Gamescom 2020 preparations ‘continuing as planned’

Preparations for Gamescom 2020 are “continuing as planned” amid concerns the event could be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Responding to enquiries about how the Covid-19 outbreak could affect this year’s event, which is scheduled to take place from August 25-29 in Cologne, Germany, organiser Koelnmesse said visitor safety is its “top priority”.

On March 10, the city of Cologne banned all major events with more than 1,000 participants for one month.

“Since Gamescom takes place at the end of August, we are currently not affected by this decree,” Koelnmesse said.

“However, we will of course follow the recommendations of the responsible authorities regarding major events, evaluate them on a daily basis and make our decisions after careful consideration.

“The preparations for Gamescom 2020 are continuing as planned according to the current status for the determined date.”

Koelnmesse announced the initial Gamescom 2020 exhibitor list in early March. It features platform holders Xbox and Nintendo, but Sony Interactive Entertainment is yet to be confirmed for the show.

The first wave of confirmed exhibitors also includes Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Capcom, CD Projekt, EA, Sega, THQ Nordic and Ubisoft.

Gamescom 2019 attracted a record 373,000 visitors, while the number of exhibiting companies totalled 1,150, according to Koelnmesse.

The coronavirus has led to the cancellation of multiple annual games industry events including GDC in March and E3 in June.