World’s largest computer game fair: Gamescom starts with a live show

2023-08-22 22:16:23

The world’s largest computer game trade fair, Gamescom, starts with a live show

Numerous visitors follow the “Opening Night Live” in the Cologne exhibition halls. photo

© Sascha Thelen/dpa

Even the opening is a big deal for computer game fans – at Gamescom there is a lot on offer right from the start.

The world’s largest Computer game fair Gamescom started on Tuesday evening in Cologne. At a show in the cathedral city, the organizers presented a series of new games in which the protagonists compete as soldiers, knights or science fiction warriors against villains and monsters. US film director Zack Snyder (“300”) appeared on stage and spoke about his Netflix two-parter “Rebel Moon”, which is scheduled for release in late 2023 and 2024. There should also be a game for the films.

The “Opening Night Live” is a big event among games fans. According to the organizer, the live show had 13 million hits on the Internet last year.

Streaming services are also included

Gamescom opens its doors to trade visitors, journalists and a few fans on Wednesday morning, and the general public is then admitted from Thursday to Sunday. In 2022, Gamescom had 265,000 visitors, during the Corona years the fair had paused as a face-to-face event. This year, the organizers are confident that there will be more – but the maximum of 373,000 visitors in 2019 is unlikely to be cracked.

The range of computer games and video games industry is bigger than ever. The number of exhibitors has increased from 1135 to 1227 from 63 countries. The exhibition area has increased by 10,000 to 230,000 square meters. Companies like Nintendo, Ubisoft, Netease or Tencent present themselves at the industry get-together. The streaming services Netflix, Disney+, Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime are also included. Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) are expected as guests from politics.

dpa