The event will take place in the new sandbox game 'Your World' on April 20-21 to benefit those affected by the San Francisco conference's postponement.
Xsolla, a video game business engine, will host a virtual event in the upcoming sandbox game Your World from developer and publisher Pantera Entertainment.
The event, dubbed the Game Developers Carnival, will allow developers who were affected by the postponement of the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, which was originally slated to run next week but was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic, to interact and conduct business in the virtual world.
An optional "early adopter pack" of the game will also be offered, with all proceeds going to the GDC Relief Fund, which was set up after the event was postponed to offset the costs lost by independent game studios that were planning to attend.
"With the numerous industry event cancellations, Xsolla wanted to help the developer/publisher community by creating the first Game Developers Carnival as a technology-driven alternative to empower individuals and companies to safely and effectively do business, in the most meta way possible," says Aleksandr Agapitov, founder and CEO of Xsolla. "We invite all game professionals worldwide to be a part of the Carnival, whether you're an artist, programmer, in marketing or business development ... come one, come all."
For the Game Developers Carnival, attendees will be able to create their own booths from pre-made templates, or craft their own custom designs, to show off their games and projects. The booths will then be loaded into Your World's virtual space where attendees can mingle, host meetings and network.
To aid in setting up meetings, Xsolla has partnered with matchmaking service MeetToMatch.
Those looking to participate in the Game Developers Carnival can register at the event's website. The first 20 companies to sign up will receive a free booth designed by a professional 3D artist.
GDC has also previously announced that it will host pre-recorded presentations from various speakers that were planning to attend the event on its official Twitch channel from March 16-20, the original dates for the conference.
