Sony Interactive Entertainment not Returning to Gamescom (yet)

Sony Interactive Entertainment will probably not be exhibiting at gamescom this year. However, there will still be plenty of PlayStation games to see.

Sony Interactive Entertainment currently has no plans to exhibit at gamescom 2024". This is the statement GamesMarkt received from the German branch of the PlayStation company. The company has made the same statement for the last two years, which does not mean that the PlayStation brand will not be present in Cologne.

On the contrary, there will be plenty of PlayStation games on display from numerous third-party exhibitors. On top of that, gamescom has long offered plenty of other opportunities to get involved in the format. The best example of this is Activision Blizzard, who did not have a games publisher stand last year. However, Blizzard's merchandising department was very present in the merchandising area. Blizzard recently announced that it would be cancelling its own community event, BlizzCon, but would be attending trade fairs such as gamescom.

Nevertheless, the German industry had hoped that Sony Interactive Entertainment would return to gamescom this year. The company used to be heavily involved in the GC - Games Convention in Leipzig and then the gamescom in Cologne under the former name of Sony Computer Entertainment. Even the date at the end of August of both exhibitions is largely down to PlayStation. In the 2000s, the end of August was the deadline for German retailers to order PlayStation consoles if they wanted them delivered in time for Christmas. Since the forced pause due to the coronavirus, Sony Interactive Entertainment, like many other companies in the industry, has rescheduled dates for face-to-face events and has not yet returned to gamescom.

The trade fair itself has stabilised and is now growing again, although 2023 did not yet see a new record with 320,000 visitors. That still comes from 2019, with 390,000 visitors. On the other hand, gamescom 2023 was more international than ever before. There were 1,227 exhibitors from 63 countries. The proportion of international exhibitors was 76 per cent.

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