Iron Galaxy Studios pulls out of GDC and calls on GDC organizers to reconsider refund policy

Iron Galaxy Studios became the latest company to cancel their participation in Game Developer Conference 2020.

Adam Boyes

As you’ve probably heard by now, a lot of game companies have canceled travel to GDC this year due to concerns about Coronavirus / COVID-19. Based upon our desire to put everyone’s safety first, we have also made the decision to officially pull out of GDC.

— Iron Galaxy Studios (@IToTheG) February 27, 2020

Following that, Iron Galaxy CEO Adam Boyes called on the conference organizers to reconsider their refund policy.

Dear @Official_GDC,

Please reconsider your refund policy for folks who are deciding not to attend your conference in order to prioritize their health and wellness. Many developers spend their hard earned money to attend, and they shouldn’t be punished for their caution.

– Adam

— ᴀᴅᴀᴍ ʙᴏʏᴇs (@amboyes) February 27, 2020

GDC currently requires that all refund requests must be submitted prior to February 19, 2020. Most notable withdrawals, however, took place after that date.

Sony and Facebook pulled out on February 20. Earlier this week, Kojima Productions and EA also made the decision to skip the event.

Yesterday, Epic Games, Unity and Microsoft chose to withdraw citing “uncertainty around health concerns.”

“Many developers spend their hard earned money to attend, and they shouldn’t be punished for their caution,” concludes Iron Galaxy’s Adam Boyes.

Other big brands like Google, Rockstar, Saber Interactive, Bungie, and Gearbox are still participating, although Kotaku’s Jason Schreier suggests that the show might get cancelled in a matter of hours. He himself cancelled his trip to GDC.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus infections has increased to more than 83,000, with 2,800 lethal cases.