According to the organizers, the computer games fair Gamescom attracted 265,000 visitors from over 100 countries to the Cologne exhibition halls, 25,000 of them trade visitors. 130 million people are said to have followed the digital accompanying program, 12 million of them alone the opening show last Tuesday evening.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gamescom last took place in August 2019 as a face-to-face event. At the time, the organizer, the industry association game, counted 373,000 visitors. While there were 1150 exhibitors three years ago, this time 1100 showed their achievements. At 75 percent, the proportion of exhibitors from abroad was higher than ever, Gamescom announced.
Impressions from the halls of Gamescom 2022 (49 pictures)
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Gamescom had taken place exclusively via the Internet. That means there were no allusions, there was no party atmosphere, and the live streams reported technical problems. Trade fair visitors from the voonze editorial team described Gamescom as “like before, only smaller”.
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“Exceeded Expectations”
Felix Falk, Managing Director of the Association of the German Games Industry game, said on the other hand that Gamescom 2022 had exceeded his expectations. The event showed that the trade fair is well positioned for a “hybrid future”, especially since the digital offer has been expanded.
Gamescom is also important for Koelnmesse, which, after the dry years of the pandemic, is counting on the trade fair industry to get going again with the help of such events. Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse, is particularly pleased that so many visitors and exhibitors came to Cologne from abroad. “All in all, this is a clear signal from Cologne to the whole world that Germany is back as a trade fair location.”
Gamescom is also scheduled to take place in Cologne next year. It is scheduled for August 23rd to 27th, like this year the “Opening Night” should take place the day before.
(app)
