UPDATE: Gamescom has responded:
We are aware of stolen hardware and take these reports very seriously and understand the frustration of affected exhibitors.
Since many requests reached us, we would like to inform about general security regulations at the event:
Uniformed guards provide general security across the venue. Individual stand security can be booked separately, and exhibitors are advised to insure equipment against theft.
This is noted in the terms and conditions of participation and the technical guidelines.
All cases have been reported to us and to the police, and investigations are already underway.
We also want to ensure that the reported cases are individual cases, which we are very sorry to read.
Because security has one of the highest priorities to us as an event and to see that indie developers are affected makes us very sad. At an event of this size, however, there will always be individuals attempting to take advantage of the situation.
Our security measures are designed to minimize such risks as effectively as possible.
Previously:
Exhibitors at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne woke up Friday, August 28, to find their booths stripped overnight.
At least seven or eight laptops were taken from the show’s business area, along with unreleased game builds and a Steam Deck.
And this is the section of the convention that isn’t even open to the public, the one exhibitors say was pitched to them with round-the-clock security and a rule that no equipment leaves without authorization.
Police reports have been filed, but nobody sounds hopeful: the thieves took only the machines and left every charger behind, which is how professionals work.
And if this sounds like a one-off, keep reading. Developers from past years say the same thing happened to them, and one studio claims Gamescom discouraged it from even filing a police report.
“It Got Raided Last Night”
Solo indie developer Ryan Laley discovered Friday morning that the brand-new Alienware laptop he bought for the show — stored in a cupboard at his booth in the business area’s IGDA Lounge — was gone.
So were laptops at neighboring booths. “My #gamescom cut short,” Laley posted alongside a video that has now passed 2.5 million views, calling the theft “a huge blow financially and mentally.” He told Kotaku at least seven or eight laptops were taken from his cluster alone, and that exhibitors had been assured the business hall was under 24/7 security.
Laley paid thousands of pounds for the booth to demo Mimic, his multiplayer horror game due out in October, per Aftermath.
iam8bit was hit the same night. Two laptops carrying in-progress builds of Petal Runner and Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School were stolen from its booth, and the company has warned those unfinished builds could now leak.
Tessera Studios’ Pere Suau posted photos of his booth’s locked cabinet pried open, with two laptops and a Steam Deck gone — devices holding the studio’s demo of The Zibbo Show plus personal data. “The worst part is that @gamescom takes no responsibility,” Suau wrote.
Gamescom, for its part, told Aftermath that the affected exhibitors followed procedure and notified security, that police were brought in, and that the show has no influence over what police do from there.
The industry response has been warmer: CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 account offered to send Laley replacement hardware, writing that “no choom should have to start from zero,” and Laley says he’s staying through the weekend.
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. No choom should have to start from zero. 🤝🏼
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) August 28, 2026
“It Makes Gamescom and the City of Cologne Look Bad”
Here’s the part Gamescom won’t enjoy.
Developer Swammy says the exact same thing happened at last year’s show: exhibitors were told to store their laptops at the booth, and all eight Lenovo loaner laptops were stolen overnight — with the chargers left behind, the same M.O. as this week. “@gamescom ignored us and took zero responsibility,” Swammy wrote. “Disgusting that @gamescom security is this awful.”
Ukiyo Studios goes back further. The studio says a PC was stolen from its Gamescom booth two years ago, and that when it tried to file a police report, “a person from Gamescom blocked us from doing so, saying ‘it makes Gamescom and the city of Cologne look bad.'” The studio added it’s glad Laley is able to file one now.
Ukiyo also offered the most damning detail of the week: it exhibits at more than 15 events around the world every year, and Gamescom is the only one where it packs every PC and peripheral into a dedicated locked storage room at the end of each day. “That’s how bad it is.”
By the exhibitors’ own accounts, that’s three straight years of overnight booth thefts at the world’s biggest gaming show, a show that charges indie developers thousands for the space and advertises a secured business hall.
The gear is gone and likely isn’t coming back. The question is whether Gamescom’s answer this time amounts to anything more than empathy and a shrug.
