Coronavirus concerns may have halted GDC, but it hasn’t completely stopped the show from happening. Many of the talks that were scheduled for the show will be streamed live next week for free through GDC’s Twitch channel. Other talks submitted after March 20 will be added to the vault for free, but more details were not given.
The rescheduled GDC 2020 talks will happen from March 16 to March 20 from 9 AM PT to 5 PM PT, which were the regular hours for the physical show. While this means that only a fraction of the scheduled talks will happen, they’ll be free for everyone at the same time. Usually, GDC talks are locked away for attendees with login codes and then a few of them are gradually added to the GDC YouTube channel. Only some of the streamed talks will be on YouTube while all of them will be in the GDC Vault for free. The up-to-date streaming schedule will be posted on the GDC’s website on March 13.
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The Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards will also be digital next week on the GDC Twitch channel, starting at 5 PM PT on March 18. These will have the same hosts, League of Geeks Co-Founder Trent Kusters and Game Design Director at Stadia Kim Swift, and have the same categories from the ill-fated physical event. However, the alt.ctrl.GDC awards will not happen this year, which is where $2,000 is awarded to a game with “unconventional, accessible or alternative physical controls” in the obtuse alt.ctrl.GDC showcase.
