Is gamescom 2020 canceled? It’s looking like that might be the case according to a recent announcement from the German government putting an end to public events for the near future. Unfortunately, it looks like this lockdown period is planned to end after gamescom 2020 is supposed to happen.
German games magazine GamesWirtschaft reports (via ResetEra) that the German government has extended the ban on public gatherings in the country. Originally, there was plenty of time for the gamescom team to prep for their convention, but it looks like we’ll now see gamescom 2020 canceled.
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Here’s a machine translation of the most recent update from German news site NTV:
+++ 16:40 major events remain prohibited until the end of August +++
Major events are to be prohibited until August 31 due to the corona pandemic – football games are also affected. The prime ministers of the federal states and Chancellor Merkel agreed on this principle ban at a switching conference on Wednesday, according to information from the German Press Agency. Specific regulations, such as the size of the events, should be made by the federal states.
The dates for gamescom 2020 are August 25–29, 2020, which would put it just before this ban on public events is scheduled to end.
There has not yet been an official announcement from gamescom regarding any possible cancellation. Unfortunately, it looks like there’s no possibility for the event to go on in its current form. While the regulations note that the size of events can be mandated by Germany’s federal states, gamescom had 370,000 people out on the show floor in 2018. That’s probably far too large of an event to run under these current restrictions.
You may be sad to see gamescom 2020 canceled, but it’s ultimately for the best. Hopefully, the organizers will be able to follow suit with other conventions ar ound the world and put together some kind of awesome online-only event for the fans.
Game Revolution recommends all readers comply with CDC guidelines and remain as isolated as possible during this urgent time. Visit the Centers for Disease Control at CDC.gov or the World Health Organization at Who.int for the latest information on the coronavirus and learn what you can do to stop the spread.
