The coronavirus, which originates from Wuhan in China, has snuck into the gaming industry as well.
The Chinese League of Legends Pro League (we’ll shorten it to LPL onward) announced that they delayed the second week’s matches indefinitely. They even wrote an English statement about it on Twitter (which is weird, as Twitter is officially banned in China… makes you think). Let’s see what they wrote: „We have decided to postpone week 2 of the LPL until we can ensure the safety and health of our players and fans. To our fans, we sincerely apologize that it has come to this and we will share any info as soon as we can. Stay Safe and thank you all for your support!”
Most likely, the Chinese Communist Party is behind this decision. In several bigger cities, they have restricted travelling and banned large gatherings, and several cities (such as Wuhan) have been entirely locked down: no going in and out, no public transportation, and even no potential refuelling at the gas stations either. China’s General Administration of Sport has also suspended all professional sporting events until March. (We wonder how it will affect the Formula-1 Chinese Grand Prix? It will be held on April 19…)
The coronavirus has killed at least eighty people so far (and that’s likely less than the actual number: the Chinese Communist Party might be underreporting, and we have no real insight on what’s happening over there…), so delaying LPL was the right call. Health is nothing to joke about, and you can play League of Legends later. The game waits for you, your life doesn’t: it’d be deadly if the event was held now, and since people could be flying out from China after it, the virus could spread this way, too.
Let’s hope that the gaming industry won’t be highly affected, but we’re not positive: it might be the 21st century’s repeat of the Spanish flu (which killed millions of people near the end of World War I).
Source: PCGamer
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