Postponed Game Developers Conference returns for special three-day event this August
Celebrating the "art, craft and business" of games.
This year's Game Developers Conference, which was initially due to take place this month but postponed following the coronavirus outbreak, has been reimagined as GDC Summer, a three-day "celebration of the art, craft and business of game development" to be held this August.
GDC Summer is set to run from 4th-6th August at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and is described as a "unique" Game Developers Conference experience that will blend the expert talks of the traditional event with a "freestyle" expo show floor, open from 5th-6th August.
"High-quality technical content, mixed with valuable roundtable discussions to foster conversation and connection" is promised, as is a new series of "microtalks and fireside chats", and a new dedicated space for comprehensive career development sessions.
GDC 2020 was initially scheduled to run from 16th-20th March in San Francisco, but its organisers made the decision to postpone the show after a number of prominent companies, including Sony, Microsoft and Epic, pulled out amid coronavirus fears.
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", says its organisers, who also insist that "Safety remains [the] 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."
A wide-ranging programme of virtual talks has been made available online all this week in GDC 2020's stead, presented by those originally scheduled to speak at the live event.