It has been a week since Gamescom. But we still can’t get it out of our head.
Gamescom. The place where (gaming) magic happens.
Gamescom is the world’s largest gaming event! (measured by exhibition space and number of visitors) with over 370,000 visitors attending this year. And it combines B2B and B2C opportunities.

Combine a businessman and a gamer together to Gamescom, and you create a wholesome and insightful experience. This is what we at NOVOS did. And I am here to share with you my experience of it.

But before that, a little bit about us. We are a Tel-Aviv based gaming startup that builds the ultimate training platform for gamers. As gamers, we believe that gaming deserves its credit as a main hobby and to be taken seriously just like any other common hobbies such as football, playing an instrument, learning a language, etc. More about us here.

Time to dive into the details! Here is why Gamescom has been an amazing experience for me both from a gamer’s and business perspective:

1. EVERYONE is there

I mean it. You can find so many different people taking different approaches in the industry of gaming. Anywhere from Game Developers, 3rd Party Apps developers, Publishers, Service provides and the list goes on!

From a business perspective, this can provide business opportunities for just about any company/business that is related to the gaming industry even if you are just starting out would like to learn more about the gaming industry by talking to people and seeing it with your own eyes for yourself to better grasp the sheer magnitude of it.
Business opportunities can also arise even if you are a business that is running for quite some time now and would like to form connections, collaborations or marketing to the huge crowd of gamers attending Gamescom!

From a gamer perspective, I felt “like a kid in a candy store”, using sentences that don’t go into much depth (because I was simply amazed by the presentation of pretty much around anything there!) sentences like “Hey look what is over there!”, “OH I want to try it!” and so on and so forth.
If you ever thought to yourself whether you are a part of a community as a gamer then going to Gamescom will assure you that you are indeed part of a community. And a really fun one in my opinion!

2. People come with the right mindset

While I can’t vouch for every single people that have been to Gamescom this year, I can say that from my own experience a lot of them were super friendly, helpful and communicative. This applies to both the business aspect and the gamers community alike.

From a business perspective, scheduling meetings in advance is best. However, it’s always worth trying to ask if there is an available slot. Who knows? Meetings sometimes get postponed or canceled. If you (as a company or an idea) will sound like an interesting opportunity and they have an available time they might want to hear you out and talk with you. You basically have nothing to lose. How did Wayne Gretzky say? “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.

Also, go to every booth and talk to the people from companies that seem to pique your interest. Don’t be biased. These events are full of brilliant people. Even the small team with the small booth may be waiting for you to unlock your full potential.

By the way, Gamescom is HUGE. On our first day, we’ve walked 19 Kilometers in total so wear comfortable shoes, you will be walking and standing a lot.

From a gamer perspective, lines are your friend. There are lines for everything at Gamescom, be it for a talk, to play a game or just swag. These are a great place to introduce yourself and talk to people. You don’t have to be IN the line to make the line useful. It is always fun to meet and hear new people in such a diverse and big event. You can never know what will you find out, you might even make new friends to play with when you get back from Gamescom!

3. Amazing setting

Since Gamescom is such a huge event, it attracts so many gamers and people from the industry that it creates this amazing setting of a passion-oriented event which creates business opportunities with special events such as closed parties.

Even if you aren’t coming from the business side of it, there are so many parties and Gamescom-oriented events all around Cologne. It is recommended to search around the web and like previously mentioned, ask and talk to people in Gamescom to see what’s the vibe!

To summarize, Gamescom can provide huge opportunities in both business and non-business related terms. It’s a recommended experience for just about anyone who is into gaming and I am super grateful that I had the opportunity to experience it myself.

So, see you around in Gamescom 2020? But until then, GL HF pwning your enemies on the battlefield!