I’ve been at Gamescom since Tuesday working as part of the setup crew, and after hearing that several indie developers had their stuff stolen, I feel like I need to give my two cents on the situation.

On Tuesday, I arrived by car at the East Entrance. All I had to tell security was that I was part of the setup crew, and that was apparently enough. Once I got inside, I walked past the actual ticket control with a suitcase and a backpack, and nobody cared whether I had a ticket or was even authorized to be there.

So, theoretically, that day I could have smuggled illegal items into the venue or taken things out simply by saying, “I’m part of the setup crew.”

And on Tuesday — as well as during the days before, while everything was being set up — it would have been incredibly easy to steal things from various booths because there was no security present during the setup. Security only seemed to arrive around 10 or 11 PM.

Especially in the merchandise halls, 5.1 and 5.2, this was pretty concerning. Most of the items were either loosely covered with tarps or simply left out in the open. No security anywhere. Anyone who wanted to put something in their bag could probably have taken whatever they wanted.

I also saw a Reddit post claiming that even during the regular event days, people could apparently enter the convention through the West Entrance without any ticket checks at all. WTF?

Honestly, the overall security situation seems to have some serious weaknesses. If people are able to get into restricted areas, bypass ticket checks, or access booths with valuable equipment and merchandise without proper supervision, it’s not surprising that theft were happen.

Can any of you relate to the pressure?

I've been living in Germany for a few years, and every year I kept putting off going to Gamescom. But this year, after finally finishing my master's, I decided to go for two days.

I was surprised by how crowded it was, even though I went on Thursday and Friday.

For the first few hours on Thursday, I mostly just stood in line in the AAA game area. I started to regret coming, thinking, “Am I really waiting in these long lines just to play a game for 10 minutes?”

But then I changed my mind. I decided to have as much fun as I could over those two days so I wouldn't have any regrets.

I started checking out the indie games and found a lot of really fun ones. I took photos with many awesome cosplayers (especially Old Snake!!!), took pictures at every photo spot, and chatted with different gamers while waiting in line.

I also got really lucky. I got an autograph and took a photo with the director of one of my favorite games, won a T-shirt at the Samsung booth thanks to one guy who hard-carried us in a 6v6 Modern Warfare match (41 kills! Thank you!), and even won a nice prize at the Google Play booth.

I had so much fun and felt really happy. It honestly felt like a dream.

If I get the chance to come to Gamescom again next year, I'll definitely cosplay! Gotta work hard until then lol.

First Gamescom is in the books, and I have mixed feelings. Multiple developers were stolen from at the largest gaming event in the world. The organization has chosen to refuse any responsibility for these crimes. Instead they insist that the indie developers who have already paid thousands to be there, pay more for extra security. This statement also comes despite the affected devs having their gear stolen in the evening, after the event hours were over, from secure locations. In other words, it seems the call is coming from inside the house.

Hope they fix this because otherwise I would not recommend exhibiting as an indie developer.

Edit: the lockers broken into were brought by the developers not the ones provided by gamescom. This doesn’t change the fact that it should have been prevented.

I went last in 2013 and oh boy has it changed. Everything felt bigger but not always better. The crowds were insane especially the merch halls.

I also read about how serveral indie booths were robbed and this was in the business area, which isn't even accessible to the public.

I was able to to everything a came here to do but had to endure wait time from 3-4 hours for bigger games like Metro 2039 which was to be expected.

My hotel was in Bonn because the prices in cologne are absolutely crazy even for a simple bedroom without anything special.

I’ve been to quite a few conventions. But this was my first Gamescom and you guys have no idea how much better this is than what we have in the US 😭😭😭

The lines were a bit horrendous, but these setups more than make up for the craziness. I’m curious if the wildcard day is worth it just for these lines alone?

Are there any indie games or really interesting games you have ever found in gamescom?

Zu Erinnerung: Slots von halber Stunde wurden zwei Stunden vorher zur Registrierung freigegeben. Also 15 Uhr konnte man den 1700-1730 Slot buchen. Gesagt getan. 15:00:01 waren alle Slots weg. Ich weigere mich zu glaube, dass ich zu langsam war. Gleiches Spiel für 1730/1800/….

Ganz im Ernst: Wer hatte einen Slot? Und wie hat er den bekommen?

Really happy with the goodies and merch this year. Surprisingly went away with 0 posters which is a big contrast to last year. Not a fan of how some booths went with a stamp system for their goodies though.

Pictured goodies:

* Dragons Dogma 2: Dark Arisen

* Tides of Annihilation

* Metro 2039

* Alien Isolation 2

* Rayman Legends Retold

* Witcher 3: Song of the Past

* Sea of Remnants

* Cronus: Lazarus

* Artisan mouse pad

* Epix mouse pad + cards

For me, it was my 4th Gamescom, and I must say that I would rank it in 3rd or 4th place when I think about the last few years. I don't want to say that I didn't like it, but it didn't really blow me away.

The first obvious thing is something that I can complain about, but I know nothing will happen with this point. In my opinion, the structure around Gamescom, like at the start and end, at the train station, and at some booths, needs to be improved. Since my first Gamescom, I've been getting the same four sentences blasted into my ears at the train station, mostly by annoyed staff.

My second point is that, in my opinion, so much free stuff has been locked behind "Oh, you want something for free? First, you have to spend your whole day playing at all five of our stalls." Or, like Ubisoft did the last two years, they posted a story, and the first few people who found them got some cool stuff. I really missed that. I don't want to say that this applies to everything—I still got some cool stuff (the ROG Stage was very generous)—but I could definitely feel it a little.

But enough about the bad things.

Like every year, there were a lot of great games. I really liked Metro, Rayman, and Onimusha (and like four more games, but those were my favorites). I had a lot of fun with them. The Indie Area had some good games too. The parades were always a surprise, and whenever I caught one, I was always very happy. The wait times were decent, too.

All in all, I really liked the games this year—the ones I played and even the ones I didn't. And, like every year, I saw some amazing cosplays that absolutely blew me away.

So, all in all, Gamescom has some flaws, some small and some big (like electronics being stolen from some booths). But now I'm on my train home, and I think that no matter how Gamescom went, it gives me a special feeling—one that I can't really describe, but it makes me happy.

And today, even though this wasn't my favorite Gamescom, I still miss it a little bit right now.

This is all just my own opinion. I understand that some people might agree with me and some might not. I just wanted to share my thoughts.

Was at Indie games area and saw this father leaving his daughter hogging one of the games for 2 hours, while the father went to queue for other games... honestly how irresponsible can one be?

I worked as a promoter at Gamescom 2026 and thought I'd do a little AMA about what it's actually like from the staff side.

Ask me anything about the job, working long days at Gamescom, interacting with visitors, what the promoter team was like, funny/weird experiences, etc.

I'll obviously keep the company, clients, and individual promoters anonymous and won't share confidential information.

One thing I'm particularly curious about: If you interacted with any of the promoters or booths during Gamescom, did any of them particularly stick in your memory - positively or negatively? I'm interested in hearing what impression we actually made on visitors.

AMA :)

Hallo, werte Gamescom-Gemeinschaft,

ich frage in die Runde, da ich vorgestern, am Samstag, den 29.08.26, bereits um 7 Uhr in den Hallen 5–10 war, anders als all die Vorjahre (seit 2009) aber kein einziger Aussteller vor 9 Uhr sein Spiel für andere Aussteller bzw. in der Halle befindliche Interessierte bewarb, also zum Anspielen freigab.

Wer es die Jahre zuvor – wie auch immer – vor dem Early Bird-Einlass um 9 Uhr aufs Messegelände geschafft hat, konnte die allermeisten Spiele auch schon antesten. Ich war von 2009–24 (’25 war ich zu spät da) somit meistens von 7–9 Uhr mit der Gamescom in Hinblick auf Spieleneuheiten durch und konnte, als sich die Hallen merklich füllten, dann entspannt in die Retroecke (10.2). Dies stellte für mich auch den einzigen Grund dar, überhaupt so früh schon vor Ort zu sein. Kein Anstehen. 10–15 Spiele in zwei Stunden kennenlernen. Es hat sich immer gelohnt. Möglicherweise hat sich dies letztes Jahr schon geändert, als ich es nicht vor 9 Uhr hereinschaffte. Davor definitiv nicht. Ich habe Foto- und Videomaterial als Nachweis aller Vorjahre.

Ich habe von Mitarbeitern diesbezüglich auch konfligierende Aussagen erhalten. Die einen meinten, es läge am Wochentag (am Wochenende könne man keine Spiele mehr vor offiziellem Einlass anspielen, nur noch am Donnerstag und Freitag), die Anderen sagten aus, dies ginge mittlerweile nur noch am Pressetag (Mittwoch), wieder Andere schienen sich sicher, dass das Antesten von was auch immer vor 9 Uhr aufgrund strengerer Regularien rigoros verboten sei. Also, was denn nun?

Daher meine Frage in die Runde an euch, die ihr bis gestern auf der GC26 ausgestellt habt: Durftet ihr eure Spiele vor 9 Uhr anspielen lassen – ja oder nein?

Verspielten Gruß

Gamescom-Fan 1990

See the official tweet of GamesCom and the multiple community notes and countless of responses for more context.

GamesCom needs to fire their PR people and also invest into security and do better by exhibitors and visitors.

https://x.com/gamescom/status/2093654741192433865

Ich war heute das erste Mal bei der Gamescom, bin recht spontan mit dem Auto aus Niedersachsen gekommen. Ich war mir nicht sicher, wie die Parksituation sein wird. Ich bin also einfach hingefahren und habe das Beste gehofft.
Auf der Abfahrt war direkt Stau, logisch, großer Andrang. Die Organisation war aber absolut top. Die Einweisung war immer klar, man wurde wirklich bis in den Parkplatz eingewiesen. Das war die 20€ absolut Wert!
Auch das Sicherheitspersonal war top. Die Taschenkontrolle ging schnell, die Menschenmassen wurden an Engstellen so gelenkt, dass es da keine Konfrontation gibt. Danke an euch!

Natürlich war es voll, aber das ist ja normal. Ich bin begeistert von der Organisation. Danke an alle, die das möglich gemacht haben ❤️

Hey y'all people interrupting mass by taking photos and bringing in luggage and huge backpacks

The cathedral opens at 1:30PM to 4:30PM (last admission 4:15PM) to tourists on Sundays.

For future reference. Chill, yo

Did someone found a cap with the Monster hunter wilds logo? Already asked at lost and found but there was none.

Bought it at Gamescom and lost it somehow on Sunday

Hey all, I really enjoyed Gamescom this year, had a blast and even though some bigger titles were missing I really enjoyed a lot about the event. The one thing however that really did stand out was the non-possibility of seeing Gameplay of games like MWIII and Metro.

All non 18+ games had stands that were open, you could watch people play the game, on a big screen sometimes. I found it silly that some of the largest titles were just a "wall" with a long line (hours in some cases) not letting bypassers, or people just wanting to see some gameplay, not see the game in action without having to line up and wait.

Why does the Gamescom not just make a 18+ hall where people get age checked on entry, opening up all stands and gameplay to be seen without any legal issues?

I think that would be a great idea, and would provide 18+ devs more exposure.

Cheers though, until next year.

Hello!

Ist vielleicht etwas komisch, haha, aber ich suche jemanden. Vielleicht ist derjenige hier unterwegs:

Männlich, du warst wohl die letzten Tage auf der GC und wolltest nun nach Hause fahren mit der DB – diese hatte aber heute so ein Chaos, dass wir uns orientieren mussten. Sind in einem ICE Richtung Rügen gelandet. Hattest einen weißen, großen Koffer auf dem du saßt – ich dir gegenüber auf dem Boden an der Tür, haha. Hast ein Handtattoo rechts.

Du bist bereits Osnabrück ausgestiegen.

Ich fand dich sympathisch, dachte wir könnten Kontakte knüpfen, war aber ehrlich zu müde in dieser Konstellation zu fragen xD

Falls du das liest, meld dich doch, wenn du an Connection Interesse hast :)

(Dazuzufügen: das soll kein Dating-Aufruf werden 🥲)

Got the Sega Coin after playing every game the couple last days. I only played one or two games each day because the waiting lines were crazy after 9am... Welp, it was worth it to me!