The largest gaming fair in the world, Gamescom, is expanding. Instead of just Cologne, it will also go to Singapore in 2020. The gaming fair is set to take place there every October.
This is the announcement: Singapore will host the world’s largest gaming festival, Gamescom, in 2020. It is expected to become an annual event.
But Germans need not worry: This is the new Asia offshoot of Gamescom, the main fair will still be in Cologne.
When will Gamescom Asia take place? It will be from October 15 to 18, 2020, which is from Thursday to Sunday.
It is said that the fair will be spread over:
- two days of gaming industry conference
- three days of trade fair and public exhibition, where new technologies in video games will be showcased. Visitors can meet developers or admire cosplays.
How did this come about? How Straitstimes reports, the “Singapore Tourism Board” started discussions with Koelnmesse two years ago to develop an Asia offshoot.
This aims to make Singapore’s event calendar even more vibrant and strengthen its position as a country for the development and commercialization of gaming and digital content.
It is said that in October visitors should also expect to see new titles presented and that there will be plenty to see. Additionally, the event is meant to facilitate networking among buyers, programmers, designers, and influencers.
Gamescom is the largest event in the gaming industry with 370,000 visitors and 1,037 exhibitors from 56 countries who attended last year, as is known in Asia.
What does this mean for us? What’s interesting is that Gamescom Asia will take place in October, two months after Gamescom in Cologne.
Actually, after E3 (June) and Gamescom (August), there are hardly any major fairs where new announcements are made. The next event was actually the PlayStation Experience in December of a year. Gamespot notes that “PAX Australia” takes place in October otherwise.
Maybe some companies are actually holding back their announcements for October, and we can expect another flood of news at a third date of the year.
The organizers from Singapore at least talk about global titles.
What’s behind this: Gamescom has recently been struggling with the fear of losing significance, after Blizzard, a flagship of the fair, canceled.
Expanding into the growth market of Asia is definitely a step into the future. Western companies could use Gamescom Asia as a kind of foothold to become more present in Asia.
In Asia, there are indeed large gaming fairs like the Tokyo Game Show (September) or G-Star (November), but in recent years everything has revolved around Asian titles.
The highlight of the last Gamescom 2018:
