Gamescom cannot take place in 2020, at least not as we know the game fair from recent years. Because according to a report by the German Press Agency, the federal government has because of the current corona pandemic All major events in Germany are prohibited until August 31.
This particularly affects football games, but also that Gamescom should fail. Because it should actually take place in Cologne from August 25th to 29th. With the hundreds of thousands of visitors who flock to the fair every year, Gamescom is clearly considered a "major event".
Officially, the organizers of the game fair have not yet said anything. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Ministers of the German federal states only agreed on the decision to ban major events only this Wednesday afternoon. Official statements are therefore still to follow.
It wasn't until the beginning of April that the organizers of Gamescom announced that the games fair should continue to take place as normal. However, plans were already emerging at this point to increasingly rely on digital content. The live show for the opening night of the fair already reached a lot of spectators in 2019 not only as an event on site, but above all via live streams.
The corona virus could now force the fair entirely onto the Internet. Because the organizers have already reported this: Gamescom should definitely take place in digital form, even if the visitor fair should be canceled due to the corona virus.
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It would therefore be conceivable that the trade fair simply switches to live streams and video platforms such as YouTube, Twitch and Mixer. However, Gamescom is characterized every year by the fact that visitors can play upcoming games early – and, if necessary, queue for hours. That would of course be much more complicated with a digital gamescom.
Another question that now requires an answer: What will become of the tickets that have already been sold? Because Gamescom has already diligently sold tickets. So it remains to be seen what will become of these tickets if the fair is now officially canceled.
