Gamescom 2024, one of the world’s largest events for the games industry, was held in August and saw game makers, publishers and investors from around the globe converge on Cologne, Germany to find out more about the latest developments in gaming, and to network with international studios and creators.
Screen NSW supported five NSW games practitioners through the Gamescom 2024 Market Travel Program to head to the annual event. This year marks the first time a specific game market travel program has been available through Screen NSW and expands Screen NSW’s support for the digital games sector. Recipients who travelled to Germany for the conference included:
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Sebastien Thevenet from Blowfish Studios
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Nico King from Chaos Theory Games
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Morgan Lean from Epiphany Games
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David Kilford from Lamington Games
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Ally McLean from Lemonade Games
On return from Gamescom, Screen NSW spoke to the 2024 cohort for highlights from the event as well as the insights they gained on the ground. Read all about it below.
Why was attending Gamescom so important to you?
Sebastien Thevenet (ST): The opportunity to attend Gamescom this year was very relevant to Blowfish's current business objectives for seeking potential publishers and investors. The opportunity to feel the current pulse of the industry, learn about new upcoming games and trends all in one spot was also very valuable.
Nico King (NK): For us, it's about connecting with the global gaming community, especially since we're far from the USA and EU markets. It's a huge opportunity to get face-to-face with people in the broader industry. Also, our latest title focuses on ocean conservation, and we really wanted to show the Gamescom crowd how games can be a force for good.
Morgan Lean (ML): Gamescom is the premier game connection event with publishers, developers, players, media from around the world. During Gamescom we secured about four high value contracts and were also able to reconnect with publishers and partners.
David Kilford (DK): Gamescom presented a unique opportunity to meet industry experts who usually don't travel to Australian events. For the past year I've also been working remotely on Blueberry, and I met most of the German based team for the first time at Gamescom!
Ally McLean (AM): Attending Gamescom was so important to Lemonade Games on multiple fronts. We want to make games that compete in the global market, so it's important that we build a global network of industry experts to inform our decisions. We also want to find the best partners to collaborate with to set up our studio for long term, sustainable success, and Gamescom presents one of the largest gatherings of potential publishers and funding opportunities in the world.
Before you attended Gamescom, what were you most looking forward to at the event?
ST: Funnily enough, and despite my 20 years+ in the gaming industry, it was my first time at Gamescom (Europe) and I have to say that this event in Cologne is one of the best. The event was very well organised both online (great "Meet to Match" app to schedule meetings) and on the ground with good signage to make your way around the huge venue. I had organised to meet our current distribution partners, as well as third party publishers who had shown interest in Shadowman ® Darque Legacy and Redemption of the Damned. It was also great to meet Ido Yehieli from Stellar Cartography, for the first time in person. Ido is the creator of To The Stars, a game that we recently published on Steam and was showcased in the Indie Hall.
NK: This year, we were particularly excited to showcase Crab God and explore options for expanding to new platforms. We wanted to connect with players, partners, and publishers, and set the stage for future projects. Our goal is to grow the original game side of Chaos Theory, and Gamescom is the perfect place to help make that happen. Events like Gamescom and GDC are essential for building the kinds of long-term relationships that help get our games in front of as many players as possible.
ML: I was most looking forward to meeting T17, our long-term publishing partner and customer as well as meeting several development teams that we have worked with around the world.
DK: This was my first time at Gamescom and the scale of the event was mind boggling. I was particularly excited to meet BlitWorks who have worked on games that I love like Spelunky 2.
AM: I haven't attended Gamescom in ten years, so I was excited to see the event through fresh eyes, with a lot more experience under my belt. Gamescom has certainly become even bigger than before, which seems impossible!
What was the highlight of the event for you?
ST: I have to say the vibe and enthusiasm at the IGEA Australian booth was fantastic with local Aussie developers showcasing their latest or upcoming gems to the world.
NK: We made some great connections with businesses that have complementary offerings, and there’s a lot of potential for long-term collaboration. That’s a big part of why we’re happy to travel halfway across the world to be at Gamescom! Another highlight, of course, was seeing people play Crab God at the booth. You get so caught up in the day-to-day numbers and metrics, but seeing players genuinely engage with the game is an entirely different experience. It’s a reminder of why we do this.
DK: I was recommended by an industry expert to self-publish my game instead of going with a publisher. His perspective was that if you're a solo or small developer, influencers are going to be much more interested in streaming or promoting your game than if a publisher or PR team reached out to them.
AM: My highlight was definitely showing people a reel of our latest build of Mystiques and seeing the surprise and excitement from people about what we're making. We're keeping a lot of the game under wraps so it's very fun to get to show people the heart of what we're developing. When you're very close to a project it's easy to lose perspective on what makes it great, so hearing feedback from industry leaders on our progress was very motivating and inspiring.
Did you learn anything new or gain any new insights at Gamescom 2024?
ST: Gamescom or any similar gaming events of this kind is a great way to learn about upcoming games and industry trends. As an Indiana Jones movies fan, I was pleased to hear about the 9 December release date of the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PC and Xbox.
NK: One big takeaway was the advice from publishers to de-risk projects by building community traction early and being conservative with budgets. It wasn’t revolutionary advice, but it's always good to hear what’s top of mind for the industry right now.
ML: I learned that most publishers will be looking in the III (Triple -I) and AA (Double-A) games space which is great for us, and Australia as a whole. I also heard from several publishers about the consolidation of the marketplace, and the shrinking of large deals to several smaller deals.
DK: I was recommended to self-publish my game instead of going with a publisher by an industry expert who founded two major publishers. His perspective was if you're a solo or small developer it's significantly easier to reach out to influencers and get free promotion. The expert's perspective was when publishing, small teams they were hurting their team’s chances of success by going with a publisher.
AM: I learned a lot about the current state of funding, both from meeting with funding partners and networking with other developers. There's really no replacement for meeting face-to-face and hearing people's candid experiences. These private conversations are what make attending big events like this so necessary. I feel our team is armed with the best information possible to make wise decisions about our future.
Image: Gamescom 2024. Supplied by Nico King, Chaos Theory Games.
