gamescom

game – The German Games Industry Association is the co-organizer and conceptual sponsor of gamescom, Europe’s trade fair and event highlight for interactive entertainment. As a premiere trade fair, important German, European and global innovations are presented at gamescom. The combination of trade fair and public event makes the trade fair a unique entertainment experience for all visitors. Since 2009, the trade fair has usually been held annually in August in Cologne. The service provider for the organization and implementation is Koelnmesse GmbH, which has one of the largest and most modern exhibition grounds in Germany with a total area of 284,000 square meters. In 2023, around 320,000 people visited the stands of 1,227 companies and organizations from 63 countries. gamescom is now also one of the largest gaming events in the world in digital terms.

The gamescom: Opening Night Live, hosted by Geoff Keighley, host and producer of “The Game Awards.” will kick off gamescom. Numerous world premieres and exciting new products will be presented at gamescom: Opening Night Live.

Impressions

The gamescom concept

gamescom connects the entire value chain of the industry, from developers and publishers to retailers and consumers, and creates forums for discussions at all levels. The entertainment area is aimed at the games-enthusiastic private audience. It comprises four modern exhibition halls with around 80,000 square meters of space and has an indoor and an outdoor area. Visitors to gamescom can try out the latest gaming software and hardware here. The business area offers space exclusively for exhibitors, trade visitors and the media. Thanks to the excellent infrastructure, this area is a forum for successful business and intensive discussions. The business area is the meeting point for the more than 30,000 trade visitors to the fair. The gamescom congress and devcom are also essential parts of the event.

The gamescom congress is Germany’s largest congress on digital video games and an interface to other cultural and creative industries as well as the digital economy and politics. Both the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the city of Cologne sponsor the congress. Increasingly, economically relevant spill-over effects and cultural issues are arising from the computer and video games industry for various sectors. The gamescom congress is the platform in Germany that promotes and stimulates the necessary exchange and controversial discussions both locally and internationally.

The congress is recognized as an official training event for teachers and other educators.

devcom is a newly designed developer conference on an international top level! Consisting of a classic conference section with hot topics from the developer scene and top-class international speakers as well as summits, master classes, workshops and networking events, devcom represents a significant further development: In terms of content, the new developer conference is closely interlinked with gamescom and fully integrated into the gamescom week.

In addition to these main pillars, gamescom offers a diverse supporting program. The gamescom festival offers concerts, music and entertainment in Cologne’s city center, which is always transformed into a festival mile.

Since 2019, the gamescom: Opening Night Live has been held to kick off gamescom, hosted by Geoff Keighley, host and producer of “The Game Awards.” Numerous world premieres and exciting new products are presented at gamescom: Opening Night Live.

gamescom Award

The gamescom Award honors the best games at the trade fair. All companies exhibiting at the trade fair can submit their games for the award and are eligible to take part, provided the release date of the game on the German market is not before the start of the event and the game can be seen and tested by the public in the entertainment area.

Protection of minors and media competence

The games industry also assumes its responsibility for the protection of minors at the trade fair. The provisions of the German Youth Protection Act will be consistently implemented in the exhibition areas and young visitors to the trade fair will be comprehensively protected from harmful game content. For example, age checks are carried out at the exhibitors’ stands.