Gamescom 2024 will kick off subsequent week in Cologne, Germany, with greater than 1,400 exhibitors, a brand new report at 15% greater than a 12 months 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 improve considerably to 48 from 37 international locations – additionally a brand new report. This compares with 33 pavilions from 26 international locations in 2023.
Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse (the enormous expo place the place the occasion is held), mentioned in a press release,: “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 Trade Affiliation, mentioned in a press release, “The omens might hardly be higher just some days earlier than the beginning of gamescom 2024: Whether or not it’s the report variety of exhibitors, the thrilling gamescom Opening Night time Reside program or new codecs just like the social stage, it’s clear that the group can count on a video games competition like no different this 12 months. The anticipation for the world’s largest gaming occasion is large – each on website in Cologne and digitally all over the world.
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Dean at Devcom
The Devcom sport developer occasion ought to draw a couple of thousand folks to Cologne forward of Gamescom, in a B2B occasion that may happen from August 18 to August 20. I’ll reasonable 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 sport may be impressed by one other IP (both visually or mechanically) earlier than it turns into a (authorized) concern.
Whereas “Palworld” is an apparent present instance of such controversies, there are different historic examples which may 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, accomplice at Rymarz Zdort Maruta; and Andrea Dufaure, accomplice at A&O Shearman.
The session can 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 reasonable a panel on sport investments with audio system that embrace David Reitman of PwC, Shanti Bergel of Transcend Fund and Michael Metzger of Drake Star Companions. (We could be including yet one more). It’ll happen at 11:30 a.m. CET to 12:30 p.m. on Stage 14 throughout the Devcom occasion.
Highlights on the social stage
From Thursday to Sunday, the brand new social stage in Corridor 11.3 will supply a world program and an additional dose of competition feeling at gamescom. Guests can sit up for stay podcasts, karaoke, music acts and far more.
Highlights embrace the worldwide stay podcast “Friends per Second” with Ralph from SkillUp, Jake from Gameranx and Lucy from Gamespot/Big Bomb, sport soundtracks on the piano with the gifted 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 Night time Reside (ONL), hosted by Geoff Keighley on the night of August 20 (11 a.m. Pacific time).
This 12 months’s co-host is well-known e-sports presenter Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere. The present is among the largest within the gaming business worldwide and final 12 months generated over 20 million views within the first few days alone.
Quite a lot of firms have already introduced that they are going to be presenting information about their video games this 12 months. These embrace the next titles: 2K (Sid Meier’s Civilization VII), Activision (Name of Obligation: Black Ops 6), Capcom (Monster Hunter Wilds), Don’t Nod (Misplaced Information: Bloom & Rage), Funcom (Dune: Awakening), NetEase (Marvel Rivals), and Plaion (Kingdom Come: Deliverance II).
A number of different firms and titles can be introduced previous to gamescom Opening Night time Reside. As all the time, there can be loads of surprises on the present. On-site capability has greater than doubled this 12 months. Tickets are nonetheless accessible on the gamescom on-line Ticket Store.
The Gamescom make investments circle can even happen on August 22. Buyers will meet up-and-coming sport studios. With the help of KölnBusiness and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Local weather Safety, 45 studios have 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 12 months, the occasion will go into its second spherical in 2025 and can supply 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 rejoice the variety of gaming tradition in all its sides along with the group. Advance ticket gross sales will start subsequent week throughout Gamescom.
German sport business dips 6%
Lastly, Recreation report that within the first half of 2024, after a number of years of sturdy 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 12 months.
The sources of this information are the market analysis agency Client Panel Companies 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 laptop and video video games additionally fell, by 4%.
One cause for this was the significantly smaller variety of prime sport 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 12 months. In distinction, on-line gaming providers made a big leap, with income from community, cloud and subscription providers rising by 25 per cent over final 12 months’s degree, to 516 million euros.
