This year’s Game Developers Conference, which was set to run March 16-20 in San Francisco, CA , has been postponed. GDC issued an official statement after several big name studios and developers such as Epic Games, Sony, and Microsoft withdrew from the conference due to health concerns over the coronavirus.
After close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the Game Developers Conference this March.
Having spent the past year preparing for the show with our advisory boards, speakers, exhibitors, and event partners, we’re genuinely upset and disappointed not to be able to host you at this time.
We want to thank all our customers and partners for their support, open discussions and encouragement. As everyone has been reminding us, great things happen when the community comes together and connects at GDC. For this reason, we fully intend to host a GDC event later in the summer. We will be working with our partners to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming weeks.
Although the statement mentions moving GDC to the summer, the conference has been effectively cancelled when it comes to tickets and hotel reservations. The FAQ states that ticket holders will be receiving an email about their status, and also how to pursue a full refund. Any hotel reservations made during the GDC window will also be refunded without paying any penalties or fees.
As for GDC speakers and panels, they have the option to submit their talks in video format, which can be uploaded to GDC’s official YouTube channel. During the scheduled week of GDC (March 16-20), GDC organizers will stream video talks as well as the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival.
GDC is one of the oldest and most prestigious gathering of the gaming industry, with attendance last year hitting nearly 30,000 people.
