It has been announced that another high-profile publisher will not be attending Gamescom 2022. Gamescom is an annual video game event that has been held in Cologne, Germany for the last thirteen years. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the event was held virtually from 2020 to 2021. This August, Gamescom will be making its return as a hybrid event where patrons can physically attend again. However, many video game companies have chosen to opt out of this year’s festivities.
In a recent statement to German publication Games Wirtschaft, a spokesperson from Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed that PlayStation would not be present at the convention. This means that new releases such as God of War Ragnarök and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will not be shown at the event. It also adds PlayStation to the list of many publishers that are skipping the convention. Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, and Take-Two Interactive have also announced that they will not attend the show. Video game enthusiasts do not have to fret about the many absences though. Gamescom has verified the appearance of 250 exhibitors, including Bandai Namco, THQ Nordic, and Koch Media. At the time of writing, no input has been made from Xbox on their attendance.
In recent years, both Nintendo and PlayStation have been revealing the newest game releases on their terms. For example, Sony has shifted its focus toward the short-form State of Play streams to keep PlayStation fans regularly updated on current events. As for Nintendo, they have decided to skip Gamescom in favor of smaller events such as the SWR Summer Festival and the upcoming Stuttgart Children and Youth Festival. Many publishers have made the decision not to attend Gamescom this year, but this does not mean that fans will miss out on the latest news and announcements.
Gamescom 2022 will be held at the Koelnmesse Convention Center virtually and in-person from August 24-28.