The game industry has had a hard time with layoffs in 2026, but the giant Gamescom exhibition show appears to be going strong as it debuts next week.
More than 1,600 exhibitors from 67 countries are attending the event, which kicks off with Gamescom Dev for developers on August 23 and continues through the main event from August 26 to August 29.
The event spans more than 233,000 square meters of gross exhibition space, or about 33 soccer pitches. And all of the exhibition space is booked. About 70% of the exhibitors are from abroad, said Tim Endres, director of Gamescom, in an interview with GamesBeat. I spoke with Endres along with Felix Falk, managing director of the German Games Industry Association (Game) and co-organizer of Gamescom.
Last year, the event drew 357,000 people from around the world, up from 335,000 the year before. And this year, tickets are already sold out for Saturday, usually the biggest day of the event. There are 420 companies, up from 364 last year.
There are 47 country pavilions representing 40 countries, more than 40 pavilions and 35 countries a year ago. New country pavilions from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Morocco and Nigeria further strengthen the event’s international presence. Once again, Gamescom highlights its importance as the central platform for the global games industry and community.
“With Gamescom 2026 just days away, the outlook couldn’t be better,” Falk said. “Even more exhibitors from 67 countries, a new record number of country pavilions, a sold-out show floor and the biggest indie area to date – this year’s games highlight promises to be an unforgettable week that captures the incredible diversity of games culture. What’s more, the event will also feature political firsts, including a visit from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. We in the games industry, together with the community, are looking forward to a truly exceptional games festival – on-site in Germany and via livestream to fans around the world.”
Gerald Böse, president and CEO of Koelnmesse, said in a statement, “In 2026, Gamescom is proving its economic significance once again – not just for Germany as a games location, but also for Europe and the entire global industry. The strong demand reflects the vital role that Gamescom plays for companies, institutions and the worldwide community. We’re looking forward to a week packed with networking, business talks, premieres, a varied program and the community energy that makes Gamescom unique all over the world.”
Gamescom indie area gets bigger
The diversity of Gamescom 2026 can be seen across many areas of the event, including the Gamescom indie area. With hundreds of games and more than 420 companies, the indie area is up 16% from last year, reaching a new all-time high. In 2026, the indie area will once again become a central hub for creative ideas, new perspectives and games created outside large-scale production environments. It shows just how much small teams shape international games culture and how vital Gamescom is as a platform for that diversity. That is why one of the trends at this year’s Gamescom is “Small teams, big successes.”
Gamescom online and in Cologne
A host of livestreams also bring the Gamescom week’s headline shows and formats to fans online – including the spectacular Gamescom Opening Night Live, the Gamescom awesome indies show featuring loads of game presentations, the charity speedrunning event Gamescom GDQ, and Gamescom studio with a packed lineup straight from the event floor. Gamescom epix returns for Gamescom 2026 – something extra for the community, both online and on-site.
This year, the interactive adventure propels fans into the depths of outer space. Players complete quests, unlock trading cards and earn rewards. For the first time, 19 of the 67 card designs will also be available as physical cards for all gamescom visitors.
Plus, on August 29 and 30, the Gamescom city festival featuring highlights such as Thees Uhlmann & Band and The Notwist extends Gamescom week into the heart of Cologne, creating further touchpoints between games, culture and the community.
Business opportunities at Gamescom 2026
Alongside the fan experience, gamescom is also strengthening its role as a central hub for the international games industry.
Leading the way on August 24 and 25 is Gamescom Dev, the event’s official developer conference. Highlights include keynotes by Amir Satvat, business development director at Tencent Games and game jobs champion; and Anthony Gallegos, creative director at Subnautica 2.
For the first time, the conference will include dedicated tracks focusing on animation, level design, AI in gameplay and AI in production. In total, the program features over 380 speakers in 230 sessions across 18 stages.
On August 27, the Gamescom Congress follows. The world’s leading conference on the potential of games in a digitalized world brings together representatives from business, politics, science, education, media, game development and society.
In a first, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will open the Gamescom Congress. The program will focus on key themes including “Playing field democracy,” highlighting how games can help people live together as a society, and “The Games Effect” on the positive impact of games across many areas of life and the economy.
Also taking place on August 27, the Gamescom Invest circle brings together a curated selection of games and GameTech start-ups with international investors, publishers and strategic partners. Launched in 2023 in partnership with PIRATEx, it is now a key platform for early-stage capital and matchmaking in Europe’s games and GameTech industry.
Gamescom Biz provides the digital framework. In 2026, the official B2B app will feature a unified user interface for gamescom, gamescom dev and gamescom congress, along with enhanced features for trade visitors and exhibitors.
Gamescom leadership interview
Here’s some of the highlights of my interview with Tim Endres and Felix Falk today.
GamesBeat: Is there anything that surprises you about the size of Gamescom this year?
Falk: It’s great to see that even when the industry is going through tough times in the past years, Gamescom is growing and growing. And the international relevance is growing, and no matter how tough it is for companies, they use Gamescom to think about the future and to share future plans, to talk to investors, to do business. It’s a place for the future for the industry, and we are really pleased that we are able to provide this stage, which is so important, especially in our times right now.
GamesBeat: And how how does the attendance and the international presence seem? Is it really concentrated in people coming from Europe, or how does it balance out with others coming from Asia or North America too?
Endres: Overall, the signs are very strong. Gamescom is on a new level again, more than 1600 exhibitors and so on. And in terms of ticketing, it looks pretty good too. The first day sold out. Wednesday wildcards are also sold out. The other days look pretty good too. And in terms of internationality, Gamescom is getting more international again. Not only in terms of the exhibitors, where 70% of the exhibitors are coming from abroad. That’s a higher international level than ever before.
And we have 47 country pavilions. That’s an increase also compared to last year, and that’s great to see. And also in terms of the visitors, okay, we will we will of course need to wait what what happens next next week. But it looks pretty good. And last year, for example, we saw a massive increase in terms of visitors coming from the U.S. from Japan, from China, and so on, and that is something which we are very pleased of because Gamescom is a global platform, and it’s always great to see when the international scope rises.
Falk: What is really great from my perspective is that we have increased the country pavilions, so we for the first time welcome countries like Bulgaria, Morocco, Nigeria, Cyprus, and others for the first time with a country pavilion, which is always a signal that the whole local games industry or regional games industry is using games more and more. So there we have 47 country pavilions, which is an increase by almost 20%.
GamesBeat: I wonder if you have a good idea of how many games are being shown?
Endres: That’s that’s a tricky question because when you take the triple-A publishers, they’re bringing whole lineups and so on. We don’t count each single title. But if, for example, you take the indie area where the indies present their their games, we will have 420 indies presenting their games. So this is minimum of 420 titles just in the indie area, and that is plus 16% compared to the last year. And this of course brings a lot of variety to Gamescom and to the games which are shown at Gamescom, and yeah, that’s of course something which we are pleased about.
GamesBeat: Do you notice any particular business trends or or tech trends?
Falk: Of course, AI continues to be a topic. So, Gamescom Dev made a survey with all the speakers at Gamescom Dev. They say for the next coming three years, the one main topic is the usage and the implementation of AI. There is also the so-called RAMageddon, the memory chip shortage, which plays a role. But apart from that, I’ve seen the whole variety of XR, 3D, simulation, gamification and all technologies when it comes to innovation will be at Gamescom again.
GamesBeat: And you have a lot of politicians coming too. Is there something important for them to learn?
Falk: There always is. We have been happy in the past years. We have more than 500 politicians from all over the world and from all levels. Gamescom has political guests this year is especially because we have such broad attendance. Not only from Germany, we have the vice chancellor and the games minister from Germany. But this time for the first time we also have a high-profile representation from the EU Commission.
Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy and European Commissioner for Digital and Frontier Technologies, will be there. That’s really interesting because it underlines the importance of games come to be a place where, for example, international politicians can play and find a place to learn about games, to discuss new trends with the industry, to also see the potential of the industry.
We have many delegations, and also introduced a new format at Gamescom for those political delegations because we have so many requests. For the first time we have the highest representative of Germany, the highest role of Germany, which is the president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He’s never been to Gamescom before, and he will be at Gamescom opening the Gamescom Congress on Thursday, which I think is great to also show on a broader level the importance of games in our times.
We are focused on the economic impact, the technology, the cultural impact of games. But on the third day, it’s more the impact of games on society. Our focus will be how games help to save democracy, and that’s something our president will talk about. And in our times right now, I think that’s a pressing topic where we can show what games and the games community can do good for for challenges to our society, like democracy.
GamesBeat: Are there some other political issues and regulatory discussions that are sort of also very important right now?
Falk: We just released a Gamescom political statement with three pressing topics for us. One is how to strengthen the games location in Europe and Germany for games production. So that’s important for us. Number two is how to have good regulation instead of a jungle of regulatory conflicting rules. And the third is to use the potential of games for things like democracy.
In the European Union, we believe that economy should have rules, and we think Europe is a good place also because there are rules like the AI Act and high standard of youth protection, so we are really proud to be part of this and to be an industry in this in this surrounding.
But on the other side, we have had for 30 years now very good standards. For example, in youth protection with PEGI, with USK, with a standard like IARC. So, when when it’s about new developments, we should always strengthen those standards, which also are well recognized and produced by parents and by by users, and not integrate new standards of conflicting regulation.
So, for example, the Digital Services Act was introduced and is now implemented, and while it’s still in implementation, we are already discussing, on the European level, the Digital Fairness Act, which is which is a new regulation there. So, for example, it’s important to show that there can’t be conflicting regulations which cause irritation by for consumers, for parents, and also for companies. And also, what are the risks when it comes to existing standards because they might lower, for example, for youth protection standards. So that’s something we, for example, talk with Henna Virkkunen about because it’s important to not harm companies in Europe by regulation which doesn’t work and also doesn’t apply to others.
GamesBeat: What are some of your expectations for Opening Night Live as well?
Endres: Opening Night Live has become one of the moments that gives the whole week a global starting point. Starting on Tuesday, what is so so so fascinating and good and unique about again Opening Night Live is that it is connected directly connected with the event. You see world premieres or major updates Tuesday night, and very often the next day you can walk into the halls and experience the game for yourself. So that is great, and the community loves it. We already announced some of the titles which are going to be presented and announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live. The rest of course is confidential and needs to stay confidential until Tuesday. Sorry.
GamesBeat: I forget how many people can see it in person. Is it something like 5l000 or more?
Falk: Last year it was 5,000, and this year again 5,000, and that ticketing looks pretty good. It’s sold out. There are a few people from the industry getting invitations.
GamesBeat: Is the space available the same as last year?
Endres: Last year we added Hall 8 to the Gamescom footprint, and so this was 233,000 square meters of exhibition space. This year the exhibition space we reserve for games from is the same, but it’s for the first time fully booked. So this this means there are more exhibitors, there are more square meters occupied by exhibitors, and more to experience for the communities.
But at the same time, we have a clear view on the quality of each experience. That’s very important to us too. So that means the aisles stay the same. The rows are not getting tighter because for us it’s not only important to grow, it’s as important that the quality of stay stays minimum the same, or even that it’s better.
Falk: It’s really special that for the first time we are booked out for floor space, so we couldn’t allow any other exhibitors coming in late. This is one challenge for the next years, to find a setup where we can grow. We already have ideas, so Gamescom will be able to grow in the future. We need to make some changes for this, so that’s more news for next year, which is a luxury problem we have for the first time to be booked out completely.
Endres: Now the value of the Cologne profile is 280,000 square meters, so there’s enough room for further growth.
GamesBeat: And Gamescom Dev should have a good crowd?
Falk: That’s special also this year because for the first time Gamescom Dev is under the new brand, and so far, it looks really good. We have a fantastic program set up by the Gamescom Dev team, and also ticket sales, and everything looks really good. So it will be a great start into the new week. This time we start with a duo from Stephan Reichert and also the new CEO Frederick Hammes, so they together will open the Gamescom week with Gamescom Dev, and we’re looking really forward because that’s where the new trends and the new concepts and the new ideas come from.
Endres: It’s a good way for Gamescom to make progress. The new name makes the relationship much clearer. The developers have always been a major part of Gamescom, but now with Gamescom Dev, the new name is a core part of the game’s family and also the practical side is also much more connected. For example, there is connected accreditation flow. We have more stronger cooperation regarding the Gamescom Biz. We have a combined ticket, and so networking that continues throughout the week.
Falk: We already learned that it’s easier for people to understand that full business week from Monday to Friday. We introduced a new structure for ticketing, which is three-day ticket or five-day ticket, so it makes people understand that they can actually start with meetings already on the Monday at Gamescom and come from Gamescom Dev to the Gamescom business area to consumer area and to expand the full week experience.
GamesBeat: There are broadcasts that are happening too. There’s the Xbox shows, but also the Grand Theft Auto deep dive happens during Gamescom week as well. How do you feel about these virtual add-ons that are happening in that way?
Falk: The strength of Gamescom is that everywhere this wee is full of games, full of news and releases and background stories and everything. It’s the big strength of Gamescom that there are not only thousands on site, but millions of people watching worldwide.
Gamescom is the international highlight of the year. I think it shows the strength of Gamescom also that an announcement like GTA VI now is in the Gamescom week because that’s where the whole games world takes place in in the last week of August and that’s Gamescom.
GamesBeat: How how are you feeling about how gaming is continuing to penetrate into mass culture and keeps rising up from a subculture to mass culture?
Falk: Games are the heart of the pop culture, and they they are the trendsetter when it comes to pop culture, and that’s what we see at Gamescom.
That’s also why, for example, non-endemic brands are so interested to be part of Gamescom, and we make sure that this is a games event. But we also open up for the whole culture around. For example, this time Asian pop culture is a stronger part of Gamescom, and we make sure it’s always around the core of gaming, but also that we are opening up for other areas which are interesting because they are so heavily influenced by by games.
I think the heavy interest by broader general media or by politicians or by delegations at Gamescom show this huge strength of games, which is the same thing the rest of the year. But it’s not as visible. It’s visible when the new Super Mario movie is in the cinema, and no, it’s one of the those IPs are some of the most successful IPs, also in cinema, in television, in books, in fashion, in whatever area. But Gamescom is so much fun because it’s so well connected, and you can see the community reacting on this and living this.
GamesBeat: Any other topics that you’d like to mention here?
Endres: Indies are very important to Gamescom, and it’s not about only about the indie area, which I already mentioned. It’s also about the digital showcase that Gamescom holds for indies. This year it’s going to have a stronger format because we do together with IGN. We invested a lot in this format because, with the indie area, we bring a very valuable platform to the show for the indie scene.
Falk: one other topic which is really important to us, is Gamescom Cares. So we’re telling you about the importance of games, the games culture, and the games industry. Also, it’s connected to our responsibility to give back and to also care about society.
So Gamescom Cares is a great example where we can see in different areas that together with the community we make Gamescom better and and the gaming culture better every year. Accessibility has played a big role in the past years, and we’ve noticed more and more people with disabilities coming to Gamescom and enjoying the time at Gamescom.
So, for example, more and more people in wheelchairs came to Gamescom because exhibitors provided more and more measures to also make sure those guests enjoy their games. So this time we this year we worked together with Network Accessible Gaming to find even more ideas to make this day for people with disabilities even nicer.
nother topic is Gamescom goes green, so that sustainability is something we work on. Our partnership with Trash Galore, where they come and take the materials of the exhibition. The exhibitors don’t take home and reuse. They take them and reuse them together. It’s a good social effect, but also an effect for environmental issues. So that’s something we do, and it goes on with funding. Games Done Quick is happening for the first time at Gamescom. It’s not only great fun seeing all those speedrunners fighting for the new record, but also it’s great fun to see that the community is donating money for a good cause. In this case, it’s for gaming and democracy.
GamesBeat: Game developers have had a some hard hard time. The other space where it seems clear there’s a lot of shakeup still happening is games media, and I wonder how you see some of the balance between games media and gaming creators?
Falk: We now talking more for the association. We are really worried that it’s so tough for game media to finance a team of editors and of journalists. But at the same time, we are really happy to see that specific high-profile people from the game journalists set up their own special newsletters and their own offers, which still provides a great variety and a great quality of games journalism, and sometimes even with sometimes even more deep dives, which are more interesting than just news. That’s an interesting development. But it’s tough and good. Games journalism is needed, I think, even when creators for the B2C part for consumers do a great job, and we are in constant talks with them. They play a really big role for Gamescom as well, and of course there’s a lot happening. But I think it’s it’s important that we have good games journalists like you.
Endres: When it comes to the content creators, they are of course important for amplifying what happens at Gamescom and so on. But they are also part of the programming, for example, on the stage, and the community loves to see what they’re doing on stage and to get in touch with them. So both are very important from the very beginning and will stay important for for future.