Record number of companies head to world's biggest gaming expo
Belgium is sending its largest ever delegation to the world's biggest video games fair, Gamescom in Cologne. The event starts on Wednesday with five days of conferences, presentations and meetings between the public and developers.
Belgium is heading to Cologne on Wednesday with a delegation of 49 companies. More than 1,400 companies - a new record for the event - will show the world the latest technologies and games, and around 140 games will have their world premiere.
The Belgian delegation will mainly present smaller games, as Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios is not yet ready to unveil its next project. International market leaders such as Xbox, Blizzard, Take Two, Ubisoft and Sony will present their upcoming games during the opening ceremony, including the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Layoffs and closures
Gamescom comes at a difficult time for the industry. Many game studios have closed and thousands of jobs have been cut. Felix Falk, managing director of the German Games Association, which organises Gamescom, hopes the event will be a turning point for the industry.
"After these hard times for the industry, Gamescom is the signal for better times ahead," Falk said in an interview with GameRant. "We're showing the titles that will lift us up as an industry and get us out of the period we've been in. I think it will be a good start to a positive next period."
"After these hard times for the industry, Gamescom is the signal for better times ahead"
Gamescom is the largest gaming event in the world, visited by 320,000 people in 2023. It has become even more important to the industry since market leader E3 in Los Angeles was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
© PHOTO INA FASSBENDER / AFP
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