Gamescom Directors Officially Reveal Plans For The Future

Published Aug 24, 2026, 7:27 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. Gamescom is now just a couple of days away. Despite the games industry floundering, this year's show is set to be the biggest yet, breaking multiple records. Ahead of the event, we spoke to the Director of Gamescom and Events at game - The German Games Industry Association, Stefan Heikhaus, and Tim Endres, Director of Gamescom at Koelnmesse, to get their lowdown on what fans can expect, whether they're visiting Cologne or viewing from home. TheGamer: Congrats on the success of gamescom; it looks like you're set to have another record-breaking year. How do you ensure that it keeps growing YoY, especially with the struggles the games industry is facing at the moment? Tim Endres: Thank you! We’re thrilled to see how gamescom continues to grow and how enthusiastic people are about the event. To us, growth isn't just about getting bigger every year. It also needs to improve the experience for fans, exhibitors, trade visitors, media and content creators. After every gamescom, we closely examine feedback to identify areas for improvement, such as hall planning, visitor flow, signage and digital orientation. While parts of the industry are facing challenges, the strong demand from exhibitors for 2026 shows that companies still see gamescom as an important place to present their games and connect with their communities. And working so actively with the feedback we receive from all sides probably is part of the reason why we see growth with each passing year. We evolved into this hybrid event that perfectly combines the on-site experience while not leaving out the fans watching our content from around the world. And that digital reach that comes along with an on-site presence surely is something that brings many benefits to our exhibitors as well. TG: Do these struggles concern you for future shows? Stefan Heikhaus: Of course, we are monitoring the situation in the industry very closely. The challenges are real, and they affect many of our partners. Looking ahead, however, we are confident about the future of gamescom. The event has always adapted to the needs of the industry and its communities, and this flexibility will continue to be important in the years to come. The strong demand for 2026 gives us good reason to be optimistic: exhibition space is fully booked for the first time and demand in every sector is high. Together with our partners and exhibitors we are looking ahead. TG: What extras should attendees expect from gamescom 2026? Tim Enders: There are quite a few new things this year. One that I am particularly looking forward to is gamescom GDQ, the first European event by Games Done Quick, which will take place on-site and also be streamed live on the GDQ channels. We are also bringing gamescom dev even closer into the overall gamescom experience, continuing to develop the gamescom awesome indies show together with IGN and putting more emphasis on community formats such as the social stage. So, there will be plenty for attendees to discover beyond what they already know from gamescom – both on-site in Cologne and through our livestreams and digital formats for fans around the world. TG: How much work does it take to make things come together? Is it a year-round effort? Stefan Heikhaus: Absolutely. In many ways, work on the next gamescom already starts before the current one even takes place. Of course, we analyze feedback from visitors, exhibitors and partners alike, look at what worked well and where we can improve, and feed those insights directly into the next planning phase. Bringing together the sheer number of people on this scale takes a huge amount of coordination across the entire team. And while we are fully focused on 2026 right now, we are already thinking about 2027 as well. TG: From an organizer standpoint, what is the most exciting part of gamescom for you? Tim Endres: For me, it is really about the people: reconnecting with old friends, meeting new faces and having personal conversations with colleagues from across the industry. But of course, I also always look forward to the moment when months of work suddenly become reality. Walking through the halls and seeing the incredible variety of booths, from major productions to smaller teams and their projects, never gets old. And of course, gamescom Opening Night Live is always a major highlight, with its unique energy as the show begins and officially kicks off gamescom. Stefan Heikhaus: Also, seeing the projects we worked on – whether it is a new branding initiative or a further developed program such as the gamescom awesome indies show or something completely new like gamescom GDQ come to life is always special. It makes the year-long effort tangible and feels rewarding in many ways. TG: What are some of the hardest aspects of bringing the show together that attendees might not see or appreciate? Tim Endres: A lot of the complexity is something we hope attendees never have to think about. Behind the scenes, we balance the needs of many different audiences while coordinating capacity, visitor flow, routing, signage, staff guidance, access controls, safety and accessibility. An example: We sometimes must navigate visitors in different directions to prevent blockages on escalators or stairs. For those who are not familiar this might have caused confusion regarding where one is standing and where he or she needs to go to reach their destination. Over the past two years, we developed a wayfinding system on our website which not only shows your exact location on the show floor but also lets you add filters that show you companies that you previously liked on our website, shows you content that is related to Asian pop culture or free water dispensers or accessible toilets. While some of the improvements we make may seem minor, they can have a significant impact when hundreds of thousands of people move through the event. TG: Can you share any exciting plans or ideas you might have for future editions of the show? Stefan Heikhaus: Our vision is to keep gamescom the global home of gaming and gaming culture. That means strengthening hybrid formats such as gamescom Opening Night Live and the gamescom awesome indies show, expanding our international reach and continuously improving the experience for everyone. Of course, it is still a bit too early to share concrete plans for 2027 and beyond. However, we can say that we are already working on plans to increase the exhibition space for next year to meet the industry’s demand for space to meet and interact with the community. We cannot wait to share more details later. Location Koelnmesse, Cologne, Germany Dates August 21-25, 2024