04 gamescom and devcom Bigger, more international and more diverse than ever before – that was gamescom 2023. Hundreds of thousands of games fans on-site in Cologne were joined by millions online from all continents to celebrate games culture at the world’s largest games event. For the first time, gamescom was opened by Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck. gamescom 2023 additionally enjoyed the highest proportion of international exhibitors and trade visitors in the event’s history, along with the strong presence of global games industry heavyweights. All of this once again underlined gamescom’s increased international importance. More than 330 million views in online formats, including more than 70 million on gamescom’s own channels With around 320,000 visitors from over 110 countries at the Cologne exhibition grounds, gamescom 2023 was the highlight of the year for scores of video game enthusiasts. The event drew more than 1,200 exhibitors – a new record – who delighted visitors with exciting games, innovations and technologies from the game sector. The largest gamescom indie area to date, with its diverse range of game titles from many indie studios, again proved to be one of the most popular attractions. Once more, in its unique festival spirit, gamescom offered a broad entertainment programme – from exciting community meet-ups and a mobile esports tournament in the event arena to the gamescom city festival in central Cologne. All who joined in online could view numerous entertaining shows and formats, such as live streams from gamescom’s partners or the gamescom studio. The interactive online quest ‘gamescom epix’ also invited visitors to take part, drawing a great deal of interest with more than 120,000 players. One of the absolute highlights was the event’s grand kick-off, gamescom Opening Night Live, in which the community enjoyed not only exciting game trailers, but also live appearances by world-famous game developers like Todd Howard and Sam Lake, as well as actors behind the voices of popular game characters, such as Troy Baker. With its online formats, gamescom once again expanded its international reach, setting another record with more than 330 million digital hits worldwide, including 20 million for the opening show. The international appeal of the world’s largest games event was yet further underlined by the guiding theme of gamescom 2023: ‘World class games’. After all, games are the cultural medium that inspires people globally, across all borders, and innovations in this sector have a decisive influence on all other fields. This was reflected in gamescom’s enormous diversity. Cosplay, anime, manga and esports, as well as streaming services such as Disney+ and Netflix and world-famous brands like LEGO and MINI – which have long recognised the world-class stature of games and their community – were all represented. With its online formats, gamescom once again expanded its international reach and celebrated another record. Another great success was the gamescom business area. Here, 31,000 trade visitors, half of them from abroad, met in the exhibition halls to make new contacts and present their projects and products. This figure marked a roughly 25 per cent increase in trade visitors over the previous year. More than two thirds of them additionally used the digital matchmaking platform gamescom biz, which not only extends the networking experience beyond gamescom, but also connects the communities of the devcom Developer Conference and the gamescom business area. gamescom also led the way in terms of social responsibility, with more topical examples and a broader range of offerings than ever. The sustainability initiative gamescom goes green, for instance, was expanded in 2023 to encompass further environmental protection measures, including in particular the gamescom forest and new activities in the areas of energy and stand construction. The gamescom cares platform, which brings together the exhibiting companies’ efforts in spheres like diversity, education and health, created visibility for a number of initiatives in 2023. These included ‘Antura and the Letters’, a language-learning game for refugee children; Gaming Aid, a non-profit association that helps people in need; Gaming without Borders, a project for more accessibility in games; DKMS, the organisation for stem cell donations; and gamescom and devcom’s joint campaign to support Ukrainian game developers. The leading conference on the economic, cultural and social potential of games in Europe, gamescom congress, was a repeat success. More than 100 experts from Germany and abroad presented 50 programme items on how games help to drive innovation and develop potential in a wide variety of areas. Around 800 guests followed the exciting talks and presentations on-site in Cologne, and more than 170,000 users watched the live stream online. The political highlight to close the day of the congress was the Debatt(l)e Royale, in which Berlin’s senator for economic affairs, Franziska Giffey (SPD), the media minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Nathanael Liminski (CDU), the political managing director of BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN, Emily Büning, and the secretary general of the FDP, Bijan Djir-Sarai, took stances on the most important topics concerning games and digital policy. Video game players were able to watch exciting game premieres, Let’s Plays and interviews and immerse themselves in the international gaming world throughout all gamescom days. Around 270 other politicians additionally took advantage of gamescom 2023 to exchange ideas with professionals from the games industry and gain an overview of trends and current developments. gamescom was opened by Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck, North Rhine-Westphalia’s minister president, Hendrik Wüst, and Henriette Reker, mayor of Cologne. From the official opening to the Debatt(l)e Royale and the numerous tours by politicians, gamescom was marked by a broad consensus on the immense importance of the game sector as an economic factor, cultural asset and driver of innovation. Accordingly, a frequently stated goal was a further increase in the strength and competitiveness of Germany as a location for game development. gamescom thus also sent a clear political signal and once again confirmed its status as one of the most important platforms for exchange between the games industry and policymakers. Further information is available on www.gamescom.global The devcom Developer Conference is the official event for games industry experts during gamescom and Europe’s largest industry conference for game developers. With a 28 per cent increase in participants, devcom set a new attendance record last year. In 2023, 3,400 industry experts took part in the conference on-site in Cologne. Participant numbers for the new partner events brought total attendance to over 5,900. A closer look at the participants reveals another success: experts in senior positions now account for around 80 per cent of visitors, an increase of 14 per cent. In 160 sessions on 13 stages, more than 250 speakers presented a wide range of informative analyses on current topics like artificial intelligence in game development, mental health, leadership, corporate culture and brand building. devcom offers a unique opportunity for profession-als to discuss the latest trends, innovations and business opportunities in the games industry. devcom offers a unique forum for professionals to discuss the latest trends, innovations and business opportunities in the games industry. Beyond the numerous talks and workshops, the programme also offered such exciting exchange formats as the Networking Dinner and networking parties, the FLINTA* Meetup and the devcom Pitch it! with a revised concept, along with Game Night with tabletop games, held in cooperation with partners, and a game showcase. Its wide variety of topics and formats as well as its focus on networking make devcom the perfect start to the gamescom week. Further information is available on www.devcom.global Interview The satellite strategy of gamescom With two satellite events overseas, gamescom is now reaching an even larger part of the games world. gamescom asia has been held annually in Singapore since 2021, and the first edition of gamescom latam kicked off in São Paulo, Brazil, on 26 June 2024. In addition to these two gatherings, the world’s largest games event also held its first big LAN party, gamescom LAN, in Cologne in March, which was attended by numerous players and creators. In this interview, Stefan Heikhaus, Director of gamescom & Events at game, explains what drives gamescom’s satellite strategy. The satellite events further strengthen the global appeal of gamescom additionally. Since its premiere in 2009, gamescom in Cologne has developed into the world’s largest games event. So why do we need events in Singapore and São Paulo under the gamescom brand? We firmly believe that the games industry needs events like gamescom that bring the entire games ecosystem together in one place – the community, game developers, publishers, investors, creators and esports organisers. Given that gamescom is the world’s largest games event, we already reach a large global community – not least via the established digital formats. But even the most thrilling digital content can’t compare with the unique festival atmosphere and the emotional intensity of the on-site event. We want to bring this singular experience to an even larger community and expand the great gamescom concept to other exciting game locations. So, as the brand owner, we’re working with Koelnmesse and our local partners to establish the satellite formats gamescom asia and, as of this year, gamescom latam. This further strengthens gamescom’s global appeal. Can the gamescom concept simply be transferred to other locations and markets? gamescom can’t just be copied in other cities the way it’s done in Cologne. Games culture and the local communities in the different corners of the world are incredibly diverse – and so are the needs of game companies and video game players in the individual regions, whether it be in Southeast Asia or South America. This places high demands on us, which we’re able to meet thanks in large part to the good cooperation we enjoy with local event partners and industry experts. This collaboration is essential to helping the games industry to open up these two emergent regions and their vibrant communities. And on the other hand, this framework also helps local game developers to participate more effectively in the global industry and present their games to a wider audience, including potential partners. At the same time, the gamescom satellites pose new opportunities for German game companies as well, who can introduce themselves and their games more easily than before to two of the world’s most dynamically developing regions. The gamescom satellites also open up additional opportunities for German games companies. How does the new gamescom LAN format fit into the satellite strategy? More than any other event, gamescom embodies the passion of the entire games community. That’s why gamescom LAN, with its strong focus on the video game players, is a perfect fit with the gamescom brand. Ultimately, this is what gamescom and all its satellite and content formats are about – celebrating the great games culture together, across all borders. Stefan Heikhaus Stefan Heikhaus is Head of gamescom & Events at game and is primarily responsible for the further development of gamescom and its satellite and content formats such as gamescom asia, gamescom latam and gamescom LAN.
