GamesMarket's daily editorial editorial comment and an overview of all news of the day, not just to your inbox, but freely available online as well. The topics of the day: congress's first program points, Inon Zur's music maker portrait, Chengdu development and more around Wuchang plus other news.
When it comes to gamescom congress, dear readers,
I've been critical at least as many times as I have been a fan. I do think the conference's aim to bridge science, industry and politics is a worthwhile endeavour. At the same time, it sometimes doesn't work out well when the topics lend themselves to skew to one direction too much. Personally, last year's AI track for example felt too much like a self-advertising platform for AI service providers. In contrast, the political platform last year was as strong as it had never been before, so I remained optimistic.
And that optimism seems to pan out for this year. We already knew that the first German head of state ever will visit gamescom in the form of President Steinmeier opening this year's congress. And now we have some first talking points for the program. And I can say, if the societal impact panels from speakers of Europol, UNICEF and especially the keynote by the UN Refugee Agency are an indicator on the humanitarian and cyber-security position the German games industry positions itself towards (as could already be felt at this year's game party, if you remember), then that makes me positively looking forward to what else is coming.
Here are the news of the day!
Your Pascal Wagner
With a stand-out first selection of speakers and topics about human rights, online security and a keynote about gaming in refugee camps, the gamescom congress has shared its first program points.
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by Pascal Wagner
From emergency contacts to party guides, tips for traveling in Cologne and information for trade visitors and exhibitors: Learn everything there is to know about being at gamescom on our big service portal.
He made the soundtrack to Fallout, Syberia and Starfield: Legendary composer Inon Zur from Los Angeles is leading us through his work process, his favourite soundtracks and the best ways to involve composers in your game dev workflow.
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by Pascal Wagner
Last weekend saw the R6 Central Combine Finals take place at Ubisoft Düsseldorf, complete with a host of additional activities. Team Pannuhuone won the championship title and €10,000 in prize money in the finals.
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by Marcel Kleffmann
For the first time ever, the German Animal Welfare Federation (Tierschutzbund) is at gamescom 2026. They'll present their own Fortnite map, creator areas and info on animal welfare.
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505 Games and Indolphinity, a Chinese game development studio founded by Xia Siyuan, jointly announced that they have entered into a development and publishing agreement for a new chapter of the Wuchang series. Digital Bros Group is set to establish a dedicated subsidiary in Chengdu.
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In the second quarter of 2026, Krafton set records for both revenue and operating profit. Revenue grew by almost 95%. The South Korean company benefited from the successful launch of Subnautica 2 and the ongoing strong performance of the PUBG franchise.
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Microsoft's Xbox division has one of the largest stands at gamescom 2026. The booth will showcase 25 upcoming games and 140 gaming stations, featuring both in-house and third-party titles.
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06.07. - 23.08.2026: Esports World Cup (Paris)
31.07. - 03.08.2026: ChinaJoy (Shanghai)
05.08. - 07.08.2026: Serious Play Conference (Durham/USA)
23.08. - 25.08.2026: gamescom dev (Cologne)
25.08.2026: gamescom opening night live - tbc - (Cologne/Stream)
26.08. - 30.08.2026: gamescom (Cologne)
27.08.2026: gamescom congress (Cologne)
04.09. - 07.09.2026: PAX West (Seattle)
04.09. - 08.09.2026: IFA (Berlin)
18.09. - 20.09.2026: Gaming Istanbul (GIST) (Istanbul)
18.09. - 20.09.2026: Nexus Nerd Rock Festival (Leipzig)
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