Gamescom Asia will host a physical B2C Entertainment Zone exhibition for the first time, with an expanded Trade Zone for B2B for its upcoming 2023 edition.
The only satellite event of the video games festival, Gamescom, will be hosted in Singapore from 19 – 22 October 2023, with a trade and public exhibition, trade conference and several programmes for the public.
Capcom is the first major publisher to confirm its participation, kickstarting the B2C Entertainment Zone. Xsolla, AWS for Games, Unlimit, and Worldline have been cemented as sponsors within the B2B Trade Zone, with more to follow. Exhibitors and Pavilions from countries and regions such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong S.A.R., Taiwan, Canada, Israel, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America are also on board.
Gamescom Asia organiser Koelnmesse Asia-Pacific managing director and vice president Mathias Kuepper said, “We are extremely excited to open the Entertainment Zone onsite to the public for the first time this year. We know it has been long anticipated by passionate fans and gamers and we look forward to welcoming them to Gamescom Asia. As the team works to put up a good show this year with new highlights and expanded mainstays, we invite companies to join us and make Gamescom Asia the premier Southeast Asian destination to showcase and testbed their games, latest gaming products and services, and reach an audience that is unique to the region.”
The 2023 edition of the event expects to attract over 30,000 visitors and over 150 exhibitors as the Entertainment Zone exhibition opens its doors to the public this year.
New Physical B2C Entertainment Zone
The Entertainment Zone will welcome visitors from 20 – 22 October, with a showcase of trending games, interactive entertainment, and featured areas like indies, esports, cosplay, boardgames, group play zones, and more. Visitors can lay their hands on games by their favourite publishers and indie studios, watch live stage entertainment, and come dressed up as their favourite game characters. There will also be a designated food alley, while merchandise from the latest games and classics will be available for purchase. Online shows Primetime and Studio will return, on 19 October and 22 October respectively, with sneak peeks and other extended content for global audiences.
An all-new Indie Wavemakers area will open in both the Entertainment and Trade Zone of the exhibition for studios and developers looking for publishers and investors, as well as valuable gamer feedback and testing on their new releases and demos. Indie exhibitors can also share about their games on the Indie Wavemakers Live Stage at the event.
In partnership with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the event will also recognise the SEA Game Awards winners at the event for the first time. The awards aim to recognise and celebrate the creativity, artistry, and technical genius of the finest game developers from the Southeast Asian and International video game industry. Award winners will be announced at MYDCF 2023 (Malaysia Digital Content Festival) on 29 September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will receive further recognition at the event.
Trade Zone
Gamescom Asia’s Trade Zone consists of the Trade Zone Exhibition and Trade Conference on 19 and 20 October.
The Trade Zone exhibition will be open to all trade visitors and conference delegates and will feature Expo Stage talks, networking and recharge zones, an esports zone as well as the all-new Indie Wavemakers area. Country pavilions and booths from gaming companies and service providers will showcase the latest games and services to publishers, investors and IP owners who are looking for the next big thing in games.
Over 80 industry experts will present in person at the Trade Conference. With three extended tracks across 19 and 20 October, the conference will cover the latest gaming trends, as well as tried-and-true games design, business, and marketing principles. Content creators, KOLs, and influencers in gaming can glean insights and up their game in the new Content Creators Summit, held on 20 October. Conference delegates will have access to all content as well as networking sessions like the official conference networking reception and will be able to apply for the Developers-Publishers-Investors Speed Networking session.
Confirmed speakers include:
- CD PROJEKT RED (Poland) – Kacper Niepokólczycki, Lead Environment Artist
- Focus Entertainment (France) – Xavier Marot, Chief Production Officer
- LightSpeed Studios (China) – Yang Chao, Expert Researcher
- Mojang Studios (Sweden) – Nickole Li, Principal Designer (Systems)
- SUNSOFT (Japan) – Yuichi Ochi, General Manager
- Team17 Digital (UK) – Jasper Barnes, Head of Game Scouting
- Techland (Poland) – Tymon Smektała, Dying Light Franchise Director
- Ubisoft (Singapore) – Bill Money, Game Director and many more.