It’s supposed to be a “festival of games”: The games fair Gamescom has started in Cologne. In the German games industry there is a “start-up spirit”, says the responsible association – and calls for permanent support from politicians.

After two editions without an audience, the video game fair Gamescom started again with visitors on Wednesday in Cologne. The “Opening Night Live” gave the go-ahead the night before.

The two-hour show announced details of upcoming titles, including Dead Island 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Return to Monkey Island, Sonic Frontiers and Killer Klowns From Outer Space.

As usual, the first day of the fair was reserved for trade visitors. Gamescom is then open to everyone from Thursday to Sunday. According to the organizers, Saturday is already sold out. Koelnmesse and the Game Association had not communicated an expected number of visitors in advance. However, the ticket contingent should be smaller than in the years before the pandemic, when up to 370,000 people attended Gamescom.

1100 exhibitors from 53 countries

The range of exhibitors is also reduced: Industry giants such as Electronic Arts, Sony, Nintendo and Activision Blizzard, some of which filled entire halls, have canceled their participation. A total of around 1100 exhibitors from 53 countries were announced.

The Game industry association, which is responsible for computer and video games, is now calling for Germany to be given long-term political support as a location for games. In 2020, the then Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) announced initial funding for the industry of 50 million euros at Gamescom.

The first positive effects of this funding are already visible, said Game Managing Director Felix Falk of the German Press Agency – even though most of the funded games have not yet been published due to the usually long development time. “But we have a strong advantage when it comes to founding companies and recruiting skilled workers, a real entrepreneurial spirit.”

The federal government’s coalition agreement provides for a continuation of games funding. In the government’s draft budget for 2023, which the cabinet approved at the beginning of July, the funding amount has fallen slightly, from 50 million to 48.8 million euros. That sends the wrong signal out into the world, said Falk. “We are in international competition, and international companies naturally take notice of this, along the lines of, ‘Ah, the Germans aren’t that serious about competitiveness after all.'”

Gamescom