Gamescom All-Digital Event Gets New Date

Update 2: Gamescom organizers have now given new dates for the event. The digital-only Gamescom will take place August 27-30, with host Geoff Keighley's Opening Night Live event taking place on August 27.

Update: Gamescom organizers have issued a new statement, stating that the physical event in Cologne, Germany will be canceled and paid tickets will be refunded. However, organizers say they are hard at work on a digital event to take place in late August. Similarly, host Geoff Keighley says he will be hosting his Opening Night Live event as a digital showcase.

The original story follows:

Following a directive from the German government to suspend all major events through August due to the coronavirus, Gamescom organizers have signaled that plans for the conference are likely to change. The conference was scheduled to take place in Cologne, Germany from August 25-29.

The official Twitter account did not specify exactly how the show would be changing, but did say that it will definitely take place as a digital event. It expects to share more information shortly.

Show organizers had previously stated that they were proceeding as planned pending further guidance from the German government. The German Games Industry Association also announced that in the event of cancellation, Gamescom would go forward as a digital event on the planned dates. This announcement isn't quite clear if the event will move to a different date to retain some physical event aspect, or if it will shift to an all-digital event.

E3 2020, which takes place in June, was similarly canceled due to coronavirus concerns. At first, the ESA had suggested that it would explore a digital event with its publisher partners, but the organization recently announced it would no longer be doing so. That means any publisher announcements slated for E3 are now up to publishers themselves to make on their own schedules, and not necessarily in June.