We sit down with some of Gamescom 2026’s key leadership team, discussing the challenges and excitement surrounding what’s expected at this year's show.17:00, 24 Aug 2026Later this week will see the return of the video game industry’s biggest trade show, Gamescom 2026, where the Opening Night Live livestream will play host to multiple reveals and announcements that will then be playable to both journalists and punters assembling on the show floor.‌It’s sure to be a busy week, then, largely since thousands upon thousands of local and international fans will descend onto the Koelnmesse centre in Cologne to meet up with like-minded individuals, play some games, and share their passion.‌Gamescom as an event may be hard to pull off, but it’s an endeavour that only continues to grow year on year. In fact, Gamescom 2026 marks the first time the event has fully sold out across all five days between the Wednesday, August 26, and Sunday, August 30 in which it runs. It's evidence that, despite continuing tough headwinds that has seen various publishers, developers, and console platforms awash with lay-offs and studio shutdowns in recent years, there’s still an audience for video games - however tough the business of being in them appears to be.‌To learn more about how the show itself is navigating such challenges, as well as some of the ways it uses its heft to support charities, the indie scene, alongside developers and players alike, we recently spoke to Gamescom Director Tim Endres and Managing Director Felix Falk ahead of 2026’s Opening Night Live kick-off event.First off, with AAA games struggling more and more with lay-offs and shutdowns, how important is it for Gamescom to maintain its strong indie game presence - and what are you doing to ensure this continues?Felix Falk: We are very aware that this is a challenging time for the games industry. Lay-offs and studio closures affect teams, careers and creative projects. At the same time, Gamescom 2026 is fully sold out for the first time, which shows that both indie and AAA companies are present on the ground.Indie games have always played an important role at Gamescom, and that remains just as true today. This makes Gamescom a place where smaller studios can be seen, discovered and connected with the right partners. They bring a different angle of video game production to the event and fans love that part. We support indie developers through dedicated spaces, tailored participation options and conditions and additional visibility via formats such as the Gamescom awesome indies show, the Gamescom Steam event, and the Gamescom invest circle.‌To ensure that the indie game presence remains strong, we are further investing and developing the Gamescom awesome indies show together with IGN. The show will not only feature trailer premieres and gameplay reveals but will also highlight some of the human stories behind some of the indie games.We really believe that investing in the show is the best thing to do as the importance of indie games is ever growing. Our goal is to become the number one platform to discover indie games and the only way we can achieve that is by investing into the fitting on-site and digital formats to ensure the right people find the right games and studios.Have you seen much impact on the vendor side from the various industry consolidations that have occurred, even in the year from last year’s show?Tim Endres: The industry is clearly going through a challenging period, and we do not want to downplay the impact of lay-offs, consolidation and uncertainty. However, from Gamescom's perspective, exhibitor demand remains very strong. For the first time ever, we are welcoming more than 1.600 exhibitors with 70% coming from abroad – and still counting.‌The available exhibition space for 2026 is, as Felix mentioned, for the first time fully booked. We also have 47 country pavilions from 40 countries confirmed. In times of change, the role of Gamescom as a place to meet partners, stay connected, and find new opportunities becomes even more important.So, while we acknowledge the current situation, we see the strong demand for Gamescom as a positive sign for the future ahead of us as companies invest in the future of their games and the community and business relations they build during the event.‌Gamescom in Cologne continues to grow year over year, but it’s no longer just limited to Germany. What success have you seen in expanding to other markets, such as South America and Asia?FF: Our international editions extend the “Gamescom momentum” throughout the year and around the world. With Gamescom Latam in São Paulo and Gamescom Asia x Thailand Game Show in Bangkok, we are active in two highly dynamic regions. These events create additional opportunities for fans, developers, publishers and business partners in Latin America and Southeast Asia.They also strengthen Gamescom in Cologne: international participation continues to grow, and more companies and country pavilions use Gamescom as a global stage. So, we not just implemented successful regional editions throughout the year but were able to strengthen the main event at the same time.How much would you say the success of Gamescom relies on what games are releasing that year - and what do make of this year’s lineup?TE: Games are, of course, the main reason why people come to Gamescom. Fans want to see what is next, play upcoming titles, and experience moments they cannot get anywhere else. But Gamescom is not dependent on singular releases. The variety the event offers ranges from cosy games to Soulslikes, from AAA productions to solo indie dev projects or from near-realistic looking graphics to stylized art design – all of this is something you can experience at Gamescom every year.‌So, being able to host games that have a lot of hype is surely great, but we are not dependent on these games in any way. With more than 1,600 exhibitors there are plenty of games that fans can look forward to. At the same time, Gamescom is also a business platform, a fan festival and a showcase for the full range of gaming culture — from games to esports, cosplay, tabletop, streaming and live shows.How did your partnership with Games Done Quick come about and how will it manifest at the show?TE: Games Done Quick is one of the strongest community-driven charity formats in gaming. Speedrunning combines skill, creativity and community spirit, which fits very well with Gamescom. In past years, we always had some way to experience speedrunning on our show floor. With Gamescom GDQ, we will bring that aspect to the next level.We partnered with Games Done Quick who will host its first European event. From August 28 to August 30, 2027, visitors in Cologne can experience three days of live speedruns, while fans worldwide can follow the event via GDQ’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.‌The format will be fully integrated into Gamescom, with around 30 hours of streamed content from the show floor. Donations and sponsorship proceeds will support Gaming for Democracy, an initiative promoting social engagement and democratic values through gaming culture. For fans, it is going to be a GDQ event as they know it from their annual events. Everyone in the team is very much looking forward to it and we could not be happier to work with such an amazing team.How has the relationship between Gamescom and Geoff Keighley’s ONL evolved over the years? Would you say it’s crucial to setting the tone for that year’s show?FF: It all started with a first conversation in 2018, before we launched Gamescom Opening Night Live in 2019. Since then, the show has become a central part of Gamescom. The show is a true joint effort: Geoff and his team bring deep industry knowledge, creative vision and live-show expertise, while we ensure the show is closely connected to Gamescom, its exhibitors, halls and fans in Cologne.‌Together, we evaluate the show each year and see which aspects we want to improve in the following. The mutual exchange really is what helps us to make the show better with each passing year. And yes, Opening Night Live strongly sets the tone. It is the official kick-off, connecting a global broadcast with the on-site experience. Fans see world premieres and updates on Tuesday night and from Wednesday, many of those games can be experienced on the show floor.Is it true that as soon as one Gamescom event ends the process of planning the next one already begins? How much lead time is required to pull a show of this scale off?TE: The work never really stops. In fact: The first ideas and meetings are actually already taking place. Even while Gamescom is still running, we are already looking ahead: what can be improved, refined or expanded, and which partners we will continue working with. After the event, we move straight into detailed evaluation, including feedback from visitors, exhibitors and partners, as well as the performance of our digital formats.By autumn, exhibitor sales and initial hall planning for the next edition are already underway. Experienced teams and established systems help, but an event of this scale is never routine. Every year brings new topics, needs and challenges and that is exactly what makes it so exciting for us.Article continues belowGamescom 2026 takes place later this week at Cologne's Koelnmesse Centre between Wednesday, August 26 , and Sunday, August 30 .