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What was Devcom, and what is it called now?
Devcom was a business-to-business conference for the game-development industry held alongside Gamescom in Cologne. The event launched in 2017 as devcom and was renamed gamescom dev in autumn 2025, reflecting its connection to Gamescom. The official site lists the 2026 event for August 23–25, with two conference days and programming that includes talks, roundtables, workshops, a business expo, matchmaking, side events and an indie expo. gamescom dev’s official site
Why did the event move to Confex?
In a July 19, 2024 interview with GamesBeat, Reichart said the move would address pressure on the previous venue, where stages had been crowded and queues had formed. He said the new space could support the conference’s growth:
“We are moving into Europe’s most modern conference center. They just opened it weeks ago. And this really gives us for the first time the opportunity to become No. 2 in the world, after GDC.”
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That was Reichart’s stated aspiration in 2024, not an independently established ranking of developer events. The report described 3,400 attendees in 2023 and said Devcom wanted to grow its audience by 30 percent in 2024. It also reported that the prior-year edition had 250 speakers and more than 160 sessions, while the 2024 plan called for 15 stages and about 200 sessions. Those figures refer to different years and, in the case of the 2024 program, a plan reported before the event. GamesBeat’s July 2024 report
How large was the 2024 edition?
A 2025 annual report from game – The German Games Industry Association says the 2024 edition had more than 5,000 registered participants from 83 countries. It also reports that over 200 developers from underrepresented communities received access through the scholarship program. game – The German Games Industry Association
These figures should not be treated as a directly measured year-over-year attendance comparison: GamesBeat described 3,400 attendees in 2023, while the later annual report counted registered participants in 2024. The sources use different wording, and neither establishes a consistent attendance series or an independent comparison with GDC.
What is the new venue like?
gamescom dev 2026 is scheduled at the Confex Center at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. The official venue page describes two levels and 22 conference rooms ranging from 27 to 205 square meters. The Confex hall can be divided into three sections and has a stated total capacity of 4,300 people. That is a venue-capacity figure, not a reported conference attendance total. Official gamescom dev venue information
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The venue page also says the organizer secured discounted hotel rates near the event for attendees; it does not state current rates. In its 2024 report, GamesBeat described a broader program expansion that included mixers, matchmaking through the Swapcard event app, an expo area and a scholarship program. Those details describe the event as reported in 2024, not necessarily the exact 2026 program.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is gamescom dev comparable with GDC?
Reichart named GDC as the benchmark for the 2024 ambition, but the available figures do not support declaring either event definitively larger. A fair comparison would need consistent attendance definitions and dates, as well as context about audience, program, business matchmaking, venue capacity and location. The figures above illustrate gamescom dev’s growth and scale, but do not provide that like-for-like dataset.
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