Those who have been thinking that in-person gaming events are dead may want to hold off on the funeral because they aren’t, as proven by Gamescom 2022.
The organizer of the event that concluded today at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany, reached out with a press release mentioning that the event drew 265,000 visitors from over 100 countries across its five days.
While this is down from the 373,000 recorded in 2019, it’s quite an achievement considering that tickets were limited due to the pandemic.
Roughly 1,100 exhibitors from 53 countries attended, while trade visitors were 25,000.
That being said, the online programming was also successful, with 130 million views as of Saturday evening, with Opening Night Live watched by 12 million gamers.
The event is set to return in 2023 from August 23 to August 27. Opening Night Live will also return on August 22.
The press release included a statement from Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – the German games industry association, who mentioned that the event exceeded the organization’s expectations.
“Finally, gamescom is back in full force. Despite the significant challenges for everyone involved this year, the unique atmosphere was palpable everywhere right from day one. After more than two years of exclusively digital events, it was a great joy for the industry and community to be able to meet in person. On the whole, gamescom 2022 exceeded our expectations: This live comeback together with our newly expanded digital offerings means that we are ideally positioned for the successful hybrid future of gamescom.”
Twinfinite was on site in Cologne, and you can expect tons of coverage, interviews, and previews over the next few days.
With Tokyo Game Show coming in September, we’re only getting started.