Numerous game developers who were in attendance at Gamescom 2026 have now reported experiencing theft while they were there. The loss has hit some Gamescom attendees hard, to the point that one had to share that they were cutting their planned activities short due to losing their equipment.
Summer is a busy time for gaming, not only due to major titles releasing, but due to a plethora of game reveals. Everything from the Summer Game Fest to Gamescom are hosted during the hottest time of the year, and numerous exciting reveals are made annually that keep players tuning in. However, it seems that in at least one of these events, there may be problems behind the scenes, judging from developers' shared experiences.
Numerous Game Developers Stolen From at Gamescom
On August 28, game developer Ryan Laley took to social media to share his experience after he'd discovered that his team's computers had all been stolen from their booth. The theft reportedly transpired overnight, and Laley immediately got in contact with the police to report it. However, the impact clearly took a toll in the video shared by the developer, as they struggled to cope with the monetary loss. The post gained a lot of attention, with even fellow developer CD Projekt Red offering to try and support the team with excess hardware of its own. Unfortunately, though, it also gained attention because Laley wasn't the only one to go through this over the course of the weekend.
In subsequent posts on social media, numerous other teams came forward to reveal that the same thing had happened to them. Tessera Studios reportedly discovered their storage had been pried open, with laptops, a Steam Deck, and controllers all missing. Publisher iam8bit also had its laptops stolen overnight, which also contained unfinished builds of upcoming games. Meanwhile, Eric Pope, the senior community director of Dead by Daylight, claimed that security simply ignored them when asked about after-hours security for booths and equipment, while a senior editor at Insider Gaming alleged children were freely walking through areas that should have been secured with nothing done about it.
What's That Weapon?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Gamescom has officially responded to the claims, saying that it "understands," but indicated that exhibitors are encouraged beforehand to insure their equipment in case of theft. The guards onsite, it said, are there to provide general security across the venue, whereas it's up to those in attendance to hire individual security officers to protect their booths. Gamescom claims that any event of this size will see "individuals attempting to take advantage," and that the event tries to "minimize such risks" as best it can.
To make matters worse, it seems this isn't the first time that Gamescom attendees have had these problems. At least one, Ukiyo Studios, has claimed that it has to take special measures exclusively at Gamescom to protect its gear after it experienced a similar theft of a PC in 2024. The same day it made said claim, it shared an update stating that an Xbox controller and food had been stolen from its booth during this year's show. While Gamescom featured a lot of exciting reveals, it's concerning to see developers going through this.
Source: PC Gamer