The past two years have been rough for countless reasons, and canceled events are just the tip of the COVID-impact iceberg. As we find ourselves well into 2022, hints of normalcy are returning, and society is beginning to see the wounds of the last 24 months beginning to heal. Today, it was announced that after two years of online-only events, Gamescom, the world’s largest games show, will be held as a hybrid event this August in Cologne, Germany.
The in-person event will continue to take appropriate safety measures including improved admission management, digital queue management, extra-wide aisles for social distancing, and limited ticket allotments to keep crowds at reasonable levels. Those unable or unwilling to attend in person can still enjoy a large selection of online broadcasts and activities.
Gamescom: Opening Night Live and Gamescom: Awesome Indies will both have live audiences and be streamed to audiences around the world. Those participating online will also be able to participate in Interactive Quests on the Gamescom Now website, with rewards for completing certain milestones. Details regarding the online component have not yet been revealed.
The announcement also included more about “Gamescom Goes Green,” a new sustainability project aiming to turn the event into the “first climate-friendly games event.” The goal is to offset all emissions created by the running of the show, with part of this initiative including free public transport tickets for the week for guests. The initiative will also be raising money for the Gamescom Forest, a reforestation project that has planted almost 20,000 square meters of trees near Bayreuth, Germany.
Gamescom has teamed up with ClimatePartner and will be raising money for a wind power project in northeast Brazil and clean cooking stoves in Abuja, Nigeria.
The 2021 event was originally intended to be a hybrid event, but it was made digital-only due to renewed concerns about the coronavirus. It still managed to attract over 13 million online attendees.
“It was a lot of hard work [last year] to put together a digital event in just four months and not just cancel it,” said Gamescom co-organizer Felix Falk. “But it helped us develop, learn a lot from the experience, and have a better digital concept this year.”
Gamescom 2022 will be held at Cologne’s Koelnmesse from August 24-28, 2022.