Working parents with toddlers aren't allowed at gamescom – a fact that led to frustation this year when mothers were held at the doors, even more so because it was enforced irregularly. GamesMarkt has spoken to several affected mothers, as well as the organisers. And while the stance of gamescom raises questions for adjacent events like gamescom congress, devcom shows how individual arrangements can help childcaring parents and keep mothers able to do their work in the games industry.

This year's gamescom ended with 32,000 trade visitors working and connecting in the business halls, a high number compared to 2023's previous 31,000 trade visitors. A success in numbers, it appears.

And yet throughout the fair, a discussion on social media made clear that the number could have been even just a bit higher. Motivated by a breastfeeding mother working in the games industry, several women came forward in critiquing the gamescom for not allowing them to bring their child into the trade visitor area so the parents could do their work there. Currently, the gamescom TOS forbid children below four years of age in the halls and children in general in the trade halls in most cases, stating: "The exhibition is open to the general public as from 4 years. The business area is only open to trade visitors, press and media representatives, as well as accredited creators."

Mothers like Katharina Weiß, COO and Creative Director at SilentFuture, who opened up the discussion with her posts, and later others claim that these terms of service keep them from doing their work. "As a breastfeeding mother, I am not allowed to attend gamescom this year. This is what diversity looks like in 2024", Weiß posted on LinkedIn with a picture of her and her child in front of the fair entrance, kicking off the discussion.

Weiß even included the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency in her shoutout online. Her critique is clear: Weiß and many other working parents say that small children should be allowed at least in the trade halls under certain conditions, namely when their parent works there and the child is too small be away from the parent, for example a breastfeeding mother. Currently, Koelnmesse and game, the organisers of gamescom, don't allow that. Asked by GamesMarkt, Weiß explains that this is not the first time she clashed with gamescom over the issue. "In 2019, about two weeks before gamescom, the Head of gamescom denied me access from visiting the gamescom trade area with my son, who was 8 weeks old at the time. The whole thing escalated in the run-up to the event. I contacted the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency at the time and sought advice. They prepared an initial legal assessment for me so that the organisers would let me attend." In the end, Weiß was able to attend the fair and came out vaguely positive in her evaluation of the discussion. "Despite the differences of opinion, we remained in dialogue with the Head of gamescom (Ed. note: Weiß talks about Christian Baur, who vacated the position for Stefan Heikhaus in 2023) and we were promised an adjustment to the rules and changes. Unfortunately, this was followed by the Corona years, which caused this to fade into the background."

Part of Weiß' critique is also based on the unclear communication. "This year, I tried to contact the Head of gamescom in advance once again. Unfortunately, I could not reach him by phone. As the age notice for trade visitors was no longer in place online and a Safe Space and Safer Space Policy had also been introduced this year, I initially saw this as a positive signal that children with breastfeeding parents were welcome," she explains, aiming at gamescom's current guidelines that forbid discrimination on any basis, although they do not explicitly mention the care gap in their listings.

Inconsistent Implementation by Security Workers Adds to the Confusion

Not just Weiß suffered under the apparent confusion when it came to communicating what was and wasn't allowed – and when. Another one of the affected women was Madeleine Egger, Head of the Womenize! conference. Apart from the general decision to exclude parents with toddlers, she too critisises the inconsistency. It appears that the security workers had not been briefed thoroughly on the topic, making it even harder for affected parents to understand the decision. "We were granted admission on the trade visitor day on Wednesday, but not on the following day," explains Egger. "This was probably because the staff had not yet been briefed accordingly on the first day that children under the age of 4 are generally not granted admission. How do you actually recognise that a child is already 4 or not just 3? You don't carry any ID with you."

In Egger's mind, the decision is even less understandable because the Koelnmesse facilities actually include changing equipment for toddlers. Several of the accessible toilets in the halls feature them, as well as the toilets at the trade visitor entrance in the Western part of the fairgrounds. This is the bare minimum - changing facilities can only be one part of a bigger concept to include breastfeeding, working parents into a trade fair like this. "It would be desirable to have breastfeeding facilities, childcare would also be conceivable," Egger adds. But with at least the basic infrastructure present, the question remains why parents with toddlers aren't allowed onsite.

Why Does the Fair Exclude Parents With Toddlers?

The gamescom organisers justify the decision with child security and point out that it was communicated on the ticket website. "Access to gamescom for children under the age of 4 is strictly prohibited in order to ensure the safety and protection of babies and small children. This regulation has been clearly and publicly communicated for years in various places, for example directly when purchasing tickets on our website. The event includes areas with high noise levels and large numbers of visitors, who can quickly spread across different areas. We understand that this regulation can be a challenge for working parents, but we ask for your understanding that no exceptions are possible for reasons of youth protection and safety," a speaker for gamescom answered on a query by GamesMarkt.

The fair points out however that changes have already been made for children over four years, making it possible for public and trade visitors to use a part-time kindergarten in the entertainment area. "At the same time, we always take feedback seriously and discuss possible solutions internally, but these must also be feasible in practice. Incidentally, we have set up a kindergarten in the family & friends area at gamescom and thus created an offer where parents can have their children aged 4 and over looked after for a certain period of time. For various reasons, however, this is not possible for younger toddlers and babies," the statement says.

How Do Other Conferences Deal With the Issue?

Develop:Brighton: Cover-All Invitiation to Parents with Toddlers

Other conventions are more open in their current practice when it comes to children onsite. As good practice, Egger points towards the Develop:Brighton conference for the games industry. The terms of service for the event read as follows: "Parent Accessibility We understand that being a game maker and a parent are not mutually exclusive, so we want to make sure that Develop:Brighton is accessible to parents. Babies and children under school age (4 or under) are welcome to accompany their parents to the event." Egger says she would wish for similar terms of service for gamescom as well. "Yes, 'only' 5,000 people are coming to Develop, but it's not like 32,000 trade visitors gather at one place in Cologne, fortunately they are spread over several halls there as well. Koelnmesse would have the necessary infrastructure to include breastfeeding mothers at gamescom. But it hasn't so far.”"

devcom: Case by Case Decision based on Capacity

Indeed, even the devcom, part of gamescom week and since 2024 located in the big new Confex conference center at the south of the Koelnmesse fair grounds, has allowed breastfeeding mothers with their toddlers onsite in special cases, even though the terms of service read much similar to the gamescom ones. "Participation in the devcom Developer Conference is generally permitted for people aged 18 and over. However, we are aware of the special needs of participants, including breastfeeding mothers, and endeavour to make participation as inclusive as possible," says Robin Hartmann, Senior PR & Partnership Manager for devcom, in a statement to GamesMarkt. “This year, for example, we received an enquiry from a participant who wanted to attend devcom with a small child and an additional carer. As we are able to provide quiet areas in the Confex Centre, including a special quiet room, we supported her participation. In addition, most of the talks will take place in separate and quieter areas, and the expo area can be bypassed if necessary. We have therefore authorised participation and granted the carer free access to the location."

Said enquiry came from Ana Batistic, freelance game composer. "I asked the Devcom organisers in advance for access for babysitter and baby so that my journey to breastfeed was short. And that way I could also calm my toddler down regularly. I can't just be away for 8 hours, she's still too little for that," Batistic explains in a statement to GamesMarkt. "We also retreated briefly in the afternoon on both days to one of the rooms where talks were being organised - it was empty at the time. And that was okay for the technicians."

The devcom's permission is not a cover-all solution however, emphasises Hartmann. "We are currently confirming participation on request, among other things to ensure that we can coordinate the conditions and services on site. As long as this is suitable and we have sufficient capacity with our premises, we will endeavour to make participation possible. We will continue to review our range of services and expand them on an as-needed basis," Hartmann explains the current practice further. Keeping in line with the TOS of the fair and the explanations of gamescom, devcom still generally does not allow children.

However, the difference in space and volume, as explained in Hartmann's statement and that of the gamescom, is undeniably correct: While the halls are full and loud and different security concepts would need to be set in place for breastfeeding mothers and the rooms they would need to be able to reach at all times, the calmer Confex space operates much more in small, quiet rooms, with changing rooms or toilets and potential quiet rooms being much more in reach at all times, and much less visitors in contrast to the gamescom trade area.

Organiser's Arguments Raise Question About gamescom congress

The current position of the fair is clear and solid: No toddlers allowed due to the noise and fullness of the trade halls. That this is not just a cover-all excuse can be seen in how devcom handles requests for parents with small children: The quieter conference in the Confex indeed allows them on a case by case basis and even provided free tickets for additional carers this year. Even by accepting this logic however, one more question remains, and that is the gamescom congress: Based in the Confex as well, accessible from the outside of the fair grounds and separated from the rest of gamescom by a ticket control gate behind the trade visitor area, the reasoning for devcom would apply to the academic conference as well. Through the terms of service, special ruling is made for the congress. Weiß says however she has gotten a special exception by the congress event management which allowed her to participate on Thursday. "The event manager of the congress even came out personally to pick us up from security, who didn't want to grant us access." GamesMarkt has asked game and Koelnmesse for an additional statement regarding the possibilities for gamescom congress.

Official Recognition is Important for the Visibility of Parents

If nothing else, the communication seems in need of improvement. Based on the statements given to GamesMarkt, several mothers received varying information regarding access with toddlers. Much like Egger for example, Batistic was granted entry with her daughter on trade visitor Wednesday, but was then denied access on Thursday and Friday. She was able to find a solution through one of the neighbouring hotels at the fair ground, which let her babysitter and her daughter camp out in the lobby. "We were very lucky because the babysitter and baby were more relaxed here and I regularly travelled between the trade visitor area and the hotel."

Not an ideal solution for concentrated trade visitor appointments by any means, but more a means to an end. For her, the important part of the issue is to stop working parents from becoming invisible in the industry just because they have children. "Up to now, families have done the organising of work and childcare themselves - usually at the expense of the mother, especially if the parents both work in the games industry. But now this work should become visible, because many are in the same boat. If you are a single parent or don't have the opportunity to put your child in childcare or it is simply too small to be looked after... and is breastfed by its mother every two hours, then we need help. A retreat room at the fair would be great for this."

Batistic is clear that she is not looking to sneak her toddler into the fair, but that the important part is official recognition of the issue and the fair's responsibility for a solution, so working parents with toddlers are visible in the industry and can do their job properly. "The official authorisation from gamescom - as I have now learned - is also necessary and important. I'm not attending the trade fair just for the fun of it, but because I want to remain active in the industry as a freelance composer. I have to remain visible and so there is no alternative for me but to attend the trade fair with my baby." Weiß too sees a stigma present in the industry under which parents suffer. "Unfortunately, most of those affected do not dare to speak out on the subject for fear of further discrimination in the industry and negative comments. I now find this completely understandable, who knows if I won't get the next job because the client has seen my post and has a completely different opinion. You only have to look at the comments under the respective posts."

Within the current rule framework, it is at least clear that the security personnel needs to be briefed more consistently on the issue, so that parents do no receive different information on different days and by varying people throughout the fair. Giving working parents access to a trade fair with enough facilities for their needs would make a big difference for equality of game workers in the industry. Weiß however is more critical after her repeated altercations with the fair on the issue. "In my opinion, a simple solution such as allowing children for trade visitors is no longer enough. More needs to happen on the part of the organiser. The cases must be actively dealt with and it must be ensured that, in addition to the discrimination, such treatment of those affected does not happen again." It appears the discussion is far from over and will probably flare up again in the future, shortly before the next gamescom at the latest. That is, if the fair does not develop a new stance on the issue or clears up the frustration of the affected parents until then.

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Written by

Pascal Wagner
Pascal Wagner