Recently, we highlighted the new venue and some key features for the upcoming gamescom congress. Fast forward a month and change, and now the organizers, the Koelnmesse GmbH and game – Association of the German Games Industry, have shared the event program as a whole. The organizers have stressed that the topics cover culture to business to science and society, showing how each can plug into the power of games.
“In the diverse and exciting programme of the gamescom congress, this year’s key topics are particularly noteworthy: ‘Games and Artificial Intelligence’ addresses the current technological innovation that will change all our lives. At the congress, some of the world’s leading experts on the topic will explain the role games play in this and how AI will in turn change game development. Games and Democracy’, the second focus, emphasises the extensive potential of computer and video games to effectively communicate socially relevant topics with their unique strengths. With these two important and highly topical focal themes, the gamescom congress once again impressively demonstrates its topicality and relevance as well as the enormous potential of games for all areas of life,” says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – Association of the German Games Industry, the co-organizer of gamescom.
This year’s event will begin with the keynote speech “The Joys of AI” by Hillary Mason. Artificial intelligence (AI) remains a red-hot topic in business, including gaming, for the risks and rewards in using it. Her talk will likely touch on these topics while covering the ways of using AI and machine learning in the technical, artistic and business use cases for these fast-evolving technologies.
Beyond the keynote, there’s a wide variety of talks and topics slated across the six stages, including some that are sure to start discussions and debates. For example, there’s AI, of course, multilingualism in game development and events, DEI (diversity equity, and inclusion), pro-Ukrainian game development, democracy in schools, and many others.
The Gamescom Congress program is also integrated into the official Gamescom app (available at no cost on iOS and Android).
Tickets for gamescom congress are available here for € 103 (~ $112 USD). For students and teachers who may want to attend, a special rate of € 38 (~ $41.5 USD) is offered.
