The coronavirus has affected almost every sector of the gaming industry. Several esports leagues have rescheduled or canceled matches because of the virus and the production of consoles has been affected. The virus has also caused developers CD Projekt Red, Capcom, and PUBG Corp to miss PAX East due to fear of the virus.
Capcom was the first of the three companies to announce it wouldn’t be making an appearance at PAX East.
Capcom will still be releasing Iceborne announcements, but no staff will be present at the event.
PUBG Corp. confirmed to Gamespot it also won’t make an appearance at the event and will postpone all other plans for PAX East. The developer planned a happy hour for fans to enjoy on Friday but decided to postpone the event until the coronavirus is under control.
CD Projekt Red is the latest developer to confirm its absence from PAX East. CD Projekt Red’s head of communication Stephanie Byer confirmed on Twitter that their team won’t make an appearance in an attempt to keep them safe. The developer wasn’t going to display the highly-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 at the event, but fans will still miss its presence throughout the weekend.
These developers are only the latest to announce their absence from PAX East due to the coronavirus. Sony recently announced it won’t be making an appearance at the event, which is a major blow to fans and Boston. PAX East brings in thousands of dollars to the city as fans travel from all over to get an early look at anticipated games and products.
Fans will have to wait and see if any other developers decide to skip PAX East this year.
