EA suspends live esports events due to coronavirus outbreak
EA and Activision Blizzard are also asking North American employees to work from home.
EA is suspending all its live esports events "until the global coronavirus situation improves." The company's decision affects all Apex Legends Global Series, EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series, FIFA Online 4 and Madden NFL 20 Championship Series matches. It also covers all third-party events run under license from EA. The only exceptions are online events where staff can work remotely and separately. EA says it will continue monitoring the situation before determining its next steps for its live competitions.
The company announced its decision shortly after rival Activision Blizzard canceled its live Overwatch matches and made all Call of Duty matches online-only affairs. Both gaming giants are also shutting down offices and asking employees to work from home.
EA previously closed international offices in Seoul, Milan and other locations for safety reasons, but now it's also "strongly recommending" that all its employees in North America, Europe and Australia work from home until April 1st. Meanwhile, Activision Blizzard closed its Irvine and Austin offices and is implementing work-from-home policies for its personnel in those locations.
We will continue to pay our on-site vendors and contractors while this work-from-home policy is in place, and our game teams will work to provide the best experiences we can for players during this challenging time.
— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) March 14, 2020
