Esports and gaming events affected by coronavirus

Esports and gaming events affected by coronavirus

9 March 2020

While the worldwide coronavirus outbreak has caused cancellations of many sports events around the world such as the ATP 1000 BNP Paribas Open which was supposed to start on March 9th in Indian Wells (CA), gaming and esports have also been widely impacted by the COVID-19.

The COVID-19 is heavily impacting the gaming industry with big companies such as Sony, Microsoft, Epic Games or Electronic Arts (EA) postponing new games releases or cancelling their travels to important events and conventions including the Game Developers Conference, which was supposed to take place mid-March in San Francisco but has been postponed following the important amount of cancellations. Other industry events, such as the SWSW Conference, which was planned for March 13-22 in Austin (Texas) and the WitchCon Amsterdam (NL), which was scheduled for May 2-3, have also been cancelled.

Event cancellations have also affected the world of competitive gaming, with China and South Korea being big-time markets. Activision Blizzard was forced to rearrange its global esports schedule as it’s Overwatch League has 20 teams representing 19 cities, including four Chinese teams and one from South Korea, where the coronavirus has spread widely. Tencent has also been impacted as it’s Riot Games subsidiary has regional leagues around the world for its League of Legends videogame. Its China-based League of Legends Pro League was meant to begin its second week after a break for the Lunar New Year. Instead, matches have been postponed “until the league can ensure the safety and health of its players and fans”. Many other gaming and esports events have been cancelled or postoned around the world over the past few weeks, all becauseof the worldwide spread of the COVID-19. The Overwatch League recently announced that the Washington Justice home stand would tank place as planned, but the First Apex Legends Global Series Major has been postponed with some Apex Legends Global Series and FIFA Global Series events being cancelled. Mortal Kombat, the Pokémon European International Championships, Hearthstone Masters Tour, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Call of Duty, Rocket League and many other games have also been impacted by the novel coronavirus.

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