PlayStation and Facebook Gaming/Oculus will not be attending this year's Game Developers Conference due to concerns around the novel coronavirus COVID19.
It follows a series of cancelled or postponed video game events, plus console manufacturing disruption, caused by the outbreak. The virus has infected over 75,700 people so far, killing 2,130. The majority of cases have been in China, with just over 1,000 cases reported in other countries (including 15 in the US).
Facebook says that it is still planning to make announcements at GDC around its Oculus business, but will now do that via digital formats with 'video, online Q&As and more'. The firm says it is removing its booth footprint and advising all employees to refrain from travelling to the show.
"Out of concern for the health and safety of our employees, our dev partners, and the GDC community, Facebook will not be attending this year's Game Developer Conference due to the evolving public health risks related to COVID-19," a Facebook company spokesperson said. "We still plan to share the exciting announcements we had planned for the show through videos, online Q&As, and more, and will plan to host GDC partner meetings remotely in the coming weeks.
"We continue to collaborate with UBM, GDC's parent company, and our partners, and thank them for their efforts."
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