Gamescom, the yearly video game convention in Cologne, Germany, is no longer happening thanks to the COVID-19 virus.
In a move that everyone expected, the gaming mega-con had fallen by the wayside in the battle to halt the coronavirus. In a twitter update the organizers of what can easily claim to be the western world’s biggest gaming convention announced that it could no longer host inn person events during August. This is due to the German government’s decision to continue a ban on major public events throughout August. This nationwide blanket means that a massive gathering of people, like Gamescom, probably was going to have some insurmountable obstacles.
❗ Even though not all details are known at present, the nationwide ban on major events until the end of August will also affect the planning for #gamescom2020. Furthermore: gamescom 2020 will definitely take place digitally! We will provide further information shortly. ❗
— gamescom (@gamescom) April 15, 2020
There is some glimmer of hope on the horizon. With so much notice, it appears that Gamescom 2020 is going digital. The remaining details on the aforementioned tweet confirmed that Gamescom will” definitely take place digitally”. This is a somewhat similar move to the shift that London’s EGX Rezzed event made when it hastily jumped from the Thames to Twitch. While we don’t have full details on what’s coming up, we expect to see the Gamescom heading over to Amazon’s game streaming service and hosted, at least during the opening night, by Geoff Keighley. There isn’t a whole lot more yet but we will keep our eyes peeled for you.
The fate of other conventions is hanging in the balance, with PAX in the US and EGX in the UK still undecided. Even if both countries open up for business before the end of August, we’re not expecting either to go ahead unchanged. If you were looking at upgrading your internet connection, it;’s probably time to click buy now. You can keep tabs on the updates to Gamescom here or head over to the official Gamescom website for more information. Right now I’m off to cancel some travel tickets.
