Video games connect some 3 billion people worldwide. People play together across all borders, share stories and adventures. Games have long since become a world culture medium, shaping whole generations around the globe. The games industry is not only setting the cultural trends, but also the technological trends, for example in virtual reality, 3D technologies or artificial intelligence. Games innovations are defining more and more industries. This outstanding cultural and technological importance of games makes them world class.
“As the world’s largest games event, gamescom brings together the global video games community and industry. Every year at the end of August, Germany is the heart of gaming. This is even more true for this year. However, it must be our aim to ensure that the international games industry does not just look to Germany once a year, but also during the rest of the year. In order for games from Germany to be world class, we need the reliable support of politics. That’s why I’m very pleased that numerous major politicians will visit gamescom again this year to talk about the right way forward,” said Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – The German Games Industry Association and co-organiser of gamescom.
Gamescom Trend: “Upgrade for reality”
Whether it’s Artificial Intelligence or the Metaverse: The expertise of the gaming industry is becoming crucial for more and more sectors of the economy. The best example of this is AI. Everyone is currently talking about it because of chatbots, but it has already been used successfully in the games industry for many years: Within video games, to enable believable behaviour of the game characters, in development, to create entire galaxies or to be able to detect errors in a complex code. The 3D technologies used to create games have also made it possible to replace entire movie sets or modernise education programmes.
Gamescom Trend: “Games studios are the new dream factories”
Video games tell the epic stories of our time. This requires teams of highly creative people. Their expertise – whether in programming, interface design or the creation of story universes – is in demand across all sectors of the economy. Anyone who wants to inspire people around the world with stories today should start in the gaming industry. After all, games are not only played all over the world, but they are also understood everywhere.
Major Political Figures Attending Gamescom
Not only the international games community and industry meet at gamescom in Cologne, but also more and more politicians from Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. With the gamescom congress, the Political Opening and the Debatt(l)e Royale, there are multiple political events. This year, the official Political Opening of gamescom on 23 August will be attended by, among others, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck and Hendrik Wüst, Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia. The political talk Debatt(l)e Royale will follow on 24 August. Participants will include Franziska Giffey (SPD Berlin Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Industry and SPD state party chair), Nathanael Liminski (Minister for Federal, European and International Affairs and the Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Head of the State Chancellery), Emily Büning (Federal Executive Director, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) and Bijan Djir-Sarai (Secretary General, FDP). As part of the gamescom congress, Lisa Paus, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, will also take part in a discussion on the contemporary protection of minors in games.
