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Gamescom will be going ahead in August, in spite of the global coronavirus situation, as announced by the organisers today.
A short update on the current situation:
⬇ï¸â¬‡ï¸â¬‡ï¸â¬‡ï¸â¬‡ï¸ pic.twitter.com/nZH3qMMVvj— gamescom (@gamescom) March 16, 2020
The event will be held in Cologne, Germany, on August 25. With regards to the spread of coronavirus in almost 160 territories, the organisers said that it “take[s] this topic very seriously because the health of all trade fair visitors and partners is our top priority.” The state government has banned all events in the city that will see a footfall of more than 1,000 people until April 10. “Since gamescom takes place at the end of August 2020, we are currently not affected by this decree,” explained the statement. “However, we will of course follow the recommendations of the responsible authorities regarding major events, evaluate them on the daily basis and make our decisions after careful consideration.”
The organisers have determined that “preparations for the gamescom2020 are continuing as planned,” but if the event is impacted, all tickets will be refunded and voucher codes will be refreshed for new events. GDC 2020 and E3 2020 have been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and developers and publishers are electing to host their own livestreams in its place. As aforementioned, Gamescom is set for late August, and it is possible that the coronavirus will be contained then. However, reports indicate that the situation will get worse before it gets better, especially in western countries.
