We’ve heard official confirmation that Gamescom has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who were excited to visit Cologne’s video games show in August recently received the disappointing news that the event will no longer be taking place. This was officially announced over a statement on Twitter.
For those who bought tickets to the show, these tickets will be automatically refunded over the next few weeks.
While this is likely not surprising to anyone, up until recently, the event narrowly missed the wave of cancellations as it was due to take place in August.
Organizers in March said that the event and plans “are continuing as planned”. However, cancellations and restrictions in Germany have recently been extended until August 31st as the virus spreads further.
While disappointing, this is good news for safety after all. Gamescom is a massive event that 370,000 people attended in 2018 and 2020 was gearing up for similar numbers.
A Digital Event Coming
It’s not all bad news though. It looks like Gamescom is indeed gearing up for a digital event instead.
Organizers said: “We are, however, already working at full speed on a digital Gamescom. It is, after all, the world’s biggest event for games, and that’s what it should be again this year.
“You can already look forward to how we will celebrate the best games and Gamescom together with you and millions of gamers worldwide at the end of August, even if it will only be digital and not on location. Because one thing is certain: this year too, Gamescom is and will remain ‘The Heart of Gaming!'”
Aside from this confirmation, there’s not a lot of details available about how the digital event will be broadcast. More details are expected to be announced over the next few weeks.
Gamescom follows a growing list of other gaming and tech-based events across the world including E3 2020 (both the official event and the online one) and Nvidia’s GTC too.
If there are any more cancellations or updates to other events such as Gamescom, we will keep you updated here.