Back at Gamescom: What a Second Year Taught Us
This year we had the opportunity to attend Gamescom for the second time, after our first experience there last year. The event took place in Cologne, Germany, from 26 to 30 August, bringing together what feels like almost the entire video game industry in one place, from indie games created by just one person, to enormous companies that have been around for more than 30 years.
The Difference a Year Makes
Going back for the second time was a very different experience. Last year, everything felt new. The event was enormous. During our first visit, the best part of the experience was figuring out where everything is, how the different halls work, who we met and how to make the most of our time there. This year, we arrived knowing much better what tox expect and a clearer idea of what we wanted to see, with some people we had been in contact with for months. Perhaps the biggest difference was that we weren't starting completely from zero. We were able to meet again with some of the people we had first connected with at Gamescom 2025. In an industry where relationships often take time to develop, there is something valuable about meeting someone again a year later and continuing a conversation that started at the previous event.
Finding the Next Big Thing
At the same time, the largest part of our Gamescom experience was spent discovering new games, studios and potential partners. We came across games such as Half Sword and Valor Mortis, among many others, and had the chance to connect with people from both independent studios and much larger companies. Some conversations were planned, while others happened simply because we saw an interesting game, stopped at a booth and started talking to the people behind it. And we thought that was probably one of our favourite things about Gamescom, sometimes the entire connection process can begin with simply walking up to someone and saying,
"Hey, what are you working on?"
Of course, not every conversation becomes an opportunity, and that isn't really the point either. Some lead to introductions, others give you a better understanding of a studio or project, and a few become genuinely interesting leads to follow up on once you get home. This year we returned with a long list of new contacts and studios to follow up with. Looking at that list afterwards was also a good reminder of how varied Gamescom really is: one conversation might be with a small indie developer showing their first game, while the next could involve a company such as KRAFTON, Tencent or Microsoft.
Why We Do This
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Gamescom was being reminded of why we want to be part of this industry in the first place. Video games are becoming increasingly digital, but we believe there will always be something special about owning a physical piece of the worlds, characters and stories that we love. That is where we want to be: helping bring those worlds beyond the screen through figurines, collectibles and other forms of physical merchandise. Walking around Gamescom and discovering so many different games also means constantly imagining what could exist outside of them, a character that could become a figure or statue, an item that could become a collectible, or an entire universe that could be brought into the physical world for its community, as a way of bringing their world to life.
That is what we want to keep building:
Meaningful physical products that allow fans to take a small part of their favorite games home with them.
Because no matter how digital the industry becomes, we believe people will always want to collect the things they care about.