gamescom is one of the world’s largest gaming events, held each year in August at the Koelnmesse and the surrounding city of Cologne, Germany. The event is a chance for media, content creators and members of the community to meet with game publishers, developers and platform holders. With more than 250,000 visitors from all over the world checking out more than 1,000 exhibitors from 53 different countries, gamescom 2022 was massive. Returning as a physical event for the first time since 2019, the convention brought with it a feeling of excitement as the industry came together again and dusted off cobwebs after such a long hiatus. Personally, I felt a weird mix of excitement to be back at one of the biggest gaming events on the calendar, combined with hesitation at the sheer number of people walking the halls of the Koelnmesse. It was also comforting to be back in this familiar place and feel a part of something larger, experiencing first-hand the fruits of our work and getting back to what we do best, something we’ve all missed very dearly.
Following this year’s event, there are a few key things I took away, including industry learnings, personal thoughts, and reflections on managing major physical events on this scale in 2022 and beyond:
All in on gaming
Gaming is the most popular form of global culture, entertainment, and interaction. Three billion people play games for entertainment, learning, community, creation, as well as providing a real sense of achievement. When we look at social platforms like Tik Tok, content with hashtags like #Gaming (284.5 billion views), #GamingOnTikTok (16 billion views), #GamingSetup (9.85 billion views) or #GamingLife (7.1 billion views) has generated billions of views and shows the massive audience that exists in gaming. The European video games industry alone generated €23.3bn in revenues in 2021 with more than 124.8m players and global gaming revenue is expected to hit a record $203.1 billion this year. It’s no surprise then that during gamescom we saw release of a Pokémon themed Mini Cooper, Porsche and Ford having their own booths filled with real cars, racing simulators and showcasing the latest technology, the first McDonald’s digital escape room, and a massive presence of Tik Tok. From showcasing the latest technological advances enabled through video game technology, or simply engaging with the latest trends in gaming, this all made it clear that brands (including many that don’t have an existing presence in gaming) are now, more than ever, all in on gaming.
Adapting to an industry shift away from the traditional holiday release window
Traditionally, the games industry rallied around the LA-based trade and consumer event E3 in June as the big reveal moment for new games, while August’s gamescom offered the opportunity for the community to go hands-on for the first time. With the games industry moving away from the big holiday window of game releases and towards a regular cadence of content launching throughout the calendar year, events like gamescom become more challenging to execute with new and exciting content each year. Many gaming brands have started to release news and updates throughout the year via their own platforms instead of anchoring to more traditional avenues like E3 or gamescom and the approach to these events is shifting as a result. This means it becomes less of a pure news driving moment and more about diving deeper into games or products that have already been announced, allowing hands on with new games ahead of release and connecting with the community.
Adapting to physical / digital events in a post pandemic world
In addition to adapting to a regular cadence of games releasing through the calendar year, brands need to balance their physical and digital presence. With the push to digital events in recent years, coming back to a physical event has meant the need to think about content and where that content sits. Setting expectations with the community is so important for people know where to look and focus their attention and time. Whether it’s getting hands on or knowing a game they are interested in is going to feature as part of a six hour stream, and when to tune in. Seeing a trailer for a game or even watching gameplay is very different to getting hands on in person and sometimes that can make the difference to get people excited about a game. This is traditionally the value that gamescom brings, becoming the deciding moment for many as to whether to put in their pre order after they’ve had a chance to play the latest titles coming out in future. In future we may see brands start to offer at home demos to help people make the choice of which games to invest in, but that comes without the excitement of being together as a community in person.
Choosing what to show as an exhibitor and what you line up to play as an attendee
For gamescom 2022, there was a carefully considered approach to what games were available to play on the show floor, what games were available behind closed doors and what additional experiences were available for attendees. This also included a rise in experiential, social activities and a more diverse line-up of games stealing the show, including some titles from smaller independent developers and highly creative games that push the industry in new directions. Where you would traditionally see a waiting line for hours to try the next Call of Duty, this year at gamescom, we saw lines of people waiting to get hands on with a range of smaller titles. In some instances limited gameplay stations for some surprise hits led to huge queues. When you line up as an attendee, sometimes for several hours just to get 15 minutes of gameplay, that is a massive commitment to make. For brands, this means staying really close to the ground and being ready to adapt, right up to the last minute, to ensure the titles generating the most excitement are accessible to as many as possible.
Importance of meeting the community in person
The players and community are at the heart of the games industry and as an interactive form of entertainment, meeting and connecting as a community is so important, not only for the players but also for the game creators. It’s an opportunity for the community to get hands on with new games before they’ve released to understand if it’s something they want to pre-order or invest in. Likewise, it’s an extremely valuable opportunity for game creators to get real first-hand community feedback before launch. As part of all this, we’ve seen the massive desire across the spectrum of attendees to get back to doing things in person. While digital is a great way to scale to new audiences or reach people on mass, nothing beats meeting face to face or getting hands on with an upcoming game for yourself. There are not many industries that come together on such a scale as the games industry, and it’s incredible to be back at it again.
Ewen Doddrell is an Associate Director at Edelman UK