At this point, it’s safe to assume that most events are at risk of being canceled due to the outbreak of COVID-19, otherwise known as the novel coronavirus. The virus has shut down events like GDC, and plenty of others, as it continues to spread across the world. Now, Bandai Namco is rescheduling some of its events to minimize the disease’s threat.
The events in question are the SoulCalibur and Tekken World Tour events. Both are losing official qualifiers, which aren’t being rescheduled according to Bandai Namco’s news updates. Additionally, the World Tour events for both games have now been pushed back, with new dates still listed as “TBD.” Coronavirus has many companies and officials worried. Even SXSW was canceled due to coronavirus, marking the first cancelation in its 34-year history.
Coronavirus has thrown many events in the gaming world into uncertain waters, with more and more struggling over whether or not to cancel. Major events are even under the ever-present threat of cancelation as more cities declare states of emergency, leading to many questioning whether or not E3 will happen this year. As of right now, E3 is moving ahead as normal, but it’s fair to say that may not be the case if the coronavirus situation doesn’t improve soon.
The cancelation is unfortunate. Coronavirus has had a big impact on the games industry and continues to worsen. For now, all anyone can do on an individual level is to maintain proper personal hygiene and try to avoid contact with any sick individuals. It’s not an ideal situation, far from it, but for now, it’s the only real course of action.
Hopefully, the situation will improve before any other major events can be canceled, but with EA canceling events today as well, there will likely be disruptions to other industry events. There’s no solid timeline of when the disease will be handled, and while one can hope that warmer weather will help contain coronavirus, it’s really impossible to tell if that will be the case. On the bright side, it’s more of a reason to stay home and play games.
