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GDC is returning as a three-day event in August.
As shared on its social media channels, GDC Summer will be held from August 4th – 6th in San Francisco, California.
“Taking place August 4-6, GDC Summer will be a three-day celebration of all things game development,” stated an update on the official website. “Featuring multi-disciplinary educational and inspirational talks and a freestyle two-day show floor (August 5-6), GDC Summer represents a unique opportunity for developers to get up to speed on advances in the field while mixing and mingling in sunny San Francisco. Don’t wait until next March to drive your career and business forward!”
GDC organizers plan new 3-day GDC Summer event for August https://t.co/WaXbdNRnDC
— GDC (@Official_GDC) March 19, 2020
GDC Summer’s conference program will offer “high-quality technical content, mixed with valuable round-table discussions to foster conversation and connection”. The event will also host a new series of “microtalks and fireside chats, as well as a dedicated space for comprehensive ‘career development’ sessions covering topics such as: how to pitch your game, effective communication strategies, how to land an investor/publisher and business development strategies”.
Registration for GDC Summer is expected to open soon.
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) was postponed three weeks ago. Kojima Productions, Sony, EA, and Facebook – which owns Oculus – first pulled out of GDC, swiftly followed by Microsoft, Epic, and Unity. The city of San Francisco – the city that was set to host the upcoming GDC conference next month – had also declared a “local health emergency” over coronavirus, although GDC stopped short of citing the virus as the reason for the cancellation.
In an announcement entitled “Important GDC 2020 Update”, the organisers said: “After close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the Game Developers Conference this March.
“Having spent the past year preparing for the show with our advisory boards, speakers, exhibitors, and event partners, we’re genuinely upset and disappointed not to be able to host you at this time.”
A week ago, organisers of E3 – the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) – insisted it was continuing to “plan for a safe and successful” show later this year whilst “actively assessing” the coronavirus outbreak. Now E3 2020 has been cancelled, as has EGX Rezzed, GDC, and both Mojang and Electronic Arts have cancelled scheduled live events.
Develop:Brighton 2020, however, is still planning to go ahead in June, as is Gamescom. BAFTA has confirmed it’s revising the format on its upcoming Games Awards in light of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), too.
Bungie, EA, Nintendo and now Rockstar have all implemented homeworking to minimise staff exposure to the virus whilst Pokémon Go developer Niantic has made changes to the game to enable players to continue participating even whilst in self-isolation. The increase in people working from home and/or self-isolating, however, has put a strain on online services like Xbox Live and Nintendo Switch Online.
A number of publishers have teamed up to create GDC Relief Fund to assist indie devs who may have lost money on paying in advance for the now-cancelled GDC.
