With 320,000 visitors, gamescom 2023 has grown considerably in comparison to the previous year – but it did not come close to the figures from before the pandemic. On the other hand, a new digital reach record was set.
“The biggest, most international and most diverse gamescom of all time” Felix Falk – CEO of the Association of the German Games Industry – had already announced to eSport on Thursday. The final figures prove him right, at least in part. The size, however, is debatable: While gamescom 2023, with 320,000 visitors, clearly surpassed last year’s fair (265,000), it did not come too close to the pre-pandemic record of 2019 (373,000).
Nevertheless, a new record was set: According to its own information, the gamescom digital show programme recorded more than 180 million hits worldwide by Saturday evening. The Opening Night Live alone is said to account for 20 million – a new high for international reach. “What was already evident in advance in several records for exhibitor numbers, floor space and internationality has now been impressively confirmed at the end of the event: Gamescom is and remains the world’s largest games event,” Gerald Böse, Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse, is quoted as saying.
Focus on internationality and diversity
Internationality and diversity are particularly important for gamescom 2023: the 320,000 visitors are expected to come from over 100 different countries. Of the more than 31,000 trade visitors, 50 percent would come from abroad. The 1,227 exhibitors came from 63 different countries, with 76 percent coming from abroad. All these people and companies were accommodated on a gross exhibition area of around 230,000 square metres.
But it was not only exhibitors, trade visitors and fans who flocked to gamescom. According to Falk, more than 250 politicians “from all over the world” had visited the fair in 2022. For 2023, he predicted an even larger number. Four of them gave their views on the gaming industry at the Debatt(l)e Royale. FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai even announced that non-profit status for eSports would be technically feasible “by the end of the year”.
