Gamescom 2024 will kick off subsequent week in Cologne, Germany, with greater than 1,400 exhibitors, a brand new file at 15% greater than a yr in the past.
The exhibitors from 64 international locations will current their merchandise and improvements on 230,000 sq. meters. The variety of nation pavilions can even enhance considerably to 48 from 37 international locations – additionally a brand new file. This compares with 33 pavilions from 26 international locations in 2023.
Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse (the large expo place the place the occasion is held), stated in an announcement,: “The world’s largest gaming event continues to grow. We are delighted to be able to announce these outstanding figures just one week before gamescom kicks off. Together with our partners and co-organizer game – The German Games Industry Association, we are also implementing great innovations that contribute to the diversity and attractiveness of Gamescom.”
Felix Falk, managing director of Recreation – The German Video games Business Affiliation, stated in an announcement, “The omens may hardly be higher just some days earlier than the beginning of gamescom 2024: Whether or not it’s the file variety of exhibitors, the thrilling gamescom Opening Evening Reside program or new codecs just like the social stage, it’s clear that the neighborhood can count on a video games competition like no different this yr. The anticipation for the world’s greatest gaming occasion is big – each on web site in Cologne and digitally world wide.
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Dean at Devcom
The Devcom recreation developer occasion ought to draw a number of thousand folks to Cologne forward of Gamescom, in a B2B occasion that may happen from August 18 to August 20. I’ll average a session at Devcom within the new Confex space of Koelnmesse on “Intellectual property and the limits of inspiration.”
On this panel, we speak about how a lot a recreation might be impressed by one other IP (both visually or mechanically) earlier than it turns into a (authorized) challenge.
Whereas “Palworld” is an apparent present instance of such controversies, there are different historic examples which will also be referred to. We’ll talk about problems with mental property, its infringement, the usage of AI, and the overlap between problems with regulation and ethics.
The audio system embrace Pieter Koornhof, COO of 24 Bit Video games; Nav Sunner, CEO of Navatron; Michal Pekala, associate at Rymarz Zdort Maruta; and Andrea Dufaure, associate at A&O Shearman.
The session shall be at 1:30 p.m. CET to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Stage 14 at Devcom inside Koelnmesse.
I’m additionally going to average a panel on recreation investments with audio system that embrace David Reitman of PwC, Shanti Bergel of Transcend Fund and Michael Metzger of Drake Star Companions. (We is likely to be including yet one more). It should happen at 11:30 a.m. CET to 12:30 p.m. on Stage 14 inside the Devcom occasion.
Highlights on the social stage
From Thursday to Sunday, the brand new social stage in Corridor 11.3 will provide a world program and an additional dose of competition feeling at gamescom. Guests can sit up for stay podcasts, karaoke, music acts and rather more.
Highlights embrace the worldwide stay podcast “Friends per Second” with Ralph from SkillUp, Jake from Gameranx and Lucy from Gamespot/Large Bomb, recreation soundtracks on the piano with the proficient Benyamin Nuss and a stay pen-and-paper journey with Alex from the Cube Actors and mates. GamesBeat’s Mike Minotti, managing editor, will make his Gamescom debut as properly.
The gamescom week historically begins with the large opening present gamescom Opening Evening Reside (ONL), hosted by Geoff Keighley on the night of August 20 (11 a.m. Pacific time).
This yr’s co-host is well-known e-sports presenter Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere. The present is likely one of the greatest within the gaming trade worldwide and final yr generated over 20 million views within the first few days alone.
Quite a lot of corporations have already introduced that they are going to be presenting information about their video games this yr. These embrace the next titles: 2K (Sid Meier’s Civilization VII), Activision (Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 6), Capcom (Monster Hunter Wilds), Don’t Nod (Misplaced Data: Bloom & Rage), Funcom (Dune: Awakening), NetEase (Marvel Rivals), and Plaion (Kingdom Come: Deliverance II).
A number of different corporations and titles shall be introduced previous to gamescom Opening Evening Reside. As at all times, there shall be loads of surprises on the present. On-site capability has greater than doubled this yr. Tickets are nonetheless obtainable on the gamescom on-line Ticket Store.
The Gamescom make investments circle can even happen on August 22. Traders will meet up-and-coming recreation studios. With the assist of KölnBusiness and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Local weather Safety, 45 studios had been ready for the pitch competitors with intensive coaching classes.
After the profitable premiere of the gamescom LAN on the Koelnmesse fairgrounds in March of this yr, the occasion will go into its second spherical in 2025 and can provide followers much more thrilling components for an unforgettable expertise. Gamescom LAN 2025 will as soon as once more happen in Cologne from February 21 to 23 and can have a good time the variety of gaming tradition in all its aspects along with the neighborhood. Advance ticket gross sales will start subsequent week throughout Gamescom.
German recreation trade dips 6%
Lastly, Recreation report that within the first half of 2024, after a number of years of robust development, the German video games market slipped into the crimson for the primary time in a protracted interval.
From the start of January to the tip of June, video games, video games {hardware} and on-line gaming providers generated gross sales income of round 4.3 billion euros in Germany – a drop of 6% in comparison with the identical interval final yr.
The sources of this information are the market analysis agency Shopper Panel Providers GfK and information.ai (a sensor tower firm). The sharpest drop in income, at 18%, got here within the space of video games {hardware}. Income from pc and video video games additionally fell, by 4%.
One motive for this was the significantly smaller variety of high recreation releases within the first six months of 2024 in comparison with the unusually excessive variety of top-rated blockbuster video games revealed within the first half of final yr. In distinction, on-line gaming providers made a major leap, with income from community, cloud and subscription providers rising by 25 per cent over final yr’s degree, to 516 million euros.
