NetherRealm Studios will no longer house a live audience at Final Kombat, one of their premier Mortal Kombat 11 events in Chicago, this Sunday and have cancelled a last-chance qualifier scheduled to be held Saturday, citing concerns around the potential spread of the coronavirus in an announcement Friday.
"We understand this is disappointing to those who planned to attend," the Mortal Kombat team said in a statement. "This decision was made in order to protect the health and safety of our players, fans and staff. We thank you for your understanding. The health and safety of our players, fans and staff will continue to be our top priority as we work through this challenging time."
Final Kombat is the sixth esports or gaming event on Friday alone to be reformatted, cancelled or bar a live audience due to the virus.
Twitch cancelled TwitchCon Amsterdam, which was scheduled for May in the Netherlands. Pokémon cancelled its Europe International Championships scheduled for April 17-19 in Berlin
FLASHPOINT canceled its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive playoff event planned for April in Stockholm
The League of Legends European Championship said it will move its spring finals in April from Budapest, Hungary, to its Berlin studio
Blizzard Entertainment announced it will move its Hearthstone Masters event to an online-only format as well.
The Call of Duty League Los Angeles homestand has removed meet-and-greet, autograph signing and player walkout opportunities and added medical personnel for this weekend's tournament.
Several other fighting game events have been impacted by the spread of coronavirus as well. On Feb. 28, Capcom announced the removal of three events from the Capcom Pro Tour: Brussels Challenger 2020 in Belgium; Norcal Regionals 2020 in San Jose, California; and April Annihilation 2020 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Confirmed cases of the coronavirus reached over 100,000 on Friday, with the majority in China, according to The Associated Press. The virus has killed nearly 3,400 people.
