China’s biggest video game expo is still going to open as scheduled despite the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Shanghai Daily, ChinaJoy 2020 will be held this summer as usual. Details below:

Date: 31st July – 3rd August
Venue: Shanghai New International Expo Center, Shanghai

The show’s organizers will be taking extra precautions. These include attendants having to pre-register with their real names and requiring a green health QR code, temperature and health screenings at the expo’s entrance, and social distancing practices including spreading out displays.

Good Idea?

This is quite a gamble for ChinaJoy and its organizers: on one hand, it may end up as the only offline large-scale video game show to persevere through the pandemic. Shows like E3 and Gamescom are either cancelled or relegated to online shows. And with the last ChinaJoy event hitting a record 364,700 visitors across its four-day run, this year’s showing may top that since there isn’t any competition going on.

On the other hand, there’s a huge risk of people being infected during and after the show even with all the health screenings and precautions. ChinaJoy may end up as a cautionary tale of why you shouldn’t tempt fate against an unknown and unseen enemy.

Guess we’ll find out this late July if the expo will make good or bad headlines. In related news, China’s PC market is still the world’s largest. A recent report showed that PC and mobile game revenue in the country is at US$33.1 billion in 2019.