The Game Developers Conference (GDC) has confirmed that GDC Summer in August of this year will purely be a digital event.
The organizers have posted the announcement through its official website, adding that the decision was made in order to ensure that the GDC Summer event will still be accessible by as many gamers as possible without compromising safety.
Apart from the website announcement, the GDC also posted the development through its official Twitter page.
GDC Summer is going fully digital https://t.co/mB52abYdSE
— Official_GDC (@Official_GDC) April 30, 2020
Coping with an earlier cancellation
Back in March, the conference organizers had announced that it was canceling this year’s edition of the GDC, mainly over concerns for the safety of participants and attendees in light of the current coronavirus pandemic.
It didn’t help that big names in tech such as Facebook, Sony, Microsoft, and Electronic Arts (EA) who were supposed to take part in GDC 2020, had withdrawn from taking part in the event.
There was hope, however, in the form of the GDC Summer event, which the organizers have scheduled for August later this year.
GDC Summer was intended to be a physical event, with the Moscone Center in the city of San Francisco as the designated conference venue.
But with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic showing no significant signs of stopping soon, organizers clearly had to make changes to the original plan.
Embracing digital amid COVID-19
As noted in the GDC’s website announcement and Twitter post, a rapidly growing number of game developers today are now on various work-from-home arrangements.
These gaming creators and artists have also adapted quite well to the concept of online collaboration, made possible of course by various productivity tools, file-sharing software, and even social media platforms.
These have inspired the conference organizers to embrace the digital format for its upcoming GDC Summer event.
By making GDC Summer fully digital, not only are they keeping every participant and attendee safe, but are also granting access to others who otherwise might not be able to go to the event physically.
Online is the new normal
Yes, the threat posed by the coronavirus has changed the tech world. But thanks to modern Internet technology, companies try their best to go about their business as usual, although the new normal will need some getting used to.
Indeed, going digital is now an option that is being considered by a lot of organizations, not only the GDC.
To cite an example, the canceled SXSW Festival has now been shifted online, courtesy of a partnership with Amazon. Tribeca is joining in on the fun, too.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain conference Consensus 2020 has also decided to go virtual.
Even phone makers are increasingly conducting “E-vents” instead of physical events, with Motorola, Xiaomi, and Huawei the most recent examples.
Image 1 and Image 2 courtesy of GDC/Flickr