The annual European show, held in Cologne, was traditionally the world’s largest in terms of visitors. This summer will see Gamescom return as a physical event for the first time since 2019, albeit with fewer publishers in attendance. PlayStation confirmed its decision to skip Gamescom 2022 in a statement to German publication Games Wirtschaft (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz), where it also confirmed it would not feature any announcements in the show’s Geoff Keighley-fronted livestream Opening Night Live. Sony’s move follows a similar decision by Nintendo, which announced earlier this month that “after careful consideration” it would not attend Gamescom this year. Activision Blizzard and Take-Two have also confirmed they will not take part. Microsoft is yet to publicly state whether it will attend - though it seems unlikely, in a year where it has little first-party content to show. The muted attendance for Gamescom this year reflects a quieter than expected Q4 for the games industry as a whole, with various major releases now expected in 2023. Gamescom 2022 is due to run from 24th to 28th August. So far, Bandai Namco and Embracer have confirmed they will take part.
