GDC 2020 suffered another major blow today as both Microsoft and Epic Games announced that they will not be attending due to concerns over the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

In a message on its developer website, Microsoft said, "After careful consideration of guidance from global health authorities, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw our participation from the Game Developers Conference 2020 in San Francisco."

"We have announced our decision to withdraw from participation.

"The health and safety of our players, developers, employees and our partners around the world is our top priority. Especially because of the growing public health risks associated with coronaviruses (COVID-19) around the world."

In lieu of the GDC, Microsoft will host a digital event at microsoft.com/gamestack from March 16-18 that will include most of the sessions scheduled for the GDC.

"GDC has long been a moment for us to come together and celebrate 'games for everyone' with our many vibrant communities," Microsoft said.

"While we will not be able to bring our G4E events online, we remain committed to celebrating and amplifying the diverse community in gaming throughout the year.

Shortly after Microsoft announced it would skip this year's event, Epic Games announced via its Unreal Engine Twitter account that the company would not be participating either.

Microsoft and Epic join Sony, Facebook, Electronic Arts, and Kojima Productions, who have already declined to participate, and like dominoes falling, GDC's survival is increasingly in question. proceeding as planned," but with so many major players pulling out, there is increasingly little reason to participate, regardless of the risks.

GDC 2020 is scheduled to take place March 16-20 in San Francisco. We have inquired about possible changes in the status of the show and will update if we hear back; for more information on the Covid-10 coronavirus, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the European Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, or the World Health Organization for the latest information on North America.

Update: Microsoft confirmed via email that the Xbox Preview Event and ID@Xbox GDC Showcase in San Francisco will also be canceled.