Germany's new public gathering ban is bad news for Gamescom
The coronavirus outbreak has already claimed a number of events and trade shows that were slated for 2020: MWC, E3, GDC, Google I/O, and Microsoft BUILD are just some of the shows that have been impacted by the pandemic. Some of them have been cancelled entirely, others have been postponed, and yet some have moved to digital-only events.
It seems that Gamescom, one of the biggest gaming trade shows of the year, is the next big event to be cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak. According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, German chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to ban large events in the country until August 31st.
Gamescom 2020 was slated to kick off on August 25th in Cologne, meaning that it was scheduled to take place right at the tail end of this ban. Gamescom definitely fits the description of the term "large event" as well, as it boasted an attendance of nearly 400,000 people in 2019.
❗ 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
In light of this news, the organizers of Gamescom have taken to Twitter to announce that this ban will impact planning for the show. "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," the tweet reads. "Furthermore: gamescom 2020 will definitely take place digitally! We will provide further information shortly."
So, at the moment at least, it looks like the in-person portion of Gamescom is a no-go, with the show shifting to a digital-only format. We'll wait on Gamescom for more details, and we'll let you know when the show's organizers announce more.