Gamescom Dev head says smaller studios characterize the largest alternative within the video games market

Frederik Hammes, who took over from Stephan Reichart as managing director of Gamescom Dev this yr, says the results of the Gamescom Dev speaker survey present that smaller studios characterize the largest alternative within the video games market proper now.

“You are capable of do extra with fewer folks, however the enterprise side does not go away,” he tells GamesIndustry.biz. “For those who’re solely three folks, it nonetheless means any person has to care for the enterprise aspect. I prefer to consider that [Gamescom Dev] is a spot the place they will get all the things in a single place – manufacturing data, coding data, improvement data, artistic enter, design, but additionally study learn how to run that enterprise as a result of, regardless of all of the know-how, that is nonetheless crucial.”

In August 2025, Devcom was rebranded as Gamescom Dev, and Hammes says that the rebranding primarily extends Gamescom to a full week.

“I believe the arguments for getting nearer to Gamescom are robust,” he says. “We’ve got an enormous, massive, robust associate at our aspect now, and that has a whole lot of benefits. To call sensible ones, it is simpler to grasp for individuals who possibly have not been right here. So earlier than, it was two conferences, two sorts of tickets, two other ways to buy the tickets, and actually little connection between the 2. Now, it is one ticket store. You could have all of the stuff there that you really want. It is the Gamescom enterprise week, it is from Monday via Friday. For those who come right here, purchase a ticket, you may also enterprise over to Gamescom till Friday.”

This yr, the present boasts 390 audio system and 220 classes throughout 17 levels. “It should not be a numbers sport,” Hammes says. “It should not be that we now have to achieve this or that stage. It is all the time a query of provide and demand. We really feel it is changing into extra specialised.”

The Gamescom Dev MD says that the present’s progress is considerably restricted by its venue, the Confex Heart at Koelnmesse. In the intervening time, the present suits into this area, however there’s “restricted room to develop”, he says. But when the video games trade continues on its present path, the occasion may need to increase and grow to be “nearer to Gamescom”.

“Proper now the plans are to not grow to be method larger as a result of then there will probably be a much bigger enterprise to possibly be bodily nearer to Gamescom, which is a chance. “For those who suppose forward, that course of I used to be describing earlier – smaller studios, that type of democratisation of sport improvement – if that goes on, we’d want extra room to have the ability to cater to everyone.”

Devcom started in 2017 to fill the gap left by the departure of the GDC Europe conference. Although the San Francisco-based GDC is an apparent rival to Gamescom Dev as a result of it addresses related audiences and matters, Hammes says he does not see it that method, saying there’s a nice sense of “group… behind the scenes”.

“We’re nonetheless totally different corporations,” he says. “Everybody desires to become profitable, however it’s not as cutthroat as I’d say. And in the long run, it is a world circus, so to talk, in a great way. Folks journey from convention to convention. It isn’t about extinguishing different conferences and being the one ones. If everyone’s doing nicely, it means the entire trade is doing nicely. In the intervening time, our colleagues at GDC are having some points that they are not at fault for with the atmosphere that they must function in proper now. And I hope that it is getting higher. We hope everyone will probably be doing high-quality, to be fairly trustworthy.”

One new addition to the Gamescom Dev schedule is its slate of Management Summits. These are one-day occasions the place the video games trade’s high brass can converse in a room with out press, microphones, or recording. Hammes says that it is necessary for the sector’s management to have a “protected area” to debate the turbulent waters of the video games market in the mean time.

“It isn’t a lot listening. It is talking up. It is exchanging,” he says. “I used to be within the room when it began. We had a present of fingers for a way many individuals within the room needed to ship dangerous information in that yr, and all of the fingers went up. Requested how many individuals had heard dangerous information for his or her firm that yr; all their fingers stayed up. It is a difficult atmosphere proper now, clearly. We need to present a protected area for folks, for leaders, to open up as a result of it is difficult to open up while you’re at a sure stage and all you are used to doing is projecting power and attempting to look steady and all that.”

The aforementioned speaker survey exhibits an trade divided on the subject of synthetic intelligence. 47% of audio system say that this would be the most impactful improvement on the trade throughout the following three years, however solely 11% of respondents mentioned that AI literacy was a very powerful talent folks should develop.

“How does it correlate? You may say both we overestimate the affect that AI may have or we below put together for it,” Hammes explains. “My conclusion is it is neither, truly, as a result of should you ask what is definitely a very powerful talent, it’s management. 27% say management is a very powerful talent. That interprets to: ‘We all know change is coming. We do not search for know-how and for abilities in that know-how to rescue us. We’re on the lookout for folks’. We’re on the lookout for leaders who present us the way in which learn how to take care of it.”