Computer games are trendy: Gamescom heads for exhibitor record too

Whether fantasy worlds, space adventures or action games: According to their organizers, this year’s Computer Game Messe Gamescom will present themselves as many exhibitors than ever. Eleven percent are currently registering more exhibitors than a year ago, as the Koelnmess said. Until the start of the industry meeting for computer and video games on August 20, more will be added.

Tim Endres from the Cologne Messe was convinced that the maximum value of 1,462 exhibitors from last year will be exceeded. “We are heading for the greatest gamescom of all time,” said the Gamescom director. The exhibitors include the Games companies Tencent, Ubisoft, Bethesda and Xbox. The shooter game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7” from the US company Activision is presented for the first time.

Streaming providers at the fair, which have become known with films and series and now want to bind their customers with games, are also becoming increasingly apparent. Netflix, Disney+ and for the first time Paramount+ are represented with stands at gamescom.

The Messemanager Endres also sees the online range on record course and justified this with a larger offer and with cooperations with creative workers, for example in New Zealand, which will increase the interest on the Internet in such markets. In 2024, Gamescom had 540 million video calls worldwide.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected

Endres did not make a forecast for the on-site number of visitors, but he said that the rush to the online ticket shop was already very high. As usual, the ticket quota is limited. In the past, the world’s largest computer game and video ticket fair had always occurred. In 2024, Gamescom recorded 335,000 visitors on five days of the fair.

The gaming fans can try out new games, watch shows or find out more at stands. Among them should also be many so -called cosplayers who make fun of it, appear in costumes of their favorite figures from Games and thus give the mass event creative splashes of color.

The guiding theme of the fair this year is “Games – perfect entertainment”. “We immerse yourself in breathtaking stories, design fantastic worlds and enjoy them together with a community around the world,” said the managing director of the Game Association, Felix Falk. The Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär (CSU) and NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst, which is responsible for Games, is expected to open gamescom.