Mojang And Electronic Arts Cancels Gaming Events Due To COVID-19

Another round of video game companies have announced the cancellation of their events in light of the COVID-19 global outbreak. First up is Swedish video game developer Mojang. The Minecraft developer has decided to cancel this year’s Minecraft Festival in Florida. The decision to postpone the event wasn’t a direct result of the outbreak, but because the planning had to be put on hold because of it.

“[. . .] After careful consideration and much hand-wringing, we have decided to postpone the event until next year,” said Mojang. “Our partners, producers, and exhibitors are based in all corners of the world, and right now we can’t meet and collaborate in the way we need to. Without knowing exactly when we can resume planning, we have decided to postpone. That way, we can make sure that next year’s event will be the amazing one that our community expects and deserves.”

Electronic Arts has also decided to scrub a whole host of Apex Legends and FIFA 20 eSports events that were supposed to run from March through May. This includes this weekend’s Apex Legends Global Series Major. EA will be rescheduling the event and will be announcing the new schedule as soon as possible.

“These decisions haven’t come easy, but given the large, global nature of these events, we believe that making these changes are in the best interest of protecting the health of the community, including competitors, attendees and staff,” EA said. “As we continue to monitor the situation around the Coronavirus and receive guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO), we’ll continue to evaluate and provide more updates as it relates to all of EA’s Competitive Gaming events.

Learn how to protect yourself from the COVID-19 virus in the video below courtesy of the World Health Organization.