On top of this, Amazon has also begun restricting "non-essential" employee travel in the US after doing the same in China in January.

The internet giant joins Facebook, Sony, EA, Epic Games, Microsoft, Kojima Productions and Unity Technologies among the major brands exiting GDC. This won't necessarily lead to GDC shutting down, as there are still numerous developers (including larger ones like Google) committed to the event. A GDC spokesperson recently told The Verge that the event would move "forward as planned." However, it's safe to say the event will take on a very different tone than it has in recent years, assuming it goes ahead -- the focus will be more on indies.