Gamescom is a great opportunity for visitors to check out new and upcoming releases and for developers to not just put themselves out there but to also meet up with existing and potential new fans and chat with them. I love attending the yearly event and conducting my interviews with all sorts of folks, which is all the more reason that I was shocked to hear about the string of thefts that occured over night at the convention.
Just a day after my interview with Ryan Laley, the solo developer from Essex, England, found his visit to Gamescom cut short when the laptop he used to showcase his upcoming social deduction horror game went missing from his booth. Laley wasn’t alone in this as iam8bit, who attended Gamescom with Escape Academy 2 and Petal Runner, had two laptops of their own with game builds stolen as well, as a representative confirmed with Aftermath.
As iam8bit announced on Twitter, this happened in spite of Koelnmesse’s security being present overnight. This is not just a major disruption to the packed schedules of the people attending, as well as a blow to their wallets, but it also poses a huge risk of personal information and “unfinished builds of these games being leaked”.
The biggest issue I find with this is that the theft didn’t occur in the Entertainment area that the general public has access to but in the Business area accessible only to industry and media folks. Developers were promised 24/7 security for the booths and assured that the security personnel present at the convention would provide ample safety for their equipment.
Beyond that, the Indie Area, which is part of the larger and publicly accessible Entertainment area, also had booths hit, with Tessera Studios from the “Games from Spain” area having had their locker broken into and multiple other developers reporting stolen equipment.
Gamescom’s Response
So, before I give more thoughts on the matter, I’d like to address the more than lacklustre and even deceptive response Gamescom gave out recently.
In a tweet, the official Gamescom account released a statement: “We are aware of stolen hardware and take these reports very seriously and understand the frustrations of affected exhibitors.”
They then go on to “give information” on their security regulations at the event, stating that uniformed guards provide general security across the venue, with developers having the option of booking individual security separately for the booths. They also advise exhibitors to ensure equipment is protected against theft, which is also noted in the terms and conditions of participation as well as the technical guidelines.
The cases, apparently, have been reported to the police and investigations are, apparently, underway. They are sad about the news and claim that security is, apparently, one of their highest priorities at the event.
What this statement fails to mention whatsoever is that the robbing sprees are not isolated incidents. The Business area that the public cannot access whatsoever with their supposed 24/7 security has seen multiple instances of equipment getting stolen overnight. Meanwhile, the Indie Area in 10.1 got hit by thieves before and after those incidents, reportedly.
I find it jarring, frankly, to see the event release this type of “damage control” statement that completely fails to acknowledge the more than lacklustre security present at the event. Yes, there will be bad actors who may steal things during the day. This can happen. But it’s the responsibility of the organisers to ensure that the equipment in the halls is safe at night.
Ukiyo Studios, who have been chronicling a lot of the updates, also reported that they had food and drinks stolen overnight, too, while a controller went missing during the day. They also claimed to have been stopped by event staff from filing a police report because it poses a “bad look” for the convention and the city.
It’s not just Equipment
Big publishers and AAA studios can write off and replace hardware easily for these events, even if something goes missing. For small studios, however, this puts an early end to their game showcase. This is their livelihood that is at stake here.
Travelling to Gamescom, paying for tickets, the booths, the hardware, the hotel, food, public transport, etc. – It’s incredibly costly to attend the convention in the first place. The hardware that was stolen can be replaced, yes, but what about the opportunity to present their game that these developers have to now forego since their builds and their means of showcasing the games are gone now?
I’ve not heard any news of Gamescom issuing refunds for the booth prices, nor anything about them replacing the equipment. In fact, it’s other, bigger studios who are also attending the event that chipped in to support the victims of Koelnmesse’s glaring ineptitude. CD Project Red offered to replace stolen equipment for multiple of these studios, for instance, which is amazing to see. The Gamescom organisers didn’t even attempt to do this much.
Ryan Laley probably had other scheduled appointments with a variety of press outlets, too, which he now couldn’t attend. I hope that the extra eyes on the situation might still help him out somewhat, but this is still rather jarring to see.
Gamescom has a Security Problem
For starters, I attended Gamescom for a total of five days this year. Five separate times I entered through the halls, and not a single time did my big and bulky backpack get checked for any potential weaponry or tools, like a bolt cutter or a crowbar that I could theoretically use to force my way into the cabinets. One storeroom got forced open at the convention centre using such a tool.
Now, obviously, I didn’t carry any such things with me, but the gate I went through didn’t get triggered whatsoever by my keys, various cans, my own laptop or power bank. I was merely waved through the event as the security staff told me to just go on through since they only check some people.
In the past, I had to go through security checks fairly often at the convention, so I was genuinely surprised to see the rather lax security this time around. What if I had a bomb or a knife with me?
I’ve talked to some cosplayers in the area who had pretty realistic-looking weapon replicas with them, and none of them got checked at all. Besides this, the “uniformed security staff” did go around the booths, but I’ve also only seen them around whenever ministers and other politicians were visiting. They probably were around a lot more, but had something had happened, like a fight breaking out or a drunk causing problems, I wouldn’t have even known where to report that.
The Business Area also featured an Awareness team making the rounds. I haven’t seen them in the normal areas, though, personally speaking.
All of these issues become even more problematic when you look at the 2025 WDR reporting detailing how out of 150 investigated security staff, one in three couldn’t ID themselves or show all the necessary papers. When the event organisers fail to do simple background checks on a lot of their security staff, it shouldn’t be a surprise that some people on socials even suspect the actual security staff themselves.
The normal staff at the convention, the folks from the Indie Arena Booth in particular, though, were wonderful. It’s just that security itself was nowhere to be found in case something happens, and that the blue-vested Koelnmesse staff were rude, loud, unhelpful, and oftentimes more than uninformed.
Where does this leave us?
Frankly, this isn’t a single instance. This is not an isolated case. Gamescom has had a problem with its staff and security for many years, going all the way back to 2019, even, when I attended my first one. Yes, it is a huge convention, but that’s all the more reason that security should be faciliated properly and not with “black market bouncer”, as some people in the community have dubbed the security staff.
There are not enough checks for dangerous weaponry or tools when you enter the convention. It’s incredibly costly to get a booth at Gamescom, which would be justified to a degree if they actually provided the 24/7 security they promise, but they now turn a blind eye to the systemic issues that plague the convention of equipment getting stolen OVER NIGHT.
It’s bad enough that one developer got robbed like this and reported it to the staff. You’d think the informed staff would tighten security as a result… but then the same thing happens again, and again, and again. It’s not just laptops and controllers that are at stake here, but also people’s livelihoods. They pay to be able to promote their games here, spread the word, and talk to the community… but if their booths get robbed, preventing them from doing those things, then they shouldn’t have to stick around for the remaining days, and they should most definitely get their money back for this lapse in security. That’s the bare minimum!
There are a lot of people who claim that developers are at fault themselves for not bringing their laptops with them. Those people suck. Those are the kinds of people to ask a woman what they were wearing when they got sexually harassed. It’s the same argument.
We shouldn’t blame the victims in these situations but rather focus on the ones who failed to provide proper security and still celebrate their event as a “huge success”. This news is tragic but we need to remember that it’s also not an isolated incident. This has happened last year and the year prior as well, and yet, security appears to have become only more and more lax at Gamescom as the years progressed.
To quote from Ian Fleming’s “Goldfinger”: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.
If it had happened once or twice, that’d be one thing, but this happened multiple times throughout the week of this year’s convention, and it’s happened multiple times across different years as well. Each and every instance has been reported to the Gamescom organizers, and yet, despite that, it keeps happening.
It’s not the developers who are at fault here. It’s Gamescom. Something needs to change.
This post was originally published on Indiecator.
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