Gaming events and patches are delayed, games taken offline to support Black Lives Matter protests

The PC Gaming Show that was scheduled for Saturday has been postponed a week, PC Gamer announced last night. It’ll run June 13th instead, specifically to “make space” for the now daily protests against ongoing police brutality running in every US state and multiple other countries around the world. Here’s the statement:

“Like you, we have found it hard over the last week to focus on anything other than the demands for justice and the justifiable anger that millions of Americans are expressing. Right now, we want to make space for those speaking out and demonstrating about how to end the systemic oppression and police brutality experienced by black people. In support of that movement, we are postponing the broadcast of this year’s PC Gaming Show by a week to Saturday, June 13. This year’s event represents the collective work of hundreds of passionate, committed, supremely talented developers whose vision we’re excited to help share.”

Meanwhile, Epic Games has delayed Fortnite’s update, attributing that decision to the protests as well.

“Recent events are a heavy reminder of ongoing injustices in society, from the denial of basic human rights to the impact of racism both overt and subtle against people of color. We’re acutely aware of the pain our friends, families, team members, players, and communities are experiencing. We believe in equality and justice, diversity and inclusion, and that these fundamentals are above politics. The team is eager to move Fortnite forward, but we need to balance the Season 3 launch with time for the team to focus on themselves, their families, and their communities. The live event The Device will be delayed to Monday, June 15, and the Season 3 launch delayed to Wednesday, June 17. We know this delay comes on the heels of another one, and we appreciate your patience and understanding during these difficult times.”

On Monday we began chronicling the gaming studios and organizations that were speaking up in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests that have erupted up in the wake of multiple killings of black Americans by police.

Among the companies standing in solidarity with the movement are Sony, Microsoft, Bungie, Digital Extremes, Activision Blizzard, Daybreak, Bethsoft, Standing Stone Games, Ubisoft, Riot Games, Humble, Cloud Imperium, Echtra Games, Electronic Arts, Improbable, Nintendo, Square-Enix, PAX, Amazon Games, Little Orbit, Niantic, and NCsoft West. While some of these companies have been accused by gamers and journalists of merely paying lip service to a hashtag, others are donating significant sums of money to community service and legal aid organizations, including Black Lives Matter and the NAACP.