The Game Developers Conference, better known as GDC, has been a massive staple of the video game industry’s annual press lineup for a number of years. Not only does it allow industry veterans to discuss their work and deconstruct some of the biggest games of the year, but it allows players and aspiring game developers to get a peek behind the game development curtain. This year, significant figures from the likes of Nintendo and Respawn will be speaking at the expo, however, one of the biggest names said to be attending the show has just dropped out.
That name is none other than Kojima Productions, who has made the decision to skip GDC “due to increasing concerns related to coronavirus.” Announced via the studio’s Twitter page, Kojima Productions has confirmed that it won’t be attending, with both “Hideo Kojima’s session on the 19th and Eric Johnson’s session on the 16th” no longer going ahead.
Kojima’s participation was one of the event’s biggest draws, with the beloved game director set to deliver “an analysis of the game’s concept, theme, storytelling, game mechanics, and development, utilizing the overarching keyword of ‘connection’ as a framework.” Eric Johnson, on the other hand, was set to “explore the unique AI challenges faced during the development of Kojima Productions’ debut title, Death Stranding.” Both men will undoubtedly be big omissions from GDC’s lineup, especially as Death Stranding was one of last year’s biggest games.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that the Coronavirus has seen the cancelation or delay of a highly-anticipated event. The growing global pandemic has seen several Square Enix developers pull out of PAX East, the Outer Worlds’ Switch port be delayed, the Taipei Game Show get postponed, and even several Overwatch League events be canceled. Similarly to Kojima Productions’ pulling out of GDC, the Coronavirus also forced PlayStation to do the same, with the major console provider deciding to not attend the show due to identical concerns.
Kojima Production’s absence will be felt, however, at least fans can take comfort in knowing that the studio will likely use the time to push forward other projects it’s currently working on. Kojima recently teased revealing more details about Death Stranding’s upcoming PC port, while the eccentric game director has also alluded to working on a horror game and a number of other varying projects. Hopefully, fans will get to see Hideo Kojima and the rest of Kojima Productions talk about the studio’s upcoming projects very soon.
Source: GDC
