gamescom 2024: Interactive, Intervowen, and International

What will be different from previous gamescoms? Merchandise at the stands, cards & boards, the new social stage and more - this is what Tim Endres, Director gamescom at Koelnmesse, and Stefan Heikhaus, Director gamescom & Events at game, talk about in the second part of the gamescom 2024 interview.

GamesMarkt: At least one major exhibitor has announced the sale of merchandise on its stand in Hall 6. Previously, merchandise sales were restricted to Hall 5. Are these restrictions to be relaxed? If so, why has this decision been taken and what restrictions will apply to any sales at the stand?

Tim Endres: Since 2023, exhibitors may sell merchandise at their booth in the entertainment area with prior approval. This is specified in the Conditions of Participation. For example, for very large booths, this is intended to help them make their IP worlds more cohesive and attractive to the community.

GamesMarkt: How attractive is gamescom for companies outside the games industry? Last year, video streaming services and social platforms attracted a lot of attention. How will it be this year?

Stefan Heikhaus: gamescom, as the biggest games festival in the world, is an event that celebrates gaming culture in general. This means that we cover all things of interest to our community. Not to mention, these sectors are interwoven. TV shows based on video games, video games based on board games, board games based on TV shows or video games - there are hundreds of examples showing that these topics are not stand alone. They belong together. And why should we make a cut where there is none? We welcome all exhibitors that are fitting to the gaming community in Cologne. But the core of gamescom will always be about gaming.

GamesMarkt: The cards & boards area in Hall 5 is a new addition. Expanding the show to include this type of games seems like a logical development to offer more variety in terms of games. How exactly did the ideas for this area come about and how quickly were exhibitors convinced?

Tim Endres: All these communities and their interests are interwoven. Adding board games, Trading Card Games (TCGs) and Tabletop RPGs (TTRPGs) to our core offering and exhibitor categories was the most natural step, though. Exhibitors like Konami with their TCG Yu-Gi-Oh! have been a part of gamescom for a long time and have always attracted a lot of visitors to their booths. Which is understandable, because, as mentioned earlier, a lot of gaming fans also like TCGs - or board games, or TTRPGs, and so on. Since 2022, we gradually increased the amount of exhibitors from this group and in 2024, our dedicated cards & boards area now features big players like the aforementioned Konami, Ravensburger, Hasbro or ADC Blackfire Entertainment. To sum up: We managed to convince a lot of important companies to present their games to our community and I'm sure the latter will love it.

Creators are one of the highlights of the gamescom experience for many visitors. But it's also true that the integration of creator interactions is really challenging. But I think that we have found a really good solution after the experiences of the past years. - Tim Endres

GamesMarkt: With the new social stage and the move of the meet & greet area to Hall 11, a lot of things related to influencers are coming together in one area. Is this a response to criticism in recent years that influencers, as important as they are, have made it difficult or disrupted the experience of "ordinary" visitors?

Tim Endres: Creators are one of the highlights of the gamescom experience for many visitors. But it's also true that the integration of creator interactions is really challenging. But I think that we have found a really good solution after the experiences of the past years. Having most of our creator-centric activities in one hall has many benefits for different groups. Fans know where to go to meet their favorite creators. Creators will have short distances between meetings and much-needed breaks in our creator co-working space. And as a new addition in 2024, both groups will benefit from the new social stage, enabling memorable moments between creators and their communities. At the same time, this year's arrangement definitely makes the flow of visitors much smoother. Finally, gamescom offers great content and opportunities to engage with the respective communities, and the creators offer us a way to reach and engage more gaming fans.

GamesMarkt: The event arena was moved from Hall 7 to Hall 8. Will this improve the quality of the visitor experience? Overall, it looks much clearer and less cluttered.

Tim Endres: Moving our event arena to hall 8 will indeed improve the experience for our visitors, as you have explained. Just as importantly, it also makes the organization of programming within the event arena, such as our gamescom Opening Night Live, much more efficient. The event arena in Hall 8 also allows us to more than double the number of seats to 5,000, which is particularly important for a show like gamescom Opening Night Live. The atmosphere will be even more impressive this year.

GamesMarkt: What are you planning on doing with the outdoor area at gamescom 2024?

Tim Endres: The area behind hall 8, commonly known as P8, will no longer be open to the public because the space is needed for the construction and organization of the event arena program. Some exhibitor activities will be moved inside the halls or to other outdoor areas adjacent to halls 4, 5 and 10. Others, like the Red Bull Creator Club, won't take place in 2024. Nevertheless, we have enough outdoor areas for our visitors to get some fresh air, food and drinks, and we have appropriate plans to (re)locate the activations affected by the loss of P8. In terms of creators, almost all the fun is happening in hall 11, which is a great solution for talents and visitors alike.

The first part of the interview with Tim Endres, Director of gamescom at Koelnmesse, and Stefan Heikhaus, Director of gamescom & Events at game, focuses on the role that gamescom can play in society and the influence of the satellite events in Latin America and Asia - as well as gamescom goes green and its unifying role for the community (to part one).

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