The 34th edition of the Game Developers Conference is scheduled to run between March 16-20 in San Francisco, California but Facebook has decided to back out from the event amid Coronavirus fears and will make Oculus announcements online.
Facebook’s AR/VR and Gaming teams have withdrawn from GDC 2020 as the company have also decided to remove their presence altogether at the event by removing their booth footprint as well as advising employees not to attend the show.
“GDC is always a highlight of our gaming event lineup; however, the health of our employees and the wider games community comes before anything else. Due to the evolving health concerns surrounding COVID-19, Facebook’s AR/VR and Gaming teams will not be attending GDC this year,” Facebook announced. “The future is bright, and we look forward to seeing you at future events, including GDC in 2021.”
Facebook will be hosting its GDC partner meetings remotely over the coming weeks and will also be making Oculus announcements online with videos and online Q&A. 
“GDC brings together an international community of game developers to reflect on the industry’s momentum and look forward to its increasingly vibrant future. Sadly, we’re unable to participate this year.”
However, GDC’s organisers aren’t bogged down by Coronavirus concerns and said, “We believe that, based on the strict U.S. quarantine around coronavirus and a large number of enhanced on-site measures, we are able to execute a safe and successful event for our community. Locally, the Department of Health for both the State of California and the City of San Francisco support the convening of public events.”
Game Developers Conference isn’t the only one affected by the Coronavirus outbreak as Mobile World Congress 2020, which was scheduled between February 24-27, was also cancelled after several big tech names backed out of the event.
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