Originally scheduled to take place between March 16 and March 20, GDC 2020 was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Several big name developers began dropping out and it became clear that the best decision was for the highly anticipated event to take place at a later date. Well, that 'later date' has been made official — GDC 2020 will be held between August 4 and August 6 and has been rebranded GDC Summer.
Event organizers say that GDC Summer "represents a unique opportunity for developers to get up to speed on advances in the field while mixing and mingling in sunny San Francisco." It will feature multi-disciplinary presentations, a massive show floor, and will give industry insiders a place to connect with their peers.
Registration for the event is yet to open but should become available soon. Attendees who buy their passes early will receive pretty steep discounts — $200 off for a Conference Pass and $30 off for an Expo Pass — so anyone interested in going should keep an eye on the GDC website.
When the event was cancelled last month all ticket purchases were fully refunded. We'd assume that's the case with GDC Summer, as the coronavirus pandemic doesn't seem to have an end in sight, and it could still be a concern come August. In lieu of attending GDC 2020 in person, many presenters took to the internet and held their presentations online. Although it certainly wasn't ideal, it was a great way to make the best of a bad situation.
In fact, earlier this week Sony gave a press conference that was intended for this year's GDC, revealing the technical specs for the PlayStation 5. Sadly, it was a pretty lackluster affair. Not only were viewers hoping for more info — let alone a glimpse at the actual PS5 design — but the specs reveal a system that is less powerful than the Xbox Series X. There's more to a console than its specs, and just because one looks better on paper doesn't mean that will be the case in reality. But so far Sony is off to a rough start.
There is still plenty we don't know about GDC Summer, but we expect to hear much more in the coming weeks.
Source: IGN