The Coronavirus has officially taken the United States by storm. It has already shut down a number of countries and regions, and now it is impacting every part of the world. The virtual reality industry isn’t the most important part of all of this, but it is good to keep tabs on what is happening all across the world.
Below, we will be giving a list of what has been canceled in wake of COVID-19.
Facebook F8
Regularly held in San Jose, California, the F8 developer conference chose to go a different route this year. The new route? Not getting a whole population sick. Although this isn the biggest event, it gains visitors from all across the globe. Facebook is working on releasing their announcements in alternative ways.
Mobile World Congress
Planning to run through the end of February, the event was canceled only a few weeks before the date. At the time, the virus was thought to be only inside of China. It quickly spread to the parts of Europe that are being most impacted. Smart move to simply cancel this one, and not try to do the postponing method.
E3
Arguably the biggest gaming event of the year, E3 is home to the most announcements in the world. With it being canceled this year, you can expect the digital version of the conference to be full of news from the biggest companies. Xbox is ready to put a load of information on the world, and it will be done digitally now.
GDC
The Game Developer Conference was all but shut down before the official announcement. All big and small names pulled out of the event quickly once the virus was more wide-spread. It was supposed to take place this week, but it obviously won’t be happening now. It said it was postponed, but expect this event to come again in 2021.
Google I/O
Although Google hasn’t been in the front for VR and AR lately, their cancelation is still news in the industry. They will typically have some sort of advancement that is off-hand AR/VR tech related without any real news surrounding it. Still worth noting.
Nreal Light Production
The Nreal Light headset was supposed to launch back in 2019, but didn’t because of production issues. New issues have come around, but now it is an official pandemic. If you are waiting for this headset, stop. Production will likely continue by the end of 2020. No need to wait around on this one.
Valve Index Production
The Index wasn’t seeing any 2020 sales before Monday. Since then, they sold out of their first batch. The soonest you’ll get a Valve headset? At least 8 weeks away. Nreal isn’t the only one suffering. With that being said, Valve is on the eve of releasing their biggest game ever. This is likely hurting their bottom line.
Oculus Headset Production
The Oculus Quest and Rift S have been unavailable for some time now. Unlike the Index, they haven’t had a batch ready for sale in months. Until this is all settled in mainland China, you shouldn’t be expecting your headset. Unless you already ordered it, you won’t be getting any new presents on your porch anytime soon.
WWDC (Specualtion)
You can’t cancel something you never announced. With that being said, you usually see Apple take the stage in San Jose. This won’t be happening this year, at least not in front of an audience. iPad updates, iOS advancements, and many more usually come. AR kit updates would’ve been exciting to see, but those will have to wait.
