Microsoft says it will not attend Game Developers Conference due to coronavirus concerns and will make sessions and experiences available in a digital event

The move follows Sony, Facebook, and Unity. — What you need to know — Microsoft Game Stack announced it's pulling out of GDC due to coronavirus concerns.

Windows Central 2020-02-28 Carli Velocci

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Vox Shirin Ghaffary on x
Facebook cancelled a major annual tech conference because of coronavirus. It's not alone.
@unrealengine Unreal Engine on x
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.
@kurtruslfanclub @kurtruslfanclub on x
We won't be demoing Dead Static Drive with Epic at GDC, for coming between me and my friends this virus is now my sworn enemy and I will defeat it https://twitter.com/...
@therealandymc Andy McNamara on x
And there goes Unreal. GDC just has to cancel. https://twitter.com/...
@zhugeex Daniel Ahmad on x
Epic Games is now pulling out of GDC. Joins Microsoft, Sony, Unity, Facebook/Oculus, PUBG Corp, 10 Chinese firms and many others that have pulled out due to COVID-19 concerns. https://twitter.com/...
@megan_nicolett Megan Farokhmanesh on x
GDC is currently still on, but today alone teams from Microsoft and Unity have canceled their plans to attend https://www.theverge.com/...
@domsplaying Dom on x
Microsoft's now digital-only event March 16 to 18 will focus on: Cloud gaming tech. Evolution of game development, inclusive design, online services, next gen hardware & streaming. Insights into Xbox Game Studios teams, projects and decisions. Source: https://developer.microsoft.…
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
Microsoft is pulling its Game Stack team out of GDC next month due to coronavirus concerns. Looks like GDC is going the way of MWC. Sony, Unity, Facebook, and others have also pulled out of GDC. https://twitter.com/...
@briansumers Brian Sumers on x
You can see where all of this is going, and it's not good, for airlines or any other travel-related industry. https://twitter.com/...
@leahmcelrath @leahmcelrath on x
Zuck likely has much better info than we all do, so I'd pay attention to this cancellation: #COVID19 https://twitter.com/...
@futureshift @futureshift on x
Facebook's playing it safe https://mashable.com/...
@harrymccracken Harry McCracken on x
It's possible 2020 will be the year without a developer-conference season. https://www.cnet.com/...
@khanoisseur @khanoisseur on x
Apple could cancel its annual conference too. Could save airlines and hotels from emitting lots of planet-warming, travel-related emissions, but also “bad for the economy”—which relies on spending to increase GDP metric that many politicians love to tout as sign of progress. http…
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
WWDC is only a month later https://twitter.com/...
@chillmage @chillmage on x
Facebook should send everyone an Oculus headset free of charge so we can meet remotely https://twitter.com/...
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
Let's see who follows Facebook in cancelling developers events. May is a heavy event month https://twitter.com/...
@waltmossberg Walt Mossberg on x
This is a rare example of @Facebook being voluntarily responsible. It's a big deal for them. And it's a sign of just how seriously U.S.-based companies are beginning to take the Coronavirus. https://twitter.com/...
@cat_zakrzewski Cat Zakrzewski on x
Facebook canceled its annual developers' conference due to coronavirus. Many big tech companies have spring conferences, so this could be just the beginning of cancellations https://developers.facebook.com/ ...
@lamonicabuzz Paul R. La Monica on x
Wow. Facebook cancelling F8 developer conference due to coronavirus fears. $FB says “this was a tough call to make...but we need to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on.” https://developers.facebook.com/ ...
@neilcybart Neil Cybart on x
Facebook just canceled the in-person component of its developer conference scheduled for early May. If the current environment doesn't improve in the coming weeks, it's logical to assume every major company will follow suit. https://developers.facebook.com/ ... https://twitter.co…
@campuscodi Catalin Cimpanu on x
After Facebook postponed BountyCon yesterday, the writing was on the wall for F8. You can postpone a small conference. You can't postpone something as big as F8. https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
This is a bummer for a lot of reasons, but any time you can take one fewer trip to San Jose in a year I consider it a win https://www.theverge.com/...
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
I wonder if Facebook will be able to leverage the VR tech to give presentations in avatars instead (if they plan not to give ones in person) https://twitter.com/...
@cwarzel Charlie Warzel on x
think conferences will be the biggest thing that are preemptively cancelled. it's basically non-essential travel and human contact. nobody wants to get sick to network. and no conference wants to be known as the epicenter of an outbreak https://twitter.com/...
@kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x
Instead of hosting a big F8 in San Jose, Facebook will program “locally hosted events, videos and live-streamed content.” This is what many conferences, tech and otherwise, will look like in the coming year. https://developers.facebook.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@sarahfrier Sarah Frier on x
Wow, Facebook cancels the in-person part of F8 due to Coronavirus... and the conference is all the way in May. https://developers.facebook.com/ ...
@qwongsj Queenie Wong on x
Facebook cancels its F8 developer conference, the social network's biggest event of the year, over coronavirus concerns. Instead, the company plans to gather developers through locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content. https://www.cnet.com/...

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Microsoft says it will not attend Game Developers Conference due to coronavirus concerns and will make sessions and experiences available in a digital event

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