The debut event for Gamescom Asia has been delayed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This was going to be a big year for conferences. 2020 was supposed to mark the inaugural conference for Gamescom Asia, which was due to be hosted in Singapore from October 15 to 18. However, due to safety concerns for staff, exhibitors and attendees, the event has been pushed back a full year (via gamesindustry.biz). The new date for the first ever Gamescom Asia will be October 14-17 2021.
Gamescom Asia was intended to establish a major international showcase for Southeast Asian game developers, bringing in publishers from across the globe to see the talent and creativity of developers in the region. It’s the first satellite event for Gamescom’s main event, which is held yearly in Cologne, Germany.
Event organizers Koelnmesse Singapore have released a statement regarding the delay, with managing director Mathis Kuepper acknowledging the troubles and risks prevented by the pandemic, stating that “we felt it was important to give the regional gaming community and fans the full experience of what an international event of this scale would be like and not anything less”
Initially, Gamescom Asia had reported “confident” plans to continue with the event in 2020, and at the time of writing the official website hasn’t been updated. Southeast Asia has largely seen the peak of the pandemic pass in most countries, but with numbers still high in the Americas and regions of Europe, inviting many major publishers and companies may have posed serious risks.
Gamescom Asia’s delay follows the cancellation of Gamescom Cologne, which was due to take place in August. While the physical event has been cancelled, Gamecom will be hosting an online, digital event from August 25-29. 2019 saw the launch of the Opening Night Live show for Gamecom, an online broadcast to kick off the show. It’s likely this year’s show will build on that format for the full show.
To summarise, the debut Gamescom Asia show has been pushed back from 2020 to October 2021.
