‘World class games’: theme of gamescom 2023 focuses on the global significance of games

‘World class games’ is the theme of gamescom 2023

‘Upgrade for reality’ and ‘Games studios are the new dream factories’ are the trends of gamescom 2023

Major political figures to visit gamescom this year

Video games connect some 3 billion people worldwide. People play together across all borders, share stories and adventures. Games have long since become a world culture medium, shaping whole generations around the globe. The games industry is not only setting the cultural trends, but also the technological trends, for example in virtual reality, 3D technologies or artificial intelligence. Games innovations are defining more and more industries. This outstanding cultural and technological importance of games makes them world class.

‘As the world’s largest games event, gamescom brings together the global video games community and industry. Every year at the end of August, Germany is the heart of gaming. This is even more true for this year,’ said Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – The German Games Industry Association and co-organiser of gamescom. ‘However, it must be our aim to ensure that the international games industry does not just look to Germany once a year, but also during the rest of the year. In order for games from Germany to be world class, we need the reliable support of politics. That’s why I’m very pleased that numerous major politicians will visit gamescom again this year to talk about the right way forward.’

gamescom trend: ‘Upgrade for reality’

Whether it’s Artificial Intelligence or the Metaverse: The expertise of the gaming industry is becoming crucial for more and more sectors of the economy. The best example of this is AI. Everyone is currently talking about it because of chatbots, but it has already been used successfully in the games industry for many years: Within video games, to enable believable behaviour of the game characters, in development, to create entire galaxies or to be able to detect errors in a complex code. The 3D technologies used to create games have also made it possible to replace entire movie sets or modernise education programmes.

gamescom trend: ‘Games studios are the new dream factories’

Video games tell the epic stories of our time. This requires teams of highly creative people. Their expertise – whether in programming, interface design or the creation of story universes – is in demand across all sectors of the economy. Anyone who wants to inspire people around the world with stories today should start in the gaming industry. After all, games are not only played all over the world, but they are also understood everywhere.

About gamescom

gamescom is the world’s largest event for computer and video games and Europe’s largest business platform for the games industry. In 2023, gamescom will take place in Cologne and online from Tuesday, August 22th, to Sunday, August 27th. gamescom is jointly organized by Koelnmesse and game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche.

game – The German Games Industry Association

We are the association of the German games industry. Our members represent the entire video game ecosystem, from development studios and publishers to esports event organisers, educational institutions and other related entities. We are co-organisers of gamescom, the world’s biggest event for video games. We are a shareholder in the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK), the Foundation for Digital Games Culture, the esports player foundation, devcom and the collecting society VHG, as well as co-host of the German Computer Game Awards. Serving as a central point of contact for media, as well as political and social institutions, we provide comprehensive expertise in areas including market development, game culture and media literacy, and address any inquiries or concerns. Together we are making Germany the heart of gaming worldwide. With games, we enrich the lives of all people.