Electronic Arts Will Not Be At GDC Due To Coronavirus Concerns

Written by Brandon Hofer on February 25, 2020

News: Another company has decided to withdraw from the annual conference that takes place every March in San Francisco.

If a post on LinkedIn is to be believed Electronic Arts is the latest company to cancel their appearance next month at GDC in San Francisco. This revelation came courtesy of Alex Sherer, an Ad Product Development Specialist for EA. His statement reads as follows:

”Hello all,

Just received word from corporate, and EA will be limiting our presence at GDC, canceling our participation in official GDC events, and all EA employees have been advised to not travel to San Francisco for the conference.

I'm terribly sorry, but this means I will be canceling any and all GDC related meetings, dinners, coffee meetups, and mixers. I will do my best to send individual communications as well, but please know I send my deepest regrets that I won't be seeing everyone for GDC 2020.

Please be safe everyone, travel only if/when it is necessary, and hopefully, we will all meet-up IRL when the global climate and safety permit.”

Then there is also the official statement that EA sent to Gamespot:

"Having closely followed the global situation with Coronavirus and with the recent escalation of cases in new regions, we have decided to take additional steps to protect the wellbeing of our employees including the restriction of all non-essential travel. As a result, we are also canceling our official participation at GDC and limiting attendance to other events. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will adjust guidelines to our employees as we feel is appropriate."

Electronic Arts is the latest to join a growing list of companies that are pulling out of upcoming conventions and conferences. Facebook, Oculus, and Kojima Productions have also recently revealed that they will not be attending the annual conference in San Francisco due to Coronavirus concerns.

This weekend is PAX East in Boston but companies like Sony recently revealed they have canceled their appearance and will not be there. Square Enix isn’t totally staying away from the show, however, they altered their plans significantly by canceling a panel, a meet and greet with fans, and more. Capcom is another company that has significantly changed their PAX East plans. At the moment they are still having a Monster Hunter: Fiesta event in Boston during PAX East, however, the developers from the Monster Hunter team will no longer be making an appearance at the convention.

Companies are exercising caution as the Coronavirus is still not under control and there have been reported cases in the United States. The chance of you getting this virus at these shows is minimal, however, it is always better to be safe in these instances. It is better to look back six months from now and perhaps see these actions as having been a little silly instead of looking back six months from now and wishing they had taken more precautions.

What other changes do you think are in store for PAX East and GDC? Do you think this will affect E3 in June? Tell us in the comments below.

source: LinkedIn