With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic still very much having an effect on events across the globe, Gamescom announced that it will hold its event this year but in a slightly different way.
Time to go hybrid
Last year saw the big gaming convention – that usually takes place in the hustle and bustle of Cologne, Germany – go fully digital with Geoff Keighley hosting the Opening Night Live event and the event space being shut for business completely.
Now, this year, the exciting convention is set to go ahead as planned but both in Cologne and online.
The rather lengthy update on the official Gamescom website says that if the event can’t go ahead at the Koelnmesse exhibition centre, a fully digital event will take place instead. On socials, the team behind Gamescom have also made it clear that the volume of attendees will be dramatically reduced to allow safer hygiene protocols to be adhered to.
Gamescom 2021 Hybrid
The hybrid concept of Gamescom 2021 encompasses the following physical and digital contents and formats:
- An entertainment area especially designed for a reduced amount of on-site visitors, which focuses on the testing of new games live on-site including a digital queue management system
- A further developed Gamescom now as a central meeting point on the web for gaming fans from all over the globe
- Gamescom shows familiar from previous years such as the Gamescom: Opening Night Live or the Gamescom studio
- An event arena that offers space for special programme items such as eSport competitions or cosplay shows
- A business area expanded to include Hall 11 in order to offer as many trade visitors optimal networking conditions also in 2021
- A first ever online B2B platform called “Gamescom biz” that is based on the already tried and tested DMEXCO @home concept, which in addition to corporate and product presentations also offers lead tracking as well as extensive networking and matchmaking functions.
