After losing several key attendees over the past few days, the GDC has announced that it will postpone its 2020 event until "late summer" due to ongoing concerns about the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

"After close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Game Developers Conference this March," an update from GDC organizers said.

"We intend to hold the GDC event later in the summer. We are working with our partners to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming weeks."

"We are working with our partners to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming weeks.

In a separate tweet, GDC organizer Simon Carless clarified that industry professionals who purchased GDC passes will receive a full refund; those who booked hotel rooms within the "GDC room block" will not have to pay a penalty or fine if they cancel those rooms.

One GDC attendee shared an email they had just received stating that refunds would be processed "in 4-6 weeks." Although the conference itself has been postponed, organizers plan to create online versions of several events.

Pass refunds are a start, but many attendees will have to cover the cost of flight and hotel cancellations. To offset the financial damage to individuals, Gamedev.world and others are organizing fundraisers.

The declines began last week when Sony and Facebook announced they would not be attending the event. Earlier this week, Electronic Arts and Cosima Productions withdrew, followed by Microsoft, Epic Games, Iron Galaxy Studios, Amazon, and Unity. San Francisco, where the GDC was to be held, also declared a local health emergency this week in preparation to protect the city. [Sony, Square Enix, Capcom, CD Projekt, and PUBG Corp have pulled out of PAX East (now in Boston), and CCP Games announced earlier today that it is canceling EVE Fanfest 2020. multiple gaming conventions, such as IEM Katowice, are also online only event and had to deny access to the public, opting to continue as a public only event.

The Game Developers Conference is the largest developer event in North America. Although the event is open only to industry professionals, it features presentations and exhibits from many of the world's largest game companies, promoting new games, discussing and sharing knowledge about the event for the industry. The event will also feature the Game Developers Choice Awards, which recognize the top indie games from the previous year.

For more information, see our comprehensive overview of the impact of coronaviruses on the video game industry; for more information on Covid-19 coronavirus, visit the North American Centers for Disease Control, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, or the World Health Organization.

This article is in development. Information will be added as it becomes available.