It was supposed to be the premiere gaming event of the year for major and minor developers alike—a chance to showcase their hard work and unveil new projects to eager players in a safe and high-trust environment.
However, that chance was woefully snatched away from some Gamescom attendees when overnight thefts in the supposedly secure event hall in Cologne. Multiple developers reported on social media that their booths had been ransacked by unknown assailants, snatching valuable hardware and builds of unreleased software.
The thefts have brought into question the competency of Koelnmesse’s event security, as the thefts occurred in restricted-access areas allegedly monitored around the clock. Criticism has been swift and abject as multiple developers shared their nightmare experiences from the convention.
The first report came from solo developer Ryan Laley, who posted a video on X telling fans that upon returning to his booth on day 2 of the gaming expo, he found his Alienware and Razer demo laptops had been stolen. He had been using the hardware to preview his upcoming horror title Mimic to the gaming public, but announced that without the devices, his Gamescom run had unceremoniously come to an end.
An emotional Laley spoke directly to the camera, saying the theft was “beyond frustrating and heartbreaking” and that his time at Gamescom was “effectively over.” He said he reported the incident to event security and the Cologne police, but had received no further updates from them.
After the video went viral, Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red offered Laley some assistance in a heart-warming gesture that touched fans. The studio wrote: “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.” CD Projekt Red was showcasing their title The Witcher 3 Remastered and Songs of the Past DLC at the venue, attracting huge crowds.
Following Laley’s report of theft, more developers began publicizing their ordeals, with popular merchandise maker and indie publisher iam8bit sharing on X that two laptops had been stolen from its booth on the showfloor. The company is best known for producing physical editions of indie games, but in recent years, has turned to publishing under its iam8bit Presents label.
The laptops were being used to demo unreleased indie titles Petal Runner and Escape Academy 2 to media and content creators, and after the theft, iam8bit feared the pre-released builds of those titles may leak online. The company said the incident was “hugely disappointing” and “obviously disrupting” to its busy Gamescom appointment schedule. It asked anyone with information about what happened to contact them.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.dualshockers.com/gamescom-security-under-question-following-multiple-equipment-robberies/
