Due to take place on the 1st of April as the event’s third year as a meetup of the game developer community, GamesFirst posted news of the cancellation via their website:
In light of the recent and unpredictable developments of the Coronavirus and assessments issued by the WHO, we have, with a heavy heart, today made the decision to cancel Games First London 2020 planned for April 1st.
We were very much looking forward to hosting you, enjoying your company and providing a memorable experience to you. Games First has always been a great opportunity for strengthening networks and having valuable conversations. We believe great things happen when communities get together to share and learn from one another, which makes this decision particularly hard. However, we see no other responsible alternative.
All tickets will be refunded. Despite the event being cancelled, Supercell and Space Ape will still be making a donation to WeForest (a non-profit organisation dedicated towards forest restoration).
We hope to get the chance to connect with you at future events!
Google I/O has also been cancalled
The list of gaming events affected by coronavirus only seems to grow as Google I/O, the annual developer conference set to take place from May 12th to May 14th, has also posted news of its cancellation via its website:
Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO, and other health authorities, we have decided to cancel the physical Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre.
All guests who have purchased tickets to I/O 2020 will receive a full refund by March 13, 2020. If you don’t see the credit on your statement by then, please reach out to [email protected]. Guests who have registered for I/O 2020 will not need to enter next year’s drawing and will be automatically granted the option of purchasing an I/O 2021 ticket.
Over the coming weeks, we will explore other ways to evolve Google I/O to best connect with our developer community.
Whilst this year’s E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is currently showing no plans to delay or cancel its June 9th to June 11th event, GamesFirst 2020 and Google I/O have joined a notable list of events that have also been cancelled or postponed due to worry regarding COVID-19. These have included the Game Developer’s Conference, Facebook’s F8 and Mobile World Congress 2020.
