Gamescom opens in Cologne with 1,700 exhibitors and a sold-out floor
The five-day fair has booked all 233,000 square metres for the first time. Last year’s exhibitor record was 1,568. Organisers expect at least 350,000 visitors by Sunday. More than 70% of stands are from outside Germany. The Witcher 3 queue formed after a new expansion was named.
Cologne1 min read
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Gamescom 2026 opened its public days on Thursday in Cologne with more than 1,700 exhibitors from 67 countries and regions, above last year’s record of 1,568, and with every one of the 233,000 square metres on the Koelnmesse floor sold. Organisers expect at least 350,000 visitors before the fair closes on 30 August. More than 70 per cent of the stands are foreign. Forty-seven national and regional pavilions are present, another record.
Xbox, Sega and Nintendo brought playable builds. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Mario Kart World drew the console lines. The longest queue on Thursday formed for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt after CD Projekt Red named a new expansion and remaster package, Songs of the Past. Konami, Tencent Games, Embark Studios and Level Infinite joined a list that already ran from Capcom and Ubisoft to NetEase, Krafton and The Lego Group.
Trade and media had the halls on Wednesday. Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, North Rhine-Westphalia premier Hendrik Wüst and European Commission vice-president Henna Virkkunen walked the business area. The motto this year is “Games spark excitement for the future.” Artificial intelligence tools for production and design are on the panels. The commercial fact underneath the motto is simpler: the world’s largest games fair has run out of floor and is already talking about more halls in 2027.
