The COVID-19 outbreak has severely impacted the gaming industry throughout the last few weeks. Almost every major esport has canceled or postponed their seasons or have switched to an online format, and several gaming events have been canceled such as E3. Blizzard Entertainment is the latest company to take precautions against the virus and have allowed their employees to work from home.
Blizzard announced yesterday that they are implementing a work-from-home policy for their Irvine and Austin offices. Employees in other Blizzard offices are either working from home already or will be soon as directed by their local governments. Blizzard ensured their employees will still be paid during this time and will do everything they can to ensure players can still enjoy their favorite titles.
“We will continue to pay our on-site vendors and contractors while this work from home policy is in place,” Blizzard said. “Our game teams will work to provide the best experiences for players during this challenging time.”
The United States is currently in a state of national emergency and dozens of companies and businesses have switched to a work-from-home format to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Nintendo and Microsoft also sent their employees home to work remotely in response to the outbreak, and other developers and publishers will like follow suit in the coming weeks.
The coronavirus has spread rapidly throughout the world and the World Health Organization recently declared the outbreak a pandemic. The gaming industry will likely continue to be impacted over the next few months, so fans will have to wait and see if any further titles or events are affected.
