EA has cancelled every live competitive event for its games. The situation will continue until there is an “improvement” in the global coronavirus situation.
The situation applies to all events in EA’s competitive gaming series, which includes Apex Legends Global Series, EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series, FIFA Online 4 Live Events and Madden NFL 20 Championship Series. The cancellation applies across both EA-operated and third-party organised events licensed by EA.
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The only exceptions to the cancellation are broadcasts that can be produced by individuals in remote locations, and online events.
In addition, EA also offered an update on its reaction to the spreading coronavirus issue. All employees across North America, Europe, and Australia are recommended to work from home until April 1, with just limited “business-critical” staff staying on-site. EA is also making sure vendors and contractors who can’t work remotely will still be paid.
EA remains confident that despite the impact of the virus, services for players will remain as normal. “We don’t anticipate major changes in our games or services as a result of our teams working from home,” says the company’s statement. “But we’re learning through this process as well and patience will be key. We’re constantly talking and working with our teams across the world to evolve with the situation.”
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The impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) is being felt widespread across the games industry. Many major gaming events have been cancelled, including E3 2020. Closures go beyond the games sphere, too; many film and TV shows have halted their filming schedules, including all of Netflix’s original programming in the US and Canada and The Witcher season 2 in the UK.
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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.
Source: IGN.com EA Cancels Live Competitive Events for All Its Games