EA, KojiPro are the latest to stay back
With the global COVID-19 (coronavirus) epidemic starting to become a pandemic, several game developers and publishers are pulling out of big industry-related events.
PAX
Last week, Sony announced plans to pull out of PAX. Since then, Capcom announced that it was pulling back its Japanese development staff out of the show. CD Project Red is also cancelling its appearances. Though they didn’t have a booth, they were set to be on premises in the lead-up to the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. And, PUBG, who was even throwing a party one of the nights, will now cancel its appearance at the show. Though the event is typically dominated by independent developers, having big floor space missing will surely be apparent.
GDC
Within the same week, Sony announced that it will not be attending GDC, which is set to take place in San Francisco in mid-March. Also absent will be Kojima Productions, whose Death Stranding was a major hit last year. EA has just announced that it, too, will not be heading to GDC this year. With new next gen console launches coming this year (we hope!) not having some of the major forces behind those devices at some of the bigger events of the year is certainly raising eyebrows.
Though June is far into the future, there are already mumblings about E3’s ability to remain free of the virus’s clutches.
Sources: EA, Capcom, PUBG, Sony
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