Game Developers Conference Postponed Following Dropouts

A few days ago, we reported several companies dropping out of the Game Developers Conference (GDC). Notable companies include Sony and Facebook, the former many hoped would talk about the PlayStation 5. These dropouts have left GDC reeling, leading the organization to suddenly announce that they will be postponing the event.

In an official notice, the GDC noted that after difficult conversations with partners in the industry, they had to decide to postpone the conference. Instead, they plan to host the event in the summer, though a date was not given.

This postponement follows on the heels of two notable GDC dropouts: Microsoft and Epic. In a press release on their Game Stack Blog, Microsoft made the announcement that they would be dropping out of GDC because of health and safety concerns surrounding COVID-19. Although Microsoft will not be at GDC physically, they’ve committed to moving their conference online on the dates conference was meant to be held. Now that GDC has been postponed, it is unclear is Microsoft will still hold said live streams. Epic, on the other hand, announced their withdrawal from GDC on Twitter.

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

Interestingly, the GDC post did not make mention of any company dropouts nor did they cite the spreading of COVID-19 as a reason for the postponement. It is also unclear whether or not these companies will come back to GDC in the summer or what announcements will be made given the changed date.

For more information on COVID-19, please see the CDC website.