Tens of thousands flock to the German computer games fair Gamescom

Visitors were able to try out new games at the stands and talk to developers. There were long queues at the Microsoft Xbox areas, Ubisoft with its game "Star Wars Outlaws" and Capcom with "Monster Hunter Wilds".

In the coming days, the crowds at the public fair will probably be even bigger; Saturday is already sold out. The trade fair ends on Sunday. In 2023, 320,000 people attended the industry event.

The presence of major US technology companies is striking. For example, the series "Secret Level", which will be released on Amazon Prime in December and combines different worlds from the gaming world, was presented at the opening show Opening Night Live. The Netflix game "Squid Game: Unleashed" is also being promoted at the trade fair.

VR games want to get out of the niche

There are also innovations from the virtual reality sector: the action game "Batman: Arkham Shadow" is being advertised and can only be played with the Quest 3 VR goggles from Facebook parent company Meta.

It has long been expected that this visually promising area will emerge from its niche, but VR games have not really become a blockbuster yet. Ultimately, this is a kind of chicken-and-egg problem: there is little demand because there are few applications, and there are few applications because demand is weak.

However, VR goggles, which used to be outrageously expensive, are now available for less money, so it is possible that mass business is gradually beginning to emerge. With the Batman game, at least a new attempt is now being made.

Games business worth billions

Gamescom is mainly attended by young people. The stand of "Civilization", a strategy game from the studio Firaxis, is almost nostalgic. It is already the seventh edition of the classic game, which will soon be re-released. The first edition of Civilization was released in 1991.

Computer and video games are a billion-euro business: last year, people in Germany spent almost ten billion euros on games, hardware and online services. In the first half of this year, the business, which had experienced a strong growth spurt in the coronavirus years, weakened. Overall, increased costs and weaker demand are weighing on the industry, which has scared off investors.

Gamescom is an international event, with German developers playing only a minor role - only around five percent of the money spent on games in Germany is spent on games developed there.

In Germany, around 12,400 people work in the games industry at around 950 mostly small companies. The industry association Game, which organizes Gamescom together with Koelnmesse, is calling for more government support.

Association sees growing interest

According to games boss Lars Janssen, the industry has good prospects. Interest in games is on the rise, says the association representative.

It's not just young people who play on consoles, computers or smartphones. "There are more and more people in their 50s or 60s who are still playing games or even starting to do so."

The games in the industry are so diverse that completely different interests can be served. Janssen is also head of the Deck 13 studio, which has released action games such as "The Surge" and "Atlas Fallen". (SDA/swi)