gamescom congress 2026

The gamescom congress is the world’s leading conference on the potential of games in a digitalized world and offers opportunities for collaboration far beyond the digital and media industries. It takes place annually as part of gamescom in Cologne and is organized by Koelnmesse GmbH and game – the Association of the German Games Industry. The primary communicative objective for the 2026 edition was to highlight the broad scope and thematic depth of its program. Sunday Studio was tasked with securing high-quality, in-depth media coverage and establishing tier-1 media partnerships to systematically expand total audience reach. Beyond high-level event announcements, the approach leveraged the expertise of the conference’s diverse speaker lineup. By matching specific speaker insights and backgrounds – ranging from AI and serious games to political radicalization prevention – with the right business, trade, and general interest reporters, Sunday Studio secured tailored interviews, features, podcasts, and op-eds. To further maximize audience reach and credibility, Sunday established strategic media partnerships with ARD Gaming, ntv, brand eins, and Wikimedia Deutschland. These partners actively covered and promoted the congress through content on their platforms – including TV broadcasts, newsletter features, and social media activities. The PR campaign delivered extraordinary visibility, achieving a calculated total reach of over 515 million. In total, it secured over 900 stories across leading German and international outlets, including Handelsblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Tagesspiegel Background, Phoenix, heise, WELT, Deutschlandfunk, GamesWirtschaft, GamesIndustry.biz, and ZDNet Korea. Photo credits: gamescom congress