Cyberpunk 2077, PUBG Devs Drop Out Of PAX East Due To Coronavirus
More companies bow out of PAX East.
PAX East continues to lose high-level attendees. Following the news that Sony has completely backed out of the show, with Capcom and Square Enix scaling back their plans, two more major companies have announced plans to skip the show over concerns about COVID-19, more commonly referred to as the coronavirus. [Update: Thegamecompany has also announced that it will not attend, as seen in the tweet below.]
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red will no longer attend PAX East, communications lead Stephanie Bayer said on Twitter. CD Projekt Red did not plan to demo Cyberpunk 2077 at the event, but some staff was headed to the show, Bayer added.
Bayer said CD Projekt Red won't travel to Boston for PAX due to concerns about the coronavirus. "Corona, man. We’re mitigating travel risks for folks," Bayer said. "Trying to keep the team healthy."
In addition to CD Projekt Red, PUBG developer PUBG Corp. has announced it's canceling all of its plans for PAX East due to the "continued spread" of the virus.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, we’ve made the difficult decision to no longer attend PAX East. As a small international team, we want to put the health of our team first & take every precaution to avoid risk. Thanks for your understanding & we hope to meet everyone at later events! pic.twitter.com/XCkYnXBhaC
— thatgamecompany (@thatgamecompany) February 26, 2020
PUBG Corp. planned to hold a happy hour event for fans at a local bar in Boston on Friday, but it's now been postponed to a later date. "We will be rescheduling this plan for an upcoming event, once the coronavirus is under control and travel returns to normal," PUBG Corp. said.
PAX impacts the local Boston economy in a big way as thousands flock to the city and spend money on hotels, restaurants, and other entertainment, so anything that could impact attendance is tough news for the city. Boston's Mayor, Marty Walsh, has urged Sony to reconsider its decision to pull out, but with the show beginning very soon, that seems extremely unlikely.
PAX East runs February 27-March 1. Even with the drop-outs, the show is expected to be a big one that draws thousands of people. Gearbox will be on hand to discuss the upcoming Borderlands movie from Eli Roth, in addition to other announcements.
The organizers of PAX have announced there will be increased health and safety measures in place during the show.
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