CD Projekt Red and PUBG Corp cancel event plans due to coronavirus
But Cyberpunk 2077 developer currently still plans to attend GDC 2020
Two more games firms have cancelled their plans to attend PAX East this week due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Several employees of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red intended to be at the upcoming show, but North American community manager Stephanie Bayer revealed on Twitter that this trip has been canned.
She later clarified that there had been no plans to demo Cyberpunk 2077 at the event, adding in another tweet that the purpose of the trip had been "more fun and hangs versus official biz."
In a tweet spotted by GameSpot, but since deleted, Bayer confirmed the change was due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, saying the company was "mitigating travel risks... [and] trying to keep the team healthy."
In her original tweet, Bayer said she still planned to be at GDC 2020, suggesting others from the studio will also be in attendance.
Meanwhile, PUBG Crop told GameSpot it was cancelling a happy hour event for fans due to be hosted in a Boston bar this Friday to coincide with PAX East.
"We will be rescheduling this plan for an upcoming event, once the coronavirus is under control and travel returns to normal," a spokesperson said.
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on major events in the past few weeks, leading to the cancellation of Mobile World Congress and the Taipei Games Show.
CD Projekt Red and PUBG Corp are the latest companies to drop out of PAX East, following decisions by Sony, Square Enix, and Capcom to either cancel or reduce their plans for attendance.
The mayor of Boston pleaded for Sony to reconsider, warning that misinformation about the spread of coronavirus was triggering anti-Chinese sentiments in the city and across the US.
GDC 2020 has also been hit, with Sony, Facebook, and Kojima Productions all announcing they will no longer attend. Yesterday, Electronic Arts stated it was withdrawing from the event.
We discussed these withdrawals and the ongoing impact of the disease on the games industry on the latest GamesIndustry.biz Podcast.
For the record: The headline previously stated these companies 'dropped out' of PAX East. However, while they were planning to attend and run their own satellite events, they were not officially exhibiting at the event. The headline has been changed to reflect this.
PAX East is run by Reed Pop, the parent company of GamesIndustry.biz