Pax East 2020 has already lost several high-status attendees. Sony fully pulled out while Square Enix and Capcom are shrinking their presence. All of the companies cited fears of the Coronavirus for the reason for pulling out or severely reducing their presence. Boston mayor, Marty Walsh urged Sony and other attendees of Pax East to reconsider pulling out of the event. He assures that Pax East will have higher standards of cleanliness and the event will be safe, despite Boston already having confirmed cases of the virus and the event hosting attendees from around the globe. Now, The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077 developer, CD Projekt Red, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer, PUBG Corp, have both withdrawn from the event. News of CD Projekt Red not attending comes from Stephanie Bayer, head of North American communications for CD Projekt Red, via Twitter.
While CD Projekt Red was planning on attending, they were not going to demo Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red will still be attending GDC unlike EA, Sony and other companies that are pulling out due to concerns of the Coronavirus. Additionally to CD Projekt Red, PUBG Corp have canceled their plans to the event. PUBG Corp was also planning to hold an event at local bar in Boston during Pax East. PUBG Corp has temporarily canceled that event as well, and will reschedule it to a later date. “We will be rescheduling this plan for an upcoming event, once the Coronavirus is under control and travel returns to normal,” PUBG Corp said.
Despite the concerns of the Coronavirus, Gearbox has confirmed that they will be at the event. Gearbox will be discussing the up and coming movie based on the Borderlands property. It is unknown how the lower attendance of Pax East will affect Boston as the event has been a constant boost to the economy. PAX East runs February 27-March 1. Even with the drop-outs, the show is expected to be a big one that draws thousands of people.