Gamescom will take place again at the end of August – despite the ongoing Corona crisis. But this year everything is very different than usual.
Hours of queuing to play a long-awaited game, felt hopelessly overcrowded halls, barely bearable heat and rather expensive snacks and drinks? For most visitors, all of this is just as much a part of the largest video game fair in the world as meeting their favorite streamers, reuniting with online friends, impressive cosplays and celebrating a still comparatively young culture that hardly comes from the lives of many people is to be imagined. In the Corona year 2020, Gamescom will not take place as usual.
It was already clear in April that Gamescom would not be able to open its doors to hundreds of thousands of visitors this time because of the ongoing crisis. The fair will take place, but in purely digital form. With all its disadvantages, this also has a great advantage – apart from the fact that gamers who would otherwise have visited Gamescom on site do not have to put themselves in incalculable danger. Instead of having to spend up to several hundred euros on travel, accommodation, tickets and meals, the money saved can be invested in video games, for example. So upcoming titles like "Cyberpunk 2077" or "FIFA 21" are already financed.
How will the digital fair work exactly?
"Even if we unfortunately cannot get together with the games community and the games industry on site in Cologne this year, we will still celebrate the latest games digitally connected with each other at the end of August", explained Felix Falk, the managing director of "game" Association of the German Games Industry, in April in a press release. As part of the digital Gamescom, numerous events and shows will be presented online free of charge between August 27 and 30.
The main point of contact for the offered content is "gamescom now", the fair's content hub expanded for 2020, which will be available from August 27th. In addition to an opening show ("gamescom: Opening Night Live"), a format around indie games and a "daily show" are also planned. In the "gamescom studio" developers show new and upcoming titles. Subject areas such as cosplay and retro gaming are also planned. At the end of the fair, "Gamescom: Best of Show" summarizes all the highlights again. More detailed information on the entire program and the process will be available directly from "gamescom now".
At the political opening of Gamescom on August 28th at 11:00 a.m. this year, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (45), North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet (59) and the Federal Government Commissioner for Digitization, Dorothee Bär (42), expected. Among other things, challenges and developments are discussed. The main theme this year is "Playing into the future".
Focus on new consoles
The focus at Gamescom 2020 will of course be on the new generation of consoles, with the Xbox Series X from Microsoft and the PlayStation 5 from Sony appearing this year. Numerous news and details are expected that could be announced at the fair – be it details about the consoles themselves or fresh games.
Of course, many large studios and manufacturers are unlikely to spoil themselves and present their titles in one way or another. Gamescom's official partners include Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Focus Home Interactive, Koch Media, Sega Europe, Take-Two Interactive / 2K, Ubisoft, Xbox and Yager.
Capcom, CD Projekt Red, Konami, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix or Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are not on the list, but there will probably be numerous news from these ranks at the fair. Among other things, with the Electronic Sports League (ESL), eSport is of course also an issue. Steam is also an official partner. According to a press release, special offers and playable demos to match the trade fair are planned on the PC platform.
What's next?
If the corona situation has improved by then, Gamescom will take place in Cologne as usual next year. The fair is currently planned for August 24-28, 2021.