After initially assuring that the event would go ahead as scheduled, Game Developers Conference 2020 has officially been postponed due to coronavirus concerns. The event, which would have been held from 16 to 20 March 2020, currently has no new date at present, save that they will definitely hold one in the summer. They will be in talks with partners to finalize details to be revealed in the coming weeks.
The Frequently Asked Questions page provides the following:
I am a current GDC 2020 paid conference or expo registrant – now the event is not taking place in March, can I receive a refund of my pass money?
If you are a currently registered passholder, you will be receiving an email about your registration status and any next steps regarding refunds, which conference and expo attendees will be receiving in full.
What is the situation with hotels if I booked through the GDC hotel website/room blocks?
Individuals who have made hotel reservations inside the GDC room block will not have to pay penalties or fees associated with their reservations. More information will be available early next week on next steps.
What is happening to the talks that would have been presented at Game Developers Conference 2020?
In order to allow our conference speakers to still participate in the event, we are intending to make many of the presentations that would have been given at GDC 2020 available for free online. After speakers (optionally) contribute their talks in video format, they will be distributed on the GDC YouTube channel and the free part of GDC Vault.
What is happening to the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards – will they still take place?
We also intend to stream a set of these GDC 2020 talks and the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards via Twitch during the week that the event would have taken place in San Francisco (March 16th to 20th), so that our community can continue to honor & celebrate its best games.
It joins the other events that have been delayed to roughly the summer season, like Taipei Game Show 2020 and the Asia Pacific Predator League. Some of the names that pulled out or would have had a diminished presence at the event include:
- Amazon Web Services
- Sony
- Unity Technologies
- EA
- Kojima Productions
- Microsoft
- Epic Games
- Iron Galaxy Studios
We’ll give an update on when the Game Developers Conference 2020 will be postponed to.