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Attending was a major investment for some
Last Friday, after multiple large publishers cancelled their appearances at the event, the yearlyGame Developers Conference was postponed. Originally scheduled for March 16-20 in San Francisco, the conference has been postponed to “later in the summer” due to concerns about potential spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. GDC say they will refund the cost of passes to the conference to attendees but tickets to the event itself are hardly the only lost investment for smaller developers. Many may be unable to refund the cost of plane tickets, lodging, and other personal or business costs associated with preparing for a large industry event. Wings, in collaboration with several other indie game publishers, have opened applications to their relief fund for developers, which they say will be assessed based on “estimated impact.”
“Beyond the initial financial costs, GDC being postponed means missed opportunities for indie developers hoping to pitch their games. Wings Interactive and certain fund partners are also offering online and distance meetings and pitch sessions.”
From the rising total of contributions, Wings say that the GDC Relief Fund will distribute funds based on need. “Supported developers will be selected according to the estimated impact of the postponement on their organisations and the financial hardship they are experiencing,” their statement says.
Beyond initial fundraising efforts, Gamedev.world are alsohosting a fundraising weekfrom March 27 - April 3. “For the duration of the week, we will present—for free, live-translated, and online—various talks from both marginalised developers and the sponsors that made the event possible,” they say. Funds raised will be added to the GDC Relief Fund. They will also be hosting a game jam in collaboration with Itch.io, proceeds from which will benefit the GDC Relief Fund.
Header image isfrom GDC. It’s cropped, resized, and used under aCreative Commons Attribution 2.0 license.
