German trade show Gamescom has reported that 265,000 people came to the event this year.
That's a 29 per cent drop on the 373,000 visitors that the show reported back in 2019. This is the first time that a physical Gamescom has been held since the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Of that 265,000 figure, more than 25,000 were trade attendees, a drop of around 6,000 people against 2019's numbers. Around 1,100 exhibitors were at Gamescom, representing a slight decrease on the 1,153 from 2019.
Of course, this wasn't an entirely physical Gamescom; the show included elements that could be viewed online, such as the Opening Night Live event hosted by Geoff Keighley. This clocked in at 12 million views.
“For this re-start, the many partners and entire Gamescom team fought hard so that Gamescom 2022 could finally take place in the Cologne exhibition halls again," the president and CEO of co-organiser Koelnmesse Gerald Böse said.
"It has not been an easy journey for the trade fair industry in general and Koelnmesse in particular. Despite everything, with all the exhibitors and us together, we were able to get hundreds of thousands of people on-site and millions worldwide excited about Gamescom. I am especially pleased that so many visitors and exhibitors from abroad made their way to Cologne to celebrate their passion for games together - Gamescom was more international than ever this year. Overall, this is a clear signal from Cologne to the whole world that the trade fair location Germany is back.”
The MD of German games trade body Game Felix Falk added: “Finally, Gamescom is back in full force. Despite the significant challenges for everyone involved this year, the unique atmosphere was palpable everywhere right from day one. After more than two years of exclusively digital events, it was a great joy for the industry and community to be able to meet in person. On the whole, Gamescom 2022 exceeded our expectations: This live comeback together with our newly expanded digital offerings means that we are ideally positioned for the successful hybrid future of Gamescom.”
