Alongside other companies such as Kojima Productions, Sony, and Facebook, publisher Electronic Arts is said to now be “limiting” the presence that it will have at GDC 2020 due to ongoing concerns stemming from the coronavirus.
The news comes by way of EA employee Alex Sherer who posted on their LinkedIn page that the publisher is now canceling its “participation in official GDC events.” Furthermore, employees of EA have been asked by the company to not travel to San Francisco whatsoever. For reference, San Francisco is the location in which GDC takes place.
Here’s the full statement from Sherer:
Just received word from corporate, and EA will be limiting our presence at GDC, cancelling 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 cancelling 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.
It’s a bit interesting to see EA of all companies pulling out of GDC given its proximity to the event. For those unaware, Electronic Arts’ main headquarters is located in Redwood City, California, which isn’t too far away from San Francisco. While the publisher does have offices all around the United States, and the world, it does go to show how serious even those in close proximity to events like GDC are taking the looming threat of the coronavirus. In all likelihood, EA won’t be the last company to pull out from attending, either.
While the coronavirus has yet to take hold to a major degree in the United States just yet, the CDC today said that it’s a matter of when, not if, the sickness ends up spreading more frequently in the country. “We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare in the expectation that this could be bad,” said the CDC’s director Dr. Nancy Messonnier. With this in mind, it’s not a shock to see companies like EA making moves in the best interest of their employees above all else.
GDC 2020 is set to take place next month from March 16 through the 20th.
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