Yet another big name has canceled their convention plans: the Amazon GDC 2020 sessions and other events are canceled due to "continued concerns" about the coronavirus.
Amazon put out the announcement on the Amazon Web Services blog early this afternoon. Much like some of the other participants, Amazon will be transitioning their intended presentations to an online-only format that will be available for free.
"AWS has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the 2020 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco due to continued concerns over COVID-19," the announcement stated.
"While we won’t get to see everyone at GDC this year, we still have exciting things to share. AWS Game Tech has decided to host a global online event, open to everyone, to showcase our planned content for GDC and more."
Amazon GDC 2020 Cancellation Leaves Only 3 Diamond Sponsors for the Show
Amazon backing out of this year's show is another heavy blow for the Game Developers Conference, an industry trade show that's exactly what it sounds like on the tin. Unlike many other game cons, this particular show focuses on workshops and talks about game development and provides a good opportunity for industry professionals to network.
Unfortunately, the Amazon GDC 2020 cancellation means that there are only two "Diamond Sponsors" remaining. Epic Games (Unreal Engine), Facebook Gaming/Oculus, Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Unity, and now Amazon have canceled their plans to attend this year's show over fears of the coronavirus. It also marks the third major engine provider, as Lumberyard joins Unity and Unreal Engine not being at GDC. Just look at the list of Diamond Sponsors that are and are not attending GDC 2020:
Amazon (AWS Web Services)Epic Games (Unreal Engine)Facebook Gaming / Oculus- Intel
Microsoft- Nvidia
Sony Interactive EntertainmentUnity
Mind, Google, Intel, and Nvidia are still plenty big companies. That said, it's hard to ignore that 66% of the show's Diamond Sponsors have already backed out alongside many other indie developers and industry professionals.
Read more about how the COVID-19 novel coronavirus is affecting the gaming world at our Coronavirus Gaming Convention Cancellations and Game Delays Hub.
What do you think of the Amazon GDC 2020 Cancellation? Do you think the show will ultimately be canceled? Let us know in the comments below!
