The yearly Game Developers’ Conference, or GDC, is already in the process of being rescheduled and replanned, but that doesn’t do much to mitigate the damage already done to smaller indie developers that originally planned to attend GDC in March.
Thankfully, Gamedev.world and other sponsors have been organizing a relief effort complete with multiple fundraisers to support the impacted developers. The most recent fundraiser includes three days’ worth of Twitch live streams featuring fan-favorite developers and voice actors, plus a gigantic bundle of games available for purchase at whatever price the buyer deems appropriate.
As such, anyone interested in donating to the cause can head over to itch.io, where a GDC Relief Bundle containing 167 developer-donated games, assets, prototypes, and more will be listed under “pay what you want” until April 3. Naturally, all proceeds from the sales will go straight to the GDC Relief Fund.
“Over the past month and a half, developers around the world have been unexpectedly and severely affected by the cancellation of GDC and other effects of the ongoing global crisis,” Gamedev.world wrote. “Some of these developers have been left stranded abroad in expensive circumstances, in thousands of dollars in debt from non-refundable fees, or without any options to continue pursuing their passion in game development due to lost business opportunities.”
In addition, Gamedev.world’s Twitch channel is hosting a number of streams over the next couple of days, and Monday’s includes a “Jackbox extravaganza,” with Jennifer Hale, Ashley Burch, Cissy Jones, and other popular voice actors. Hopefully, the fundraising effort bears fruit; with the world under quarantine, it sure seems like the perfect time to watch a few Twitch streams and pick up a hundred or so new games.
GDC is being rescheduled as a three-day event in summer of 2020.
Source: itch.io
