The Gamescom 2026 show ended with a resounding scandal: after numerous reports of devices and computers being stolen overnight from independent developers’ stands, the event organizers issued an official statement.
Rather than apologizing and acknowledging the problem, the management referred to the rules of participation and recalled that general security guards only patrol the territory and that the exhibitors themselves must be responsible for the security of the individual booths and that expensive equipment must be insured.
Such responses prompted harsh criticism on social networks: participants accused the organizers of trying to evade responsibility for the huge profits but of a poor organizational process. According to witnesses, security issues arose throughout the week – from chaos at checkpoints to teenagers gaining free access to closed commercial areas due to unprofessional security.
especially the representatives Ukiyo Studio Talking about a blatant incident two years ago. According to them, after a computer was stolen from the stand, an exhibition staff member tried to prevent them from filing a complaint with the police, saying that such a statement would “have a negative impact on the reputation of the exhibition and the city of Cologne”.