Gaming fans at the 2019 E3 in Los Angeles, California. At a time when Valve Corp’s Steam online gaming service is breaking records and global gaming publishers are registering increased demand due to millions of people stuck at home, the systems designed to build those companies’ future success are faltering. — AFP
Gaming is experiencing an unprecedented boom right now, but behind the scenes, the coronavirus pandemic is hitting the US$150bil (RM654.09bil) industry in subtle yet significant ways — delaying crucial development, squeezing out smaller studios and disrupting the pipeline of new games heading into 2021.
As with other sectors, Covid-19 has cleared the 2020 calendar by torpedoing marquee events like the Game Developers Conference this month and the biggest of them all, E3, in the summer. The litany of cancellations is especially painful for a business that, like the film industry, relies on flashy annual gatherings to launch big-name titles, connect publishers with creators and raise the profile of indie studios aspiring to become the next Rockstar Games.
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