It seems that the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic has claimed another video game event. It was only a week or so that the organizers of Gamescom, Koelnmesse GmbH, announced that they may have to make Gamescom a digital event due to Germany declaring a state of emergency and restricting public events for the safety of its public. A decision was going to be made in May to evaluate whether Gamescom will still be a physical event or a digital one come this August.
Unfortunately, in a turn of events. The German government has extended their Lockdown until August 31st. This has forced Koelnmesse GmbH to make the difficult decision sooner than they hoped and have announced the news via social media.
❗ Even though not all details are known at present, the nationwide ban on major events until the end of August will also affect the planning for #gamescom2020. Furthermore: gamescom 2020 will definitely take place digitally! We will provide further information shortly. ❗
— gamescom (@gamescom) April 15, 2020
They have now followed up with an official announcement:
Official statement regarding #gamescom2020 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fHaN4GOULM
— gamescom (@gamescom) April 16, 2020
This is terrible news for those that were hoping to attend the event (ourselves included) but it is understandable why a digital event is the way to go with the current global situation. It will certainly be interested to see how a Gamescom Digital Event will be like.
Source: @Gamescom (Twitter)
