- The coronavirus outbreak has led to event cancellations and production issues across the gaming industry.
- There are growing concerns the virus might affect the launch of the next-generation consoles.
- According to AMD, both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are still on track for a late 2020 launch.
With the coronavirus outbreak extending its reach throughout the world and various industries, there are concerns that Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation plans could be affected.
Coronavirus Across The Gaming Industry
With confirmed global coronavirus cases hitting the 100,000-mark today, there’s a sense that things will get worse before they get better.
Within gaming, each passing day greets us with yet another big gaming event cancellation due to the coronavirus. Today, Twitch announced that it had canceled TwitchCon Amsterdam. GDC suffered a similar fate last month.
There are worries E3 may be next in the firing line as California declares a state of emergency, further distabilizing a gaming institution on the decline.
Production and distribution has also been affected. Nintendo is struggling to ship out Switch units in Japan. Valve warned players to expect a limited stock of Index VR headsets in the lead up to the release of Half-Life Alyx. Konami has delayed the launch of its TurboGrafx-16 Mini console indefinitely due to factories in China suspending production due to the coronavirus.
Still On Track For Late 2020
The natural assumption is that it’s only a matter of time before Sony and Microsoft share the bad news as the disruption to supply chains grows exponentially in scope. Yet, according to AMD, both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are still on track for a holiday 2020 release.
During AMD’s 2020 Financial Analyst Day, executive VP of Computing and Graphics, Rick Bergman shared the news, producing a slide that confirms as much.
AMD would know. The company is supplying both consoles with their chips featuring Zen 2 and RDNA 2 tech. If there’s an entity closest to the consoles other than Sony and Microsoft themselves, then it’s AMD, which gives these assurances that everything is on track a certain weight.
It’s some much-needed reassurance in these volatile times. Should the virus show no signs of abating in the months ahead, then AMD may need to reassess its forecast. But, for now, we can expect the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X to launch as planned.
This article was edited by Samburaj Das.
