Gamescom 2020 will not be held at the traditional Cologne fairgrounds due to the COVID pandemic, but will instead take place entirely online.
The German government announced yesterday that there would be a nationwide ban on major events until August 31st to halt the spread of the virus. Because of that, Gamescom has decided to reevaluate their proceedings, and will be dramatically expanding the scope and breadth of their digital presentations. “As the organizer, this decision is as painful for us as for the half million gamescom fans who come to Cologne every year to celebrate games together,” stated Oliver Frese, Managing Director of Koelnmesse GmbH, in a press release. “However, we are looking forward to the digital gamescom 2020.”
In addition to established presentation formats such as Gamescom: Opening Night Live and Gamescom Now, event organizers are currently working on expanding said offerings and introducing new modules for public use. In light of all the changes, the Devcom developer conference will also be held exclusively in digital form.
“Even though we unfortunately will not be able to come together with the games community and industry on site in Cologne this year, we’ll still celebrate the latest games with each other digitally at the end of August,” said Felix Falk, Managing Director of “game”, the association of the German games industry. “That is why we are working at full speed together with our partners on the further development of gamescom: Opening Night Live and gamescom now, and will be presenting new and exciting digital formats. Our goal is clear: this year, gamescom will once again be ‘The Heart of Gaming’ for millions of fans throughout the world.”
The first concrete information regarding digital Gamescom 2020 will be announced in mid-May. Organizers will ensure that visitors will receive a refund for already paid tickets and exhibitors will be reimbursed in full for payments made to Koelnmesse. Further information on the handling of ticket and booking refunds will be made available in the coming weeks. CGMagazine will keep you updated with the latest on Gamescom’s plans.
