One of the world’s largest video game brands, PlayStation, has confirmed that it will not be part of the annual Gamescom 2022 trade fair, nor will it have great news or announcements to share during the Opening Night Live video event. the pope of the game, Geoff Keighley. It joins other companies that have skipped the program this year as the video game industry continues to take into account the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.
Yesterday, Sony quietly confirmed its decision not to attend Gamescom 2022 in a statement to Games Wirtschaft, a video game news site in Germany. In the past, its live opening night live broadcast has served as another mini-E3-like event, and has typically ended Keighley’s “summer games” advertising train. Games Wirtschaft explains that to be part of the opening ceremony, companies must also participate in the Gamescom fair.
Kotaku contacted Sony for feedback.
Gamescom is an annual European video game trade show that has historically been held in Cologne, Germany. Prior to covid-19, the show was attended by a large number of people, often called the largest gaming exhibition in the world as a result of these large crowds. This summer’s Gamescom, which starts on August 24th and runs through August 28th, is kind of a comeback for the show, as it is Gamescom’s first physical event since 2019.
But now things are different, and this return will feature fewer large companies, as Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, Wargaming and Take-Two Interactive have confirmed that they are also skipping the annual European convention. To date, Microsoft has yet to confirm whether or not it will attend the program.
If Sony is completely skipping Gamecom, as reported, it seems to limit where and when we will finally have a real and specific release date for its next God of War sequel, Ragnarök. We know that it is supposed to come out this year, as recently confirmed, but when exactly it is still a mystery, and that apparently will not be answered at Gamescom. Recent reports pointed to the launch in November, but Sony has not yet confirmed the release date.