Activision Blizzard GDC 2020 Plans Canceled Due to the Coronavirus

Both the Activision and Blizzard GDC 2020 plans have been canceled as a result of concerns about the coronavirus. Both the publisher and the developer announced on Twitter that they will not be attending the event. In each statement, the importance of GDC was stressed, but it was noted that concern for employees’ health was more importance.

Here is Activision’s full statement regarding GDC 2020.

The health and well-being of our teams is our highest priority, and due to growing concerns related to COVID-19, Activision is asking employees not to attend this year’s Game Developers Conference as we continue to monitor the situation. 1/2

— Activision (@Activision) February 28, 2020

This was not an easy decision to make, as the conference is and has always been an important event for our developers. We look forward to participating in the future. 2/2

— Activision (@Activision) February 28, 2020

Here is the Blizzard GDC 2020 statement.

The conference is and has always been an important event for our developers, so we look forward to participating in the future.

— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) February 28, 2020

Many of the Blizzard GDC 2020 plans involved World of Warcraft. For example, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas was going to hold a “15 Years of ‘WoW’: Designing for the Very, Very Long-Term” session, Engine Graphics Engineer Max Rahm was going to help present the “For the Alliance! ‘World of Warcraft’ and Intel discuss an Optimized Azeroth” Intel-sponsored session, and Senior Software Engineer Joseph Cochran and Principal Software Engineer Kurtis McCathern were going to be in charge of the “War Stories from Azeroth” session.

The official GDC 2020 website also updated its Novel Coronavirus & GDC Information section on February 28, 2020. It stated, “We are closely monitoring the COVID19 (coronavirus) situation and want to assure everyone that your health and safety are a top priority. If our assessment of the situation changes, based on new and evolving developments or updated information, we will promptly update this statement regarding the status of GDC 2020 accordingly.”

GDC 2020 will be held March 16-20, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Epic Games, Facebook, Kojima Productions, Microsoft, and Sony won’t be attending.