Gamescom 2026

Update

Gamescom 2026 will be in a live format. The fair will be available at the Koelnmesse. The hosting dates for the event are the 26th to the 30th of August 2026.

Preface

Gamescom (Gamescom Köln) is the central platform for the global video and computer video gaming industry. It is the meeting location for gaming enthusiasts, developers, retail, and media representatives. The fair serves as the main event and hub for forming new connections. It furthermore provides visitors with an opportunity to learn about new games. Founded in 2009, Gamescom occurs annually in Messe Cologne.

Gamescom is a high-profile and high-attendance event. For example, one edition received 1 037 exhibitor firms and 370 000 visitants. Attendants of the event include members of the IT and computer and video games sectors. Additionally, the fair attracts many media and education representatives. Over 110 countries send delegates to the trade show. Such include Germany, the USA, the UK, Turkey, and Brazil. France, India, the Netherlands, Austria, and Poland also send trade delegates.

About Gamescom Köln

One of the leading sub-events in Gamescom’s schedule is the exhibition. It features the latest products and innovations in electronic entertainment. Among them are products related to software and hardware, merchandise and gaming accessories.

Besides the exhibition, the event also features many other events of interest. Among them is the Gamescom Opening Night Live with Geoff Keighley. It is a live show within the show where several video game premieres debut. The show also provides news about anticipated games for the current year’s edition. Another event of interest is the Retro Area. It is a demonstration zone where attendees can explore popular retro classics. They can also find new games for their retro console. The area, furthermore, is the hosting area for various interviews, demonstrations, and others.

The Gamescom Cosplay Village is among the popular sub-events for gaming enthusiasts and professionals. It is an area where attendees can showcase their acting, make-up, and crafting talents. The Village allows attendees to create costumes of their favourite characters and thus gain recognition. This is due to the Cosplay Contest, where a jury of 3 experts selects the victorious within three categories. The judges are well-known cosplayers, journalists, or make-up artists. Winners at the event can gain prizes, including award money and collector’s toys. They can furthermore receive awards such as headphones, cosplay shop vouchers and others.

Gaming developers can also gain recognition through the exhibition and the Gamescom Award. Gamescom Award recognises developer achievements in 1 of 24 categories. Each winner receives careful consideration from a panel of gaming experts. The Gamescom Award additionally has divisions where the community can choose the winners.

Another event of interest is the Gamescom Congress. It is where professionals discuss computer and video game potential. The Congress focuses on subjects like how game technologies can help the economy. The Congress is the meeting location for creative artists, teachers, and politicians. Journalists, scientists, and industry representatives also attend the Congress. Gamescom also features the Developer Conference Devcom. This is a conference for game developers where they can discuss various topics. Such include game development, technology, tools, art, animations, and diversity. The conference provides such professionals with two days of networking and educational opportunities.

The aussteller (exhibitors) of Gamescom attracts many professionals and game enthusiasts. This includes leading companies such as:

Gamescom attracts many industries, including entertainment, games, telecommunications, automotive, media, electronics, manufacturing, merchandising, automotive, aviation, and marketing.

Gamescom Accommodation

Procure suitable accommodation for Gamescom before all the good deals are taken with Travel 2 Fairs Ltd. All that is necessary is to inform us about the rooms you need, how much you wish to spend, and your desired location. Travel 2 Fairs Ltd manages the rest. Reserve lodgings adjacent to Messe Cologne and gain valuable access to public transport. We can advise you on the best routes to take to the venue. Aside from affordable hotel accommodation for exhibitions, we also provide transport services. One way to travel to your hotel is to have a rent-a-car wait for you at the airport. Another is to schedule an airport transfer in both directions.

Event information might be outdated because of the coronavirus pandemic. More information is available from the organiser.

Past Iterations

Gamescom 2021

The digital Gamescom 21 took place between the 23rd and 27th of August 2021. All attendees, including the exhibitors, considered the rendition a success. This is due to the high number of viewers that attended the digital edition. Over 13 million viewers from 180 countries participated in the event during its five hosting days.

Gamescom 2022

Gamescom 2022, hosted as a hybrid trade exhibition, placed a new attendance record for the trade fair. The event, hosted between the 23rd and 28th of August 2022, featured 265 000 visitants from over 100 countries and 1 100 exhibitor firms from 53 nations (75% were from abroad). The complementary virtual platform featured 130 million views during the programme, with 12 million viewing Opening Night Live. Ten minutes after the inauguration of the edition, it was the #1 worldwide trend on Twitter.

Gamescom 2023

Gamescom 2023, hosted as a live trade exposition, placed a new international digital reach record. The event took place between the 23rd and 26th of August 2023 and featured 320 000 visitants from over 100 nations and 1 227 exhibitants from 63 countries on around 230 000 m2. Over 31 000 of the visiting were trade participants, with 50% travelling from abroad. This signified a 25% increase compared to Gamescom 2022. Of the exhibitants, 76% were from abroad. Over 80 000 attendees took place in the Gamescom City Festival held throughout Cologne. As mentioned, the iteration featured a new international digital reach record. This was due to over 180 000 000 video views of the event, with over 20 000 000 occurring during Opening Night Live. Additionally, the event featured around 2 000 000 page views of the EPIX Community Adventure.  

Gamescom 2024

Gamescom 2024 surpassed the values of the previous iteration. The live trade exposition, held between the 21st and 25th of August 2024, featured 335 000 visitants. Among the Gamescom 2024 attendees were more than 32 000 trade attendants and around 80 000 Gamescom Festival participants. The visitants represented approximately 120 countries. Additionally, the Gamescom 2024 attendance featured more than 1 460 exhibiting firms from 64 nations. The exhibitor list featured 71% of its attending being from abroad.  The event also featured a notable international digital reach. For example, it received more than 310 000 000 digital engagements, including over 40 000 000 during Gamescom 2024 Opening Night Live. In addition, the Community Adventure Gamescom Epix featured 2 500 000 page views. Gamescom 2024 Cologne occurred on around 230 000 m2 of event space, including the presence of 48 country pavilions.

Gamescom 2025

Gamescom 2025 surpassed the values of the previous iteration. The live trade expo featured 357,000 visitants from 128 nations. It included more than 34,000 trade attendees and approximately 80,000 Gamescom City Festival attendants. They over-viewed 1,568 exhibiting firms from 72 countries (70% from abroad) on around 233,000 m2 of event space. It included 40 country pavilions. Over 630,000,000 views of the event were accumulated, including 72,000,000 during Gamescom Opening Night Live and 5,700,000 during Gamescom Epix.