The SonyStation team and Facebook, including Oculus VR, have withdrawn from this year's Game Developer Conference, highlighting the health problems surrounding novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
"Due to concerns about the health and safety of employees, our partners and the GDC community, Facebook will be absent from the Game Developer Conference due to the emergence of COVID-19-related public accidents," a Facebook spokesperson said. in a statement emailed to Polygon. "We are still planning to announce the exciting announcements we have planned for the show through videos, online Q & As, and more, and we will plan to host GDC partners' meetings in the coming weeks."
Space Gaming and Oculus have planned for booths with staff at the GDC 2020, which will be held March 16-20 in San Francisco.
Sony Interactive Entertainment also will not be available, according to a statement GamesIndustry.biz. A PlayStation spokeswoman said in a statement, "We have heard that this is the best way since virus-related conditions and travel restrictions worldwide are changing every day. We are disappointed to cancel our participation, but the health and safety of our global staff is a major concern."
The Sons announced on Wednesday that it was also releasing this year's PAX East about concerns about the novel coronavirus. That consumer-focused event will be held in Boston from February 27 to March 1.
Editors of the Games Developers Conference published a statement on Thursday said they were preparing for the event with information on the safety of attendees, and they are planning for additional measures of health safety.
"We believe, based on the validity of the U.S. population improvement on site steps, we are able to create a safe and effective event in our community, "said the GDC team." Here, the California State Department of Health and the City of San Francisco are supporting the collection of public events.
The statement continued, "We continue to follow the CDC and WHO guidelines, following other major international events that took place successfully at the Moscone Center."
The most recent coralvirus outbreak occurred in Wuhan City, China, in late 2019. It was previously thought to be pneumonia, a novel coronavirus that spreads to the region. The Chinese government is blocking travel from the affected area in an attempt to contain the virus. In accordance with Vox, the virus is already infected infecting more than 75,000 people within two months. Of these, 2,2930 have died.
Concern about the virus has led to the removal or postponement of some Chinese events, and has contributed to the development of some of the games being used in the region.