Street Fighter 5 Tournaments Canceled Over Coronavirus Fears

Update: The Game Developers Conference has been postponed to “later in the summer,” the organization has announced. The news comes amid growing concerns over the widely-spreading coronavirus (COVID-19).

Original story follows…

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, many events are getting canceled due to health concerns. A number of upcoming Street Fighter 5 tournaments are getting axed for the same reasons.

The official Twitter account for the Capcom Pro Tour has confirmed that three different tournaments are now canceled as the team takes into consideration the health of its employees, organizers, and competitors. This year’s Brussels Challenge, Norcal Regionals, and April Annihilation are no longer part of the Capcom Pro Tour.

The Brussels Challenge is a three-day competition in Belgium that was originally scheduled to take place between March 20-22 before this cancellation. Similarly, both the Norcal Regionals and April Annihilation were slated to be held between April 10-12 in San Jose and New Jersey, respectively.

The coronavirus has not only shaken the world but the games industry as well. A number of companies have dropped out of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) citing the coronavirus as the cause, including Electronic Arts, Kojima Productions, and PlayStation. In fact, the entire event has been postponed to “later in the summer” due to growing converns over, and high-profile company dropouts because of, the coronavirus.

In other Street Fighter 5 news, Capcom recently implemented a new netcode fix that should stabilize the game’s online functionality. And the company launched SFV: Champion Edition on February 14 that brings Seth back, adds new V-Skills, and more. The game is also part of this year’s Evo lineup.