GDC organizers announce August dates for summer event

Informa Tech, the company responsible for the Game Developers Conference, is looking ahead after cancelling its March event due to the spread of the coronavirus. GDC Summer is still in the works, and now that expo has official dates. The organizers are planning to hold GDC Summer on August 4 through August 6 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

In its press release, Informa Tech explains its goal for GDC Summer:

“GDC Summer will give the game development community a chance to come together in a way that hasn’t currently been possible due to COVID-19. Safety remains the GDC organizers’ paramount concern and the GDC team will continue to monitor the latest information from health officials to ensure a safe and compelling event for everyone at GDC Summer, GDC 2021 and beyond.”

The organizers originally planned to hold GDC 2020 this week on March 16 through March 20. But the fast-spreading coronavirus has shut down many major cities in the United States as well as major industries gatherings like E3.

Parts of Northern California are now under a shelter-in-place order to help fight the spread of the virus. And it’s still a question if the U.S. can get this under control by August. China required more than three months to stop the widespread transmission of COVID-19.

If the U.S. is as effective, life may begin to return to normal by June. But that’s if everything goes right. For now, most of the gaming industry is working from home. GDC Summer at least will give many developers something to look forward to that feels normal.