The Covid-19 outbreak continues to put a hamper on many businesses and events. Hot on the heels of the cancellation of Microsoft"s presence at this year"s GDC, Facebook has announced that it"s cancelling the in-person component of the F8 developer conference this year.
Facebook says it was a difficult decision to make, but that it didn"t make sense to host the conference without its international developers. Instead, the company says it will replace the event with a combination of locally hosted events, videos, and live streams, which should serve the same purpose for those keeping up with the news at home. Specific details on when and where these events will take place will be given out at a later date.
Naturally, this is a one-off decision, and Facebook says it"s still committed to the city of San Jose, where it typically hosts the conference. To compensate for the cancellation, the social network giant is doubling the amount it usually donates to organizations that help diversify the tech industry. This time around, it will donate $500,000, and that donation will focus on organizations that work in San Jose.
The damage caused by the current virus outbreak continues to pile up as time goes on. Like Microsoft, Facebook"s Oculus had already cancelled its presence at this year"s GDC, and so had Sony. Mobile World Congress, which would have taken place this week, was also cancelled. Additionally, companies like Microsoft and Apple have warned investors that they won"t be able to meet the revenue goals they had set during their previous earnings calls.