Be it the strong community involvement with formats like ‘gamescom EPIX’ and the ‘Indie Arena Booth Online’, the entirely revamped ‘gamescom now’ content hub or the ‘gamescom: Opening Night Live’ show, players from more than 180 countries took advantage of gamescom’s shows, formats and special events millions of times. The live broadcast of the grand opening show ‘gamescom: Opening Night Live’ hosted by Geoff Keighley reached around 5.8 million live viewers, roughly 30 per cent more than the 2020 event, with some 2 million people once again watching the broadcast simultaneously. ‘gamescom: Awesome Indies’, a show format launched in 2020, was able to more than double its range, reaching a live viewership of over 500,000 people.

A wealth of major German and international developers and publishers presented their latest products and announcements virtually at gamescom and on the gamescom now content hub. In addition, 255 indie developers participated in the Indie Arena Booth Online format, where they presented more than 120 games. Numerous possibilities were provided for interaction in order to transfer gamescom’s incomparable atmosphere into the digital sphere: with the gamescom EPIX format, for example, players had the chance to take part in a total of 30 quests where they could earn rewards. An interactive multiplayer game was on offer at the Indie Arena Booth Online that was taken advantage of by approximately 15,000 players. A great many players also seized the opportunity to donate to gamescom forest, a sustainability initiative to promote the growth of the eponymous forest. Players were able to watch exciting game debuts, Let’s Plays and interviews throughout the multi-day event and immerse themselves in the international world of gaming.

The devcom Developer Conference was once again a digital event for developers and trade visitors. Trade professionals joining in from 87 countries and over 2,000 participants combined to make devcom a success yet again. The trade visitors were treated to a varied programme and took part in countless panel talks, workshops, matchmaking sessions and other events. The presentations, fireside chats and panel discussions featured more than 250 speakers and produced twice as much content as in the previous year. In fact, over 55 hours of content was streamed live on the Twitch platform, reaching around 200,000 viewers.

There were more than 35 items on the agenda at the gamescom congress, where 56 experts discussed the potential that games offer for business and society. Both days of the congress were greeted with huge interest yet again, reaching approximately 118,000 viewers. One of the focal points was the topic of digital learning, while the impact of computer and video game innovation in industry and the healthcare sector were also a topic of discussion.

gamescom 2021 was clearly focused on its central theme ‘Games: The New Normal’. The gamescom congress and various political events offered opportunities for guests, including Andreas Scheuer, the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, and Dorothee Bär, the Minister of State for Digitalisation, to highlight the tremendous social and economic potential of games. Whether it was at the political opening of gamescom or the Debatt(l)e Royale panel talk, in the run-up to the 2021 German parliamentary elections, policymakers once again made it clear that digital and games policy would be a high priority for the upcoming legislative period. Further improvements in the conditions for Germany as a games location were promised, including the simplification of support systems for the games industry, the deployment of serious games, and efforts to attract specialist personnel. gamescom once again demonstrated its position as one of the most important events bringing policymakers and the gaming industry together.

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