Encyclopedia
Gamescom
Video game trade fair
Gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. Gamescom is the world's largest gaming event, with 370,000 visitors and 1,037 exhibitors from 56 countries attending the event in 2018. The event is used by many video game developers to exhibit upcoming games and game-related hardware. The "gamescom - Opening Night Live" (ONL) show takes place every year on the evening before the opening. The show presents the latest trailers and announcements from the international games industry and is hosted by Geoff Keighley.
Alongside the public areas, there is also a closed area for professional visitors, such as publishers, journalists and developers.
Shortly before Gamescom, the associated conference Devcom takes place at the same area and is specifically for the game development sector.
01History
The Federal Association of Interactive Entertainment Software had previously hosted the Games Convention in Leipzig from 2002 to 2008, which was briefly the largest games trade show in the world. However, Leipzig was becoming unsuitable for such a large event owing to limited transport links and hotel accommodation. The BIU and Koelnmesse announced a new event circuit in 2008, to be held in Cologne beginning in 2009. The Leipzig Trade Fair opposed the move and intended to continue Games Convention without the BIU, which led to a five-month "standoff" between the two groups. As Leipzig did not allow the Cologne event to be called "Games Convention", the BIU instead adopted "GamesCom". The two events were due to take part on the same weekend, and were each competing to be seen as the "authoritative" German trade fair for the industry. In the end, after a deal between Gamescom and GDC, Leipzig announced that Games Convention would be cancelled, and replaced by an online only event that focused on mobile and casual gaming. Gamescom was first held in August 2009, and was extremely successful, while Games Convention Online was discontinued after 2010.
The BIU continued to support and administer the event until 2018, when it merged with the industry body GAME. Their successor organisation the game, The German Games Industry Association has continued in the same role. Geoff Keighley began hosting Opening Night Live from 2019, a streamed event at the beginning of the show. Opening Night Live has served as a platform for many trailer launches and game announcements.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the discontinuation of E3, Gamescom has been the largest event of its kind. Gamescom Latam, first held in Brazil in 2024, is also the largest event in the Americas.
02Areas
The following exhibition areas are located on the site:
| • entertainment area |
| • event arena |
| • merchandise area |
| • indie area |
| • cosplay village |
| • retro & family area |
| • artist area |
| • cards & boards area |
| • signing area |
| • campus area |
| • business area |
03Events
2009
Gamescom 2009 was held 19-23 August. 245,000 people attended that year's visit.
Exhibitors
| 2009 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
|
|
Notable press conferences
Wednesday, 18 August:
Thursday, 19 August:
Notable announcements
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced the PlayStation 3 Slim, a smaller and lighter model of the console and a release date of 1 September 2009. Firmware 3.0 for the PlayStation 3 was also announced, adding new features to the PlayStation Network. Sony announced that the European Video Store would launch in November 2009. Sony also announced that the PlayStation Portable would get smaller games (under 100mb) in the form of 'minis' and that comics would also be available to download in December 2009. A "free game" registration promotion was announced for the PSP Go.
Microsoft Game Studios announced Fable III, along with a release date of 2010. Also, Microsoft announced their intention to release Fable II on the Xbox Live Marketplace in five episodes, the first of which would be free to download.
Media coverage
While most press conferences were not available for live streaming, Electronic Arts streamed its press conference on EA.com. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe also showcased its press conference on its online community-based service PlayStation Home shortly afterwards. Sony also made its press conference available for download on the PlayStation Store. Various gaming websites offered live-blogging of the respective press conferences.
2010
Gamescom 2010 was held 18-22 August. 254,000 people attended that year's visit.
Exhibitors
| 2010 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
|
Neowiz
RedSpotGames
|
Notable announcements
The two main announcements this Gamescom came from Insomniac Games, who announced two sequels from two of their franchises: Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, by revealing some gameplay from the game, and Resistance 3, via a live action teaser trailer. These games will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3. All 4 One has a set release date as late 2011, while Resistance 3 did not have a release date.
2011
Gamescom 2011 was held 17-21 August. 275,000 people attended that year's visit.
Exhibitors
| 2011 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
Frogster
|
|
Notable events
- The first Dota 2 International championship took place. The tournament had the biggest prize pool of any e-sports tournament at the time.
2012
Gamescom 2012 was held 15-19 August. 275,000 people attended that year's visit.
Exhibitors
| 2012 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
|
RedSpotGames
|
2013
Gamescom 2013 was held 21-25 August. 340,000 people attended that year's visit.
Exhibitors
| 2013 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
Abrakam
Amplitude Studios
KING Art
|
|
Notable events
- The World Championship Series 2013 Season 2 Global Finals, a StarCraft II tournament with a $150,000 prizepool, were held during the event.
- Three League of Legends Tournaments were held during the event:
- International Wildcard Tournament
- Season 4 Spring Promotion Qualifier
- European LCS Playoffs
2014
Gamescom 2014 was held 13-17 August. 335,000 people attended that year's visit.
Notable events
- The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major ESL One Cologne 2014 was held at Gamescom
Exhibitors
| 2014 exhibitors | ||
|---|---|---|
Asteroid Base
Blowfish
Chainsawesome Games
Deco Digital
Excamedia
|
Gateway Interactive
Grey Box
Grimm Bros
Ironward
Mastertonic
Ndemic Creations
Nevernaut Games
Other Ocean Interactive
Phoenix Online Studios
|
SeithCG
TinyBuild
Witchbeam
|
2015
Gamescom 2015 was held 5-9 August. 345,000 people attended that year's visit.
Exhibitors
| 2015 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
Studio Wildcard
Abbey Games
EuroVideo Medien
Grey Box
|
KING Art
Motiga
Teotl Studios
|
2016
Gamescom 2016 was held 17-21 August. 345,000 people attended that year's visit.
Exhibitors
| 2016 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
|
Nintendo
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
|
2017
Gamescom 2017 was held 22-26 August. 355,000 people attended that year's visit.
Notable events
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the event, which marked the first time in history that a Gamescom was opened by a sitting Chancellor.
- BMW and Electronic Arts unveiled the newest generation BMW M5 to promote the launch of Need for Speed Payback.
Exhibitors
| 2017 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
|
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
|
2018
Gamescom 2018 was held 21-25 August. 370,000 people attended that year's visit.
Notable events
- Nvidia announced the GeForce RTX 20 Series at the Palladium Cologne on 20 August 2018.
Exhibitors
| 2018 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
Buka Entertainment
|
|
2019
Gamescom 2019 was held 20-24 August. Geoff Keighley has announced that he will help launch a dedicated video game announcement show prior to Gamescom, called "Gamescom: Opening Night Live". Inspired by the response to The Game Awards presentation that includes several new game announcements, Keighley wanted to do the same for Gamescom. The event was streamed on 19 August at 8:00pm (CEST).
Exhibitors
| 2019 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
2x2 Games
All In! Games
Dear Villagers
Fabraz
Forever Entertainment
Frecle
Gwen Frey
Intrepid Studios
Kasedo Games
Lionbite Games
|
Rockfish Games
Surgical Scalpels
Triband
V1 Interactive
|
2020
Gamescom 2020 was scheduled to be held from 25 to 29 August in Cologne. However, Germany announced that following lifting of lockdowns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, all public events through August 2020 were banned. Gamescom organizers announced they would move some portions of the planned show online. Organizers confirmed plans for the online Opening Night Live to start on 27 August, with each following day through 30 August featuring a schedule of online developer interviews and events and a wrap-up show.
Exhibitors
| 2020 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
| |
2021
Gamescom 2021 was held 25-27 August 2021. The event was preceded by Opening Night Live with Geoff Keighley on 25 August. Gamescom 2021 was a hybrid exhibition experience with online and live events.
Exhibitors
| 2021 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
2022
Gamescom 2022 was held 24-28 August 2022. The event was both in-person and online. 265,000 people attended that year's visit.
Exhibitors
| 2022 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
Assemble Entertainment
Build a Rocket Boy
Embark Studios
Everstone Studios
Lucid Dreams Studio
Neowiz
Something Wicked Games
| |
2023
Gamescom 2023 was held 23-27 August 2023. 320,000 people attended that year's visit. The opening night received media attention after one attendee rushed on the stage and interrupting presenter of the show Geoff Keighley, saying that "Bill Clinton wants to play GTA VI". The incident occurred 8 months after a similar incident at The Game Awards 2022, in which Keighley also hosted. The same attendee also interrupted several live shows in Germany, asking about the game.
Exhibitors
| 2023 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
Dear Villagers
Frost Giant Games
Game Science
HoYoverse
Inflexion Games
Lost Native
Neowiz Games
Nuverse Panic Inc.
People Can Fly
Wired Productions
| |
2024
Gamescom 2024 was held 21-25 August 2024. The event attracted more than 335,000 visitors and 1,400 exhibitors on that year.
Exhibitors
| 2024 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
Amazing Seasun Games
Papergames
| |
2025
Gamescom 2025 was held 20-24 August 2025. The event attracted more than 357,000 visitors and 1,500 exhibitors that year.
Exhibitors
| 2025 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
|
Team Cherry
| |
2026
Gamescom 2026 was held 26-30 August under the slogan "Games whet the appetite for the future". It was expected to attract over 350,000 visitors and set a new exhibitor record. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the first German president to visit Gamescom, while EU Vice-President Henna Virkkunen attended to discuss the EU's games strategy. Germany's games market generated €9.4 billion in 2025, making it Europe's largest and the world's fifth-largest. In the first half of 2026, revenue fell 3% to €4.2 billion, partly due to declining hardware sales and rising component costs. During the last days of the event, laptops belonging to indie developers were stolen.
Exhibitors
| 2026 exhibitors | |
|---|---|
04Game Developers Conference Europe
From 2009 to 2016, the Game Developers Conference Europe (GDC Europe), a European spinoff of the Game Developers Conference, has been held in conjunction with the Gamescom. The Conference took place at the Cologne Congress Centre East.
05Offshoots
An offshoot of the trade fair has been established for the Asian region in 2021 under the name Gamescom Asia and takes place in Singapore. In 2025 Gamescom Asia joins forces with Thailand Game Show and takes place in Bangkok. In 2023, Koelnmesse closed an agreement with BIG Festival and Omelete Company for a new offshoot under the name Gamescom Latam, which takes place in Brazil.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Gamescom”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Gamescom 2012.jpg by Tim Bartel, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Gamescom 2009 - Electronic Arts (5087).jpg by Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bestofgamescom2010.JPG by CHR!S, CC BY-SA 3.0
- GamesCom 2011 (6055997148).jpg by Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Gamers at Gamescom 2013 (9591140964).jpg by Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Gamescom 2014 (14750565329).jpg by Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Gamescom 2017 (35948271804).jpg by Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- ESL stage Gamescom 2019 (48605708741).jpg by dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
- Saints Row exhibition stand at Gamescom 2022 in Cologne, Germany (52760300728).jpg by dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
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