Several Gamescom exhibitors arrived at their booths to find their demo hardware gone. Not from the packed public halls at Koelnmesse in Cologne, but from the restricted business area that only badge-holding industry visitors, press, and staff can enter.
Indie developer and Unreal Engine educator Ryan Laley said he knew of “at least seven or eight laptops” taken in the thefts. He also said exhibitors had been told the area had round-the-clock security and that no equipment could leave without authorization.
Publisher iam8bit confirmed it was hit too. The company said it turned up at its station to find two laptops missing overnight, despite the presence of Koelnmesse security.
Those machines weren’t spare office hardware. They held unfinished demo builds of Petal Runner from Nano Park Studios and Escape Academy 2 from Coin Crew Games, both being shown to media and creators during the week.
iam8bit said the theft wrecked a packed appointment schedule, cost money in replacement hardware, and potentially put the unfinished builds at risk of leaking. The company asked anyone with information to get in touch.
Tessera Studios was also named as a victim, reportedly losing two laptops and a Steam Deck. Images circulating from the show appeared to show a forced door, though it hasn’t been confirmed which room it belonged to or whether the damage is linked to the thefts.
For small teams, the damage goes past the price of a laptop. Convention builds take weeks to prepare, meetings are locked in months ahead, and a missed demo with a publisher or journalist is hard to redo once everyone flies home.
