Hi-Rez Studios And That Game Company Back Out Of PAX East Due To Coronavirus Concerns

pax east floor crowd bannerPAX East began earlier today minus two more video game companies, Hi-Rez Studios and That Game Company. The two studios are the latest to announce their withdrawal from the event amid concerns over the spreading COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

“After some internal discussion we’ve made the call to cancel our #PAXEast activities this weekend,” tweeted Hi-Rez Community Lead Isaiah Turner. “So sorry to everyone that was looking forward to our meet and greets. We’ve still got lots of events planned for the rest of the year so keep an eye out!” Turner adds that the, “decision was made as a safety precaution due to the growing concern of coronavirus.”

That Game Company also announced their decision to back out of the event on Twitter. “Due to COVID-19 concerns, we’ve made the difficult decision to no longer attend PAX East,” said the studio. “As a small international team, we want to put the health of our team first & take every precaution to avoid risk. Thanks for your understanding & we hope to meet everyone at later events!”

Square Enix, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Electronic Arts, CD Projekt Red and PUBG Corp have also cancelled their plans to attend the event. Epic Games, Unity, and Microsoft have also withdrawn from next week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. San Francisco city officials have already declared a local health emergency because of COVID-19 but GDC organizers say that the event will be “moving forward as planned.