Coronavirus Means Microsoft is Physically Skipping Game Developers Conference 2020
Microsoft is concerned that attending the Game Developers Conference 2020 with a land-based presence may be dangerous because of coronavirus. While this is not good news, it is not as bad as it may sound. Even though Microsoft is physically skipping the conference, it will still attend digitally.
Why Microsoft Won’t Attend Game Developers Conference 2020
In a statement, Microsoft said, “After a close review of guidance by global health authorities and out of an abundance of caution, we’ve made the difficult decision to withdraw from participating at Game Developers Conference 2020 in San Francisco. The health and safety of players, developers, employees, and our partners around the world is our top priority. Especially as the world is experiencing growing public health risks associated with coronavirus (COVID-19).”
Thankfully, despite this decision, Microsoft is not opting entirely out of the event. Instead of attending in person, the company will attend digitally. Thus, from March 16th through March 18th, the company’s developer sessions will take place. If you watch their digital presentations, you will learn about next-gen hardware, cloud technology, streaming, and more.
The Microsoft Game Stack team is to announce the schedule of events. So you will want to keep an eye on their twitter feed (or just check back with us here, as we will be doing the same).
Microsoft is not the only company that will not attend GDC 2020. Also opting out of physical attendance are Sony, EA, and other major companies.
It is sad to see so the industry suffering from coronavirus. But we are glad that at least Microsoft’s developers sessions are still happening and that the company has found a digital way to be part of Game Developers Conference 2020. Check in with us again for more updates soon. We’ll make sure you don’t miss any exciting announcements from GDC 2020.