Europe Pub (PieFed)“It doesn't feel safe”—Many international game developers plan to skip GDC in US
arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/03/it-doesnt-feel-s…
“I felt compelled to send copies of my itinerary, passport and other IDs, speaker information, etc., to at least three other people who weren’t attending, with the instructions that if I didn’t contact them by a specified time to let them know that I had landed and cleared security, that they should take my information to the Australian consulate,” said JC Lau, a senior producer at Amsterdam’s Twirlbound who has attended every GDC since 2017.
“I scrubbed my social media timelines just in case I posted something that could get me in trouble,” the Godot Foundation’s Coppola told Ars of his preparations for the show.
I have to laugh my country is going off a cliff so fast, at any rate this conference and others like it need to leave the US NOW.
This is not an “eventually we find a new place for international gatherings” kind of thing, the US is collapsing and you are simply not safe here whether you are a US citizen or not, do not come here for your own safety. To be honest I think it is embarrassing that the people running this conference haven’t already moved it to Canada at the very least, it places all of the attendees in a real and present danger.
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As they should. Host it in a non-hostile country, it’s quite simple.
Canada is lovely nice cozy not hostile this time of year! I mean, it’s a frozen tundra, but you won’t be pulled out of your car and killed by secret police looking for people they don’t like.
FredselfishMakes me wonder how American Truck Simulator devs will make the rest of the states, and at the same time not surprised they are creating a Canadian map next instead of more states.
They used to host it in other places like europe and china, but i guess they scale it down after the decline of these sort of convention. It’s near impossible to do it these day because they’re not the only player in the room, and Steam have Next Fest
robocallI’ve been to GDC. Definitely a blue haired leftist vibe with a lot of attendees. And also “I can’t afford to be detained for months nor do I want to subject myself to that” vibe as well. So CBP being allowed access to their phones during immigration screening, where they have definitely written negative comments about the Trump admin is not something they’re super excited about.
Plus America also committed a genocide in Palestine and now is doing ww3. Idk. I think the networking parties will be less fun but we’ll see.
GreyscaleMaybe they should move GDC somewhere less terrible for a couple years. Let Japan have it or something.
Atelopus-zeteki
VitteliusThere is a gamedev conference that accompanies Gamescom in Germany every year.
It has lived in the GDCs shadow up until know, but game (the organisation that organises the whole thing) should understand this as a chance
No one should be visiting the US for the foreseeable future.
lumpenproletariat
UnderpantsWeevil“I make video games for a living and have absolutely never said anything problematic or polarizing on social media. Can’t wait to cruise through airport security and immigration without a care in the world.”
~ Nobody, Ever
a1studmuffinGiven how big the LGBTQ+ community is in the games industry, they really need to host this in Vancouver or Toronto until things settle down in the USA.
why return to US?
EatMyPixelDustprobably due to the large multi-building venue that they have to host the conference and the experience the staff have hosting it there.
It’s ok not going to the USA, it is more of a problem when they rock up in your country and use a tomahawk on your kids school.
Yup. Obama was a warhawk!
So, are you a propaganda bot or are you just totally ignorant of the real world?
Could be an edgy boi
I have been edging A LOT lately!
But, no. Just someone who enjoys pointing out the hypocrisy of people on social media. I call it like I see it. Almost every president over the past 45 years has been a warhawk.
I don’t choose sides.
Your comment has destabilized my programming!! Shutting down!!
And……I…..was just….learning……how to……love…………
–END OF LINE–
Hes not been in power for over a decade, cant be in power again and left without incident and not in the epstien files. Obama derangement syndrome much. Bad faith and stupid
enbiousenvy
Cevilia (they/she/…)I already wouldn’t have gone to that country if you paid me. They let any idiot carry a fucking gun.
When I wanted to visit the uNazied States of america the guns being prevalent wasn’t an issue. I’d have to be very unlucky to get shot whilst visiting the attractions I wanted to see.
Now, admittedly, it was a long time ago when I thought about visiting, and it was more like a “if I ever win the lottery then I’ll visit xxxx place” type thing.
Then their 2016 elections came along and ever since then there’s no fucking chance I’d ever go. You couldn’t pay me to visit.
What’s the point in having loads of cash if I’m being detained and locked up for who knows how long, and then being deported to an El Salvadorian death camp!!
I’m not gonna say gun violence isn’t a problem here but…this reminds me of rightwingers going on about violence in Chicago. The reality is that most of the gun violence is isolated to certain areas and Chicago is a big place….the US is even bigger.
And it’s not like you’re being invited to visit a high school
Still, even the safest US states would rank among the most dangerous EU countries in terms of gun violence and gun related homicides.
I don’t dispute that (I’d even wager that the safer state is worse than the most dangerous eu country) but it’s not like it’s commonplace to get killed by a stranger. You’re more likely to die during travel unless you’re specifically traveling to dangerous neighborhoods
That’s true. I used to travel to Saint Louis quite regularly for work about ten years ago. It always seemed fine, at least on the surface.
Hilariously one of the more statistically dangerous cities in the country lol
I lived in Chicago for over 20 years and while I did see someone ditch a stolen car and escape the stereotypically-fat cops by jumping on a train, I never even heard gunfire.
I know. It still feels odd to me as a Dutchman though to know that there’s dozens of gun related crimes going on all the time.
We have lost 1.5 million people to gun violence the last three decades. More than every US soldier in every war combined. To pussy foot around with this is pretty ridiculous.
It’s not downplaying it at all, I’m saying gun violence being a significant factor in choosing not to travel in the US is pretty ridiculous.
Gun violence in the U$ is absolutely ridiculous. Not wanting to travel to a country that looses population to preventable issues like this is a no brainer.
https://theconversation.com/us-gun-crime-why-tourists-are-being-warned-to-avoid-and-beware-205906
Countries even warn their citizens like the US is some kind of violent third world nation. It would be embarrassing if the US gave a fuck, but they don’t.
As someone who grew up in one of the more dangerous cities in the US, you generally have to be making obviously risky decisions to get shot by most of the (legally or otherwise) gun carrying population. The biggest risk by far, and why I actually would not suggest people visit the US right now, is the government and ICE being totally out of control. They’re more likely to shoot a tourist than a regular local
Meh, I have seen someone shot over road rage and it wasn’t even their fault. I have been robbed at gun point in Tri-cities in Eastern Washington, not exactly a big city. I know a women who got murdered by her husband for talking to another man.
A lot of people die senselessly from guns in the US, but I get your point.
Jerkface (any/all)Oh, it’s worse than that. The USA is arguably now a second-world country.
What proportion of those are people visiting for work or tourism?
It’s ridiculous to downplay in the sense of the domestic response. But in terms of risk in this context, it’s not a factor.
Perception is more important than actual risk to most people. This is especially poignant considering you don’t have to visit the US on vacation and can just go somewhere else.
Let me ask you this, if you knew a nation was at war and losing about 50k citizens every year to said war would you want to visit? I think most sane people would say no.
I am reminded of the UK citizen who just went to visit her father in Texas who shot her after explaining it would be okay for Trump to rape her because he has other daughters.
I mean I am sorry, but the US is now worse than backwards Middle Eastern countries that are also statistically pretty damned safe. Doesn’t mean people want to visit either though.
The mind boggles that you understand this but want to encourage people to do the irrational thing instead of put the statistics in context. I get not trying to persuade people the US is safe to travel to (from the pov of gun violence) but why would you try to persuade them that it isn’t???
I am not doing shit. The UK government and other European nations do this without me (warn travelers about the US). I was just pointing it out and the possible rationales even if statistically it is a non-issue.
Preference and perception drive most people. Let’s just examine the fact that lots of people refuse to fly even though it is safer than driving. Are they wrong from a statistical analysis, sure. Are you going to convince them with stats, probably not.
Feels a bit naïve to think that scrubbing one’s social media will do anything. I just wouldn’t go.
I agree. Even if they didn’t randomly pick on people (which they totally do) they could still utilize Palantir or similar tech to get intel on you. deleting your posts does nothing in this day and age.
Don’t visit countries that are willing to entertain fascism
All the money is leaving the US anyway, just let it burn