A spokesperson from PlayStation has confirmed that the company will be skipping Gamescom 2022.
Running August 24 to 28, Gamescom 2022 is a trade fair for video games held annually in Cologne, Germany. The 2022 event will be the first in-person convention since 2019 but Sony won’t be taking part.
A spokesperson confirmed the news to German gaming site Gameswirtschaft, which explains that “Sony Interactive is traditionally one of the most important and largest Gamescom exhibitors”.
At Gamescom 2019, PlayStation displayed Kojima‘s Death Stranding and Marvel’s Iron Man VR for PlayStation VR while third-party studios such as Activision Blizzard and Remedy used Sony’s presence to share news about titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Control.
Sony isn’t the only company to rule out an appearance at Gamescom 2022, with Activision Blizzard , Take-Two Interactive and Wargaming all confirming they won’t be appearing. Nintendo also released a statement that read: “Gamescom is a key event in Nintendo’s calendar of events. This year, however, after careful consideration, we have decided against participating in Cologne.”
The company said that consumers will instead be able to get their hands on new games for Nintendo Switch “at numerous events throughout Germany.”
At every gamescom, everyone puts a lot of effort into designing great stands for you, so now the question is:
Who do you think had the most beautiful one of all? pic.twitter.com/lgFiVRkc0v— gamescom (@gamescom) June 5, 2022
In March, organisers confirmed Gamescom 2022 would be a hybrid in-person and digital event with a focus on sustainability.
“This year we are combining the best of both worlds: our extensive digital program with the incomparable Gamescom experience on-site,” managing director Felix Falk said. “In the process, Gamescom is also once again setting new standards in 2022, for example, in matters of sustainability: with our ‘Gamescom goes green’ initiative, we will make this a special and climate-friendly event together with visitors and exhibitors.”
“We thus want to not only be a lighthouse for the many initiatives for environmental protection and climate action in the international games industry, but also a pioneer for international events in general.”
In other news, it looks like Ubisoft‘s free-to-play skating game Roller Champions could be coming to Nintendo Switch, according to a new listing.
