In the wake of several gaming and esports events being canceled, Gamescom, one of the largest trade fairs in gaming, is “continuing as planned.”
Gamescom released a statement addressing concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak, and how the event will adapt to the threat.
“The health of all trade fair visitors and partners is our top priority,” the organizers said. The city of Cologne, which hosts the annual exhibition, has “banned all major events with more than 1,000 participants” until April 10, 2020.
With Gamescom scheduled at the end of August 2020, the expo’s timeline is not affected. The organizers acknowledged that they will still keep a keen eye on the developing coronavirus situation.
“We will of course follow the recommendations of the responsible authorities regarding major events, evaluate them on a daily basis, and make our decisions after careful consideration.”
Gamescom isn’t the only major gaming event affected by the outbreak. E3 has officially been cancelled, while the 2020 Games Developers Conference was postponed.
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Gamescom is an annual trade fair organized by the German Games Industry Association, held in the Koelnmesse, an exhibition center in Cologne.
While the organizers have planned to go ahead with the event, it is still subject to the approval of the venue space. Gamescom confirmed that if the fair is postponed or canceled by Koelnmesse, visitors’ tickets will be reimbursed.
The fair attracted more than 370,000 visitors from over 100 countries in 2019. The convention also saw 1,153 companies attending the event., both numbers increasing from the year before.
