Ryan Laley, the solo indie developer behind upcoming asymmetrical horror game Mimic, has shared a video confirming his gamescom was "cut short" after he and other developers had their laptops stolen.
A teary Laley took to X/Twitter to share a video explaining why his "gamescom is over early," saying that "all our laptops have been stolen" after he and others had their booths "raided" overnight. Bringing Mimic to the Cologne, Germany gaming event meant getting the opportunity to show it off to a new audience of potential partners and eager gamers alike, but stolen gear would bring that dream to an end.
"As an indie, solo dev, this s**t's expensive and hard to do all by yourself," he said. "And to have this happen is beyond frustrating – it's heartbreaking."
My #gamescom cut short. Our equipment was stolen last night from the booth.Police reports have been filed.At a loss for words to describe the feeling. Just defeated. Gonna do my best with what's left of the week. But a huge blow financially and mentally pic.twitter.com/dKpp3Of6df
Laley went on, saying the gamescom theft was reported to the proper security teams and authorities. Despite the effort he and others were putting in, he noted, "I don't expect it, obviously, to be found or returned."
"I don't know what I'm going to do now," he added. "I can't do my job. We'll post updates if I get any updates, but effectively, gamescom is over for me."
gamescom kicked off when Opening Night Live (ONL) aired Tuesday, August 25, letting developers loose for the rest of the week to show what they bring to the table. At the time of this story's publication, there are still more than two days left in the show, making Laley's loss an especially painful one. Thankfully, his story and video gained enough traction to reach the eyes of developers looking to help.
The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 team at CD Projekt Red quickly chimed in, apologizing to Laley for the circumstances he'd been thrust into. They admitted they wouldn't be able to "help right this second," but they did promise to "send a few things" his way.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/indie-dev-posts-video-reporting-stolen-laptops-at-gamescom-as-cd-projekt-red-and-more-step-in-to-help
