The new contract was signed in the presence of Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne, and Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and the Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Head of the State Chancellery.
“Cologne and gamescom are the perfect match – a partnership that has proven to be a success story year after year,” says Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse. “Together, we have made gamescom the world's largest and most relevant games event, continuously setting new records. The long-term contract extension is an expression of this successful collaboration. It gives us the opportunity to further expand gamescom in Cologne together with the satellite events gamescom asia and gamescom latam, as well as devcom and gamescom LAN – and to make it a festival for a wide range of pop cultures that can be experienced all over the world.”
Lars Janssen, CEO of game – the German Games Industry Association: “As a global beacon of games culture, gamescom has been setting standards for many years. We want to continue this success story with Koelnmesse in Cologne. In doing so, gamescom will remain as dynamic, innovative and fast-growing as the games market itself. To ensure this, we have agreed, among other things, to further strengthen the diverse gamescom formats worldwide and to invest in the brand and its international reach. We are grateful to have Koelnmesse as such a good partner for the future as well.”
Ralf Wirsing, board member of game – the German Games Industry Association: “We would also like to thank our partner Koelnmesse and the City of Cologne and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, who have shown a strong commitment to gamescom and will make an even stronger contribution in the coming years to ensuring that the gamescom in Cologne is the beating heart of the games world every August.”
A success story since 2009
Since its debut in Cologne in 2009, gamescom has grown to become the world's largest event for computer and video games. Last year, it broke records again, thereby underlining its central role for the international games industry and its growing economic relevance for the location.
In 2024, gamescom attracted 1,462 exhibitors from 64 countries – a new record. The event drew a total of 335,000 people from 120 countries, including around 32,000 trade visitors. By comparison, the first gamescom in Cologne in 2009 attracted 450 exhibitors from 31 countries and 228,000 visitors, including 17,000 trade visitors.
The consistent development of the content and the increasing digital reach are the driving factors behind the continued growth of gamescom. The number of people who followed gamescom online in 2020 also reached a new record last year with over 500 million video views. In addition, the organizers have further expanded the global presence of gamescom through the satellite events gamescom asia and gamescom latam.
Important support from North Rhine-Westphalia and Cologne
One of the key factors in the success of gamescom is the close cooperation with the city of Cologne and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Both parties have pledged their support and expanded funding measures for the future as part of the contract extension. In recent years, Cologne and NRW have already provided significant support for gamescom – including measures to increase its visibility in the city and around the gamescom city festival, which brings gaming culture to urban areas. The city and state also make an important contribution to the event itself, for example by investing in formats such as the gamescom congress, Europe's leading conference on the potential of games, or the gamescom invest circle, a matchmaking event for investors and games studios.
Mayor Henriette Reker: “Cologne is and will remain the home of gamescom. This is good news, because gamescom is an important economic factor for our city and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It strengthens the local economy by attracting hundreds of thousands of people to Cologne from all over the world every year, creating jobs and cementing Cologne's role as one of Europe's leading industry locations. But I am sure that gamescom will also continue to benefit from Cologne as a creative media metropolis.”
“gamescom is committed to Cologne in the long term. This is a special distinction for Cologne and North Rhine-Westphalia as a games location,” explains Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and the Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Head of the State Chancellery. ”The state is a strong partner behind gamescom - an international flagship in economic, cultural and technological terms. I would like to thank Koelnmesse and game – the German Games Industry Association – for their extensive commitment here in Cologne and for our good cooperation. The state government will continue to provide intensive support to gamescom in the future in order to expand its special position as the world's largest event for video games. Together, we are setting trends for games as a driver of innovation and cultural factor. We want to help shape the megatrend of gamification from Cologne and North Rhine-Westphalia worldwide.”