream the IGF and GDC Awards via Twitch during the week of the now-postponed event.

The event was supposed to take place on March 16-20 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Originally, the only people affected by the coronavirus outbreak were companies and attendees from China, but the spread of the disease greatly impacted more organizations.

Many groups are now helping to raise funds to help those who can't get refunds on travel, visa, and hotel costs. GameDev.World, a global game conference held online, announced the GDC Relief Fund. It'll also feature a pay-what-you-want games bundle and game jam to help raise money. The International Game Developers Association (IDGA) also announced it was pairing up with GameDev.World.

"With the effect of COVID-19 on conferences and international travel, many companies and developers have not only lost business opportunities and access to valuable talks, but their critical funds invested in travel, booth space, and passes to pursue these opportunities," IGDA executive director Renee Gittins said in a statement.

This is also not the first tech event that's been canceled on account of coronavirus anxieties. Mobile World Congress was canceled back in February. Just this week, Facebook's annual F8 conference and EVE Fanfest were also canceled.



Source: http://bit.ly/2I7yb5g
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The hidden cost of food delivery

Noah Lichtenstein Contributor Share on Twitter Noah Lichtenstein is the founder and managing partner of Crossover , a diversified private technology fund backed by institutional investors, technology execs and professional athletes and entertainers. More posts by this contributor What Studying Students Teaches Us About Great Apps I’ll admit it: When it comes to food, I’m lazy. There are dozens of great dining options within a few blocks of my home, yet I still end up ordering food through delivery apps four or five times per week. With the growing coronavirus pandemic closing restaurants and consumers self-isolating, it is likely we will see a spike in food delivery much like the 20% jump China reported during the peak of its crisis. With the food delivery sector rocketing toward a projected $365 billion by the end of the decade, I’m clearly not the only one turning to delivery apps even before the pandemic hit. Thanks to technology (and VC funding) we can get a ri
Read more

Cyber Monday Canada: Last-minute deals for everyone on your list

Best Cyber Monday Canada deals: Smart Home Audio Phones, Tablets & Accessories Wearables Laptops & PC Components Amazon products Gaming Televisions Cameras Lifestyle & Kitchen Toys & Kids Cyber Monday Canada is here, and retailers are rolling out the red carpet for customers who want to shop for everything from tech to kitchenware to games and everything in between. Unlike years past, Cyber Monday Canada deals look a bit different than normal. Instead of retailers trying to pack their stores with as many shoppers as possible, we're seeing tons of online deals that you can take advantage of from the comfort of your home. We've rounded up our favorites below, so feel free to browse through the best of what Canada Cyber Monday has to offer! This list is being updated with new Cyber Monday deals all the time, so check back often. Spotlight deals It's a Switch Nintendo Switch Fortnite Edition bundle $399.95 at Amazon It's a Switch.
Read more

iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 50+ Differences Compared

The iPhone 15 Pro brings over 50 new features and improvements to Apple's high-end smartphones compared to the iPhone 13 Pro, which was released two years prior. This buyer's guide breaks down every major difference you should be aware of between the two generations and helps you to decide whether it's worth upgrading. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro debuted in 2021, introducing a brighter display with ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz, the A15 Bionic chip, a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, Macro photography and photographic styles, Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field, ProRes video recording, a 1TB storage option, and five hours of additional battery life. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro was discontinued upon the announcement of the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, but it is still possible to get hold of it second-hand. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you and serves as a way to c
Read more

Slack’s new integration deal with AWS could also be about tweaking Microsoft

Slack and Amazon announced a big integration late yesterday afternoon. As part of the deal, Slack will use Amazon Chime for its call feature, while reiterating its commitment to use AWS as its preferred cloud provider to run its infrastructure. At the same time, AWS has agreed to use Slack for internal communications. Make no mistake, this is a big deal as the SaaS communications tool increases its ties with AWS, but this agreement could also be about slighting Microsoft and its rival Teams product by making a deal with a cloud rival. In the past Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield has had choice words for Microsoft saying the Redmond technology giant sees his company as an “existential threat.” Whether that’s true or not — Teams is but one piece of a huge technology company — it’s impossible not to look at the deal in this context. Aligning more deeply with AWS sends a message to Microsoft, whose Azure infrastructure services compete with AWS. Butterfield didn’t say that of course
Read more