Posted in: Games, GDC, Video Games | Tagged: coronavirus, facebook, Facebook Gaming, GDC

Facebook Cancels GDC Plans Over Coronavirus Concerns

Joining the growing list of companies pulling out of events due to the coronavirus, Facebook has decided to skip GDC 2020 this year. The company posted the notice you see below on Oculus' website, letting fans and attendees know they would not be at the convention. Instead, they will be doing a live video presentation with Q&A's and more. They've also pulled their booth, advertising, and are encouraging employees not to travel to the event. GDC responded by saying they are following government guidelines to provide a safe and healthy convention.

GDC brings together an international community of game developers to reflect on the industry's momentum and look forward to its increasingly vibrant future. Sadly, we're unable to participate this year.

Out of concern for the health and safety of our employees, our dev partners, and the GDC community as a whole, Facebook's AR/VR and Gaming teams won't be attending this year's Game Developers Conference due to the evolving public health risks related to COVID-19. We're removing our booth footprint and advising all employees to refrain from traveling to the show. We plan to host GDC partner meetings remotely in the coming weeks. We're long-term partners with UBM, GDC's parent company, and we'll continue to collaborate with them and our partners in their efforts to support the game industry and gaming community. We plan to be at GDC next year and beyond.

We're committed to building the future of immersive gaming alongside VR developers—and sharing that journey with the entire VR community. We still plan to share the exciting announcements we had planned for the show, but in a digital format with videos, online Q&As, and more. We're excited to share and celebrate the accomplishments of our developer partners, and we're happy that even more people can join in online. Stay tuned for more details!

This was a difficult decision, but it's the right call to make at this time. As always, we'll have more to share in the weeks ahead.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

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