Unity, the company behind the popular Unity game engine, has joined the list of companies no longer taking part in the Game Developers Conference, or GDC, due to concerns of the coronavirus. The coronavirus has continued its spread throughout the world, affecting a growing number of events worldwide.
In a statement on Unity’s blog, the company explained its decision to drop out of the show. “While we didn’t make this decision lightly, the current conditions with [coronavirus] present too much risk,” the statement reads, “We take our employees’ wellbeing very seriously. We do not want any Unity employee or partner to compromise their health and safety unnecessarily. " Unity is only one of the companies to drop out of the show recently. Earlier today,Microsoft pulled out of GDC, among many others that have taken similar actions to prevent disease.
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Despite the various cancelations, GDC’s showrunners have stated that the show will “move forward as planned.” While there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in San Francisco, the city has declared a “local health emergency,” which has helped fuel concerns all-around. Coronavirus is a serious, and worsening, issue, withentire eSports events canceledover fears of the disease.
In addition to Microsoft and Unity, other companies such as EA, Sony, andEpic Games have canceled GDCappearances in the wake of coronavirus. Fears are beginning to mount that the disease won’t be solved by E3, and could lead to the event, which has served as a Mecca for gamers despite waning popularity, being canceled.
Unity’s cancelation is disappointing, to say the least. The show has now shriveled in size compared to what had been originally been planned for the show floor. Moving forward is a respectable move, though one that may have adverse effects should an outbreak of the disease actually happen. That could have serious ramifications for the development of a variety of games, as the diseases would have the potential to spread throughout entire studios rapidly.
One can hope that the disease is dealt with soon, but little beyond that. The growing effects of the disease have slowed down production on key products,damaged a large number of human lives, and slowed down travel between countries considerably. There’s certainly a lot to consider when combating the outbreak, and it’s unclear when it will actually be resolved.
