GDC 2020 is officially postponed

In the wake of multiple companies pulling out of the event over coronavirus related concerns, GDC 2020 has officially been postponed until later in the year.

Speaking in a post on the official GDC website, GDC says that the “difficult decision” was made after “close consultation with [its] partners in the game development industry and community around the world.”

GDC also says that after a year of preparation, it’s “genuinely upset and disappointed not to be able to host […] at this time.”

However, it’s not the end of GDC 2020 – the show will return, with GDC confirming that the company “fully intends” to host a GDC event later in the summer.

You can read the full statement from the company below.

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.

Having spent the past year preparing for the show with our advisory boards, speakers, exhibitors, and event partners, we’re genuinely upset and disappointed not to be able to host you at this time .

We want to thank all our customers and partners for their support, open discussions and encouragement. As everyone has been reminding us, great things happen when the community comes together and connects at GDC. For this reason, we fully intend to host a GDC event later in the summer. We will be working with our partners to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming weeks.

While not mentioned in GDC’s statement, it can be assumed that the recent outbreak of COVID-19, also known as novel coronavirus, has played a large role in postponing the event.

Multiple big names, including Blizzard, Epic Games, Microsoft, Unity, Electronic Arts, Kojima Productions, PlayStation, and Facebook Gaming all previously voiced their decisions to withdraw from the event over COVID-19 related concerns.

It can be assumed that most, if not all, of the companies will opt to return to GDC 2020 when the event is rescheduled.

At the time of publishing, there have been 83,652 cases of COVID-19 confirmed globally, with 2,791 deaths confirmed in China and 67 deaths outside of China.

While COVID-19 should cause only mild illness in the majority of healthy people, there is a risk of serious illness and even death in some people. Older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions appear to be more vulnerable to COVID-19.

Maintaining good hygiene practices, such as washing your hands regularly and covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze, can help to prevent the spread of most viruses and keep yourself safe from infection.

If you have concerns regarding COVID-19, you can visit the World Health Organization website to check on the status of the outbreak and educate yourself on related issues.