Gamescom was 2024’s largest international exhibition and conference dedicated to video games. It took place from August 21 to 25 in Cologne, Germany, and blew its participants away with its scale.
It’s a yearly event that brings game developers and fans together to see new projects in development, try out brand-new games, and find out more about future releases.
This year, representatives from INLINGO were among those to attend: Localization Manager Alexandra Kravtsova and Business Development Manager Aleksandr Treshchev. We asked them to give us the inside scoop.
A little about Gamescom
Gamescom is:
- New anticipated game showcases
This year’s key releases included Avowed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Starfield: Shattered Space.
- Testing out new games
Attendees got to be the first to try out new games before their official release dates and share their feedback with the developers.
- Top companies
The event hosted some of the industry’s titans, such as Microsoft, Blizzard Entertainment, Capcom, and more.
- The indie and merchandise areas
The special Indie Selects zone showcased games such as Squirrel with a Gun, Winter Burrow, and Creatures of Ava, alongside other unannounced titles.
- Panel discussions
Experts discussed the latest trends and talked to the crowd — this is many people’s reason for coming to Gamescom.
- The campus area
Gamescom is all about networking. On the campus, attendees learned about careers in the gaming industry.
The conference also featured a Diablo Immortal tournament and an immersive attraction dedicated to World of Warcraft: The War Within. Visitors also enjoyed the cosplay village and awards from Gamescom. We asked our team to tell us how the conference went, whether it met their expectations, and about their top moments.
Expectations
Our team attended the conference to learn more about the freshest projects, meet up with the gaming community, and get better acquainted with development companies — and we did just that.
“I relished the opportunity to meet so many people who are all united by the same passion.
My goal was to introduce myself and tell them that the INLINGO team loves games just as much as they do and can’t imagine a life without them. For many years now, we’ve been helping our clients localize their projects across a variety of genres, and the conference was a chance to expand our circle of acquaintances.
Alexandra Kravtsova, Localization Manager
It was my first time at an event like this. For anyone else going to a gaming conference for the first time, I recommend starting with Gamescom. My expectations were very far from reality. For example, I definitely didn’t expect such a huge scale and number of events per minute — every square meter was occupied by computers, consoles, or board games.
There was cosplay on one side, fans stocking up on merch with their favorite characters on another, a happy hour and giveaways going on somewhere else… and it was like that almost every hour on all days of the conference! It’s hard to grasp how organizing such an event is even possible.”
Communication
Gamescom 2024 had discussion panels with experts sharing the current trends, a campus for learning about careers in the gaming industry, and a cosplay village for competing over whose costume of their favorite character was the best.
“For me, the second day proved the most useful. Our first venture was very chaotic, since we were still unfamiliar with the area. But on the second day, navigating was much easier.
My personal highlight was talking to developers and cosplayers — we were on the same wavelength. We spoke with Ares Dragonis about his games and creative process, talked about Chivalry and No More Room in Hell 2 with the developers from Torn Banner, and chatted with the Reissad Studio team about the future of Bodycam. On the whole, we swung by too many stands to count them all!
Aleksandr Treshchev
What’s more, I discovered tons of interesting new games — like Battlejuice Alchemist, an exciting roguelike game with very deep mechanics, Tiny Bookshop, a very cute bookstore-on-wheels simulator, and Urban Myth, a mystical thriller with an emphasis on scouting social networks to unravel paranormal happenings.”
“I’d like to point out communication, too. No matter who I spoke to over the conference, it felt as though we’d known each other for years. It reminded me of a summer camp where I needed to make friends with everyone in a limited period of time, share the experience together, and then exchange contact details — to reminisce about Gamescom in the future!”
Gamescom’s Key Events
Gamescom 2024 was a record-breaker: it received no less than 335,000 attendees from 120 countries, there were 48 game pavilions from 37 countries — and all of that took place on a territory of 230,000 square meters. New and anticipated games were announced: Borderlands 4, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Sid Meyer’s Civilization VII, and others. Hundreds of cosplayers and cult game developers visited the event.
“For me, the indie area was the coolest part. I’m really into indie games myself, so I was really happy to see that the local devs were brimming with enthusiasm. It was awesome to discuss projects with their creators!
I particularly enjoyed chatting with cosplayers, especially the ones with costumes from Fallout and Hunt: Showdown — I’m a huge fan of both series! We talked about our latest favorite weapon types and agreed to duel on the expanse of the Scorched Earth.
It was interesting to visit Cologne and take a look at the local culture, even though we had almost no time to do so — Gamescom waits for no one. The only classic sight I had time to see was Cologne Cathedral, and even that was just by chance when I missed the stop for my station.
The unofficial afterparties gave me the chance to see a bit more of this fantastic city — I discovered lots of interesting places that I plan to return to on my next trip!”
“I remember my last day at Gamescom, when gifts were thrown from one of the many platforms. They threw me a bag! It came in very handy, since it gave me somewhere to put all my trophies from contests and demo showcases.”
Personal Discoveries
We asked the team what surprised them most about the conference. Gamescom certainly left a strong impression.
“My main discovery was just how seriously developers take their games. Obviously, they invest a lot of time and energy in their creations — I knew that already, but the stories they shared showed just how deeply they care and how hard they strive to make something one-of-a-kind.
For example, I got the chance to talk to a narrative designer who had just recently joined a small team and enthusiastically told us about how they crafted storylines. Or another team who, in search of the perfect audio, ventured out in the dead of night to record the sounds they needed in several parts of the world! One person spotted a little truck with books in it while on vacation, and that became their inspiration for an entire game. Aside from all the code and text, each project has a kind of emotional attachment.
The cosplayers were incredibly cool as well. They thought everything out in such detail — their costumes, makeup, and behavior.”
What to look out for
In 2025, the conference will be held in Cologne again, from August 20th to 24th. We asked the team what people planning to visit next year’s event should keep in mind.
“I’d recommend all future Gamescom attendees to prepare in advance and read about the KVB — that’s Cologne’s metro system. It was tricky to get my bearings for the first couple of days.
I’d love to come back for next year’s conference—it was a great experience! I was surprised by the scale of the event — the organizers broke all the previous records. It looks like Gamescom is attracting more and more attention each year, so I expect an even greater scope next time.”
“At the conference itself, it was sometimes hard to find the developer I was looking for — the numbering system wasn’t always consecutive. I had to comb through the same place multiple times to find the game I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to track all of them down.
It’s too bad it wasn’t possible to visit all of the halls in person. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so you’ll find yourself racking up a considerable number of steps each day. Prepare for a serious workout!
Seasoned attendees told us that the conference in 2023 was more modest. If the organizers are planning on going even bigger in 2025, then that’s something I have to see.”
