Multiple exhibitors at Gamescom have reported thefts of laptops and other equipment from their booths in Cologne, with one indie developer saying the loss has effectively ended his show early.
Indie developer Ryan Laley, showing his asymmetrical survival horror Mimic, posted an emotional video to X/Twitter on Friday, explaining that his booth had been broken into overnight.
"Our booth got raided last night – not just mine, others as well," he said.
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 said the thieves left chargers behind and took only the laptops, and that he'd reported the theft to Gamescom's central management, its security team, and the police, though he doesn't expect the equipment to turn up.
"As an indie solo dev, this shit's expensive," Laley said. "And hard to do all by yourself. And to have this happen is beyond frustrating. It's heartbreaking."
Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red responded to Laley's message, writing: "We are very sorry this happened to you. We hope you know you're not on your own with this. And while it won't help right this second, we'll check the Arasaka hardware archives and see if we can send a few things your way. No choom should have to start from zero."
Laley wasn't alone. Iam8bit also reports that two of its laptops were taken overnight from the same business area.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.eurogamer.net/gamescom-2026-exhibitors-equipment-stolen-overnight
