Geoff Keighley runs a popular video-game awards show every December that last year attracted 45 million people online, with another 4,500 people attending in person at a theater in Los Angeles. But as the coronavirus spreads, prompting a wave of conference cancellations, Keighley is already contemplating a decision he’ll have to make in coming months. Should he turn his awards show entirely virtual, abandoning the theater portion?

For Keighley, making that switch wouldn’t be a huge departure for the show, the Game Awards. But for many conferences where professionals from small companies mingle with each other, making a similar switch will be painful for attendees. For some events, it could be a knockout blow.