Just like last year, and the situation with COVID-19, Gamescom 2021 is going all digital once again. Although plans of having a digital/in-person hybrid event were in talks, organisers have decided to abandon the idea.
From a press release by the event organisers Koelnmesse and the German Games Industry Association (GAME), they’ve announced that this year’s Gamescom is “to be held exclusively online and free of charge for all fans.”
The decision for an all-digital event was made after extensive discussions with partners and exhibitors considering that too many companies are unable to participate in physical events due to the global crisis. According to Oliver Freese, chief operating officer of Koelnmesse, “even though the hybrid concept was very well received by the partners, we had to recognize that Gamescom still comes too early for many companies in the industry due to the required planning reliability.”
Despite the event going online this year, the organisers assure that with sufficient lead time, they’ll be able to offer the gaming community an even stronger online event at the end of August 2021.
Whilst Gamescom 2021 might have gone fully virtual, this decision might affect Gamescom Asia that is scheduled to happen later this year. Even though Gamescom 2020 went all-digital, Gamescom Asia 2020 had to be postponed to October 2021. No updates have been released about the matter but hopefully, as more and more events go fully digital, we can expect Gamescom Asia to do the same.
Gamescom 2021 will kick off its opening night on 25 August and will run until 27 August. For more information about the event, visit their official website.
Yna prefers being at home in company of fictional characters from different cinematic universes. Everything supernatural and magical is the way to her heart.
Jake Su
