CD Projekt Red, Daybreak, And Other Studios Start Working From Home As The COVID-19 Virus Continues To Spread
Here we are again with your daily dose of COVID-19-related gaming news. More and more video game companies have transitioned to a remote working setup as an increasing number of countries and states are put under strict lockdown to try and put a stop to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. These companies include Hi-Rez Studios, Rockstar Games, Jagex, ZeniMax Online Studios, Klang Games, Cryptic Studios, and Perfect World Entertainment.
The folks over at Daybreak Games their spin-off studios have also started working from home, resulting in the temporary delay of a planned PlanetSide 2 hardware upgrade. CD Projekt Red is also hard at work on Cyberpunk 2077 from the safety of their own homes and assures fans that the upcoming MMORPG is still on schedule. “Today, CD Projekt Red switches to full remote for as long as it is needed,” tweeted the studio. “We think this will grant every team member the highest level of personal health safety. And while this is all a bit new to everyone, we are rising to the challenge and showing no signs of stopping in our effort to bring you some kick-ass role-playing action in September.”
Wakfu and Dofus developer, Ankama Games, published a video about how the virus has affected the studio and their games. A planned server merge and patch have both been delayed as the studio tries to cope with the current situation. The French studio will be compensating players for the delay with one week of free game time.
A number of studios have also rolled out special events to give players more incentive to play their games during the imposed quarantine. Elder Games will be turning on a few extra buffs in Project Gorgon over the next few weeks with the buffs changing every few days, while Studio Wildcard has extended the ARK: Survival Evolved double harvest rates beyond the end of the EVO event.
Lastly, GDC organizers have announced that they will be streaming their award show on Wednesday, March 18th at 5pm EDT. They’ve also started streaming recorded GDC talks today on Twitch from speakers that were supposed to take the stage during the live event. Meanwhile, gamescom 2020 in August is still moving forward as planned. For now.
Check out the Ankama COVID-19 video below.
