There’s no place quite like Cologne, Germany in the late summer. The trees, the bratwurst, the 340,000 gamers. Each year Cologne is home to Gamescom, the world’s largest gaming event – a title that it doesn’t look like the show will be giving up any time soon if the 23-percent jump in attendance is any indication.
The official numbers are in, and Gamescom itself is reporting that over 340,000 people from 88 countries attended the show this year, a significant jump over last year’s already impressive 275,000 people. The show also attracted over 635 exhibitors from 40 countries, along with more than 6,000 members of the press.
The surge in attendance was no doubt fueled in part by the coming PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but the show has been steadily increasing in size each year. Gamescom 2014 will be held a week earlier than this year’s show, running from August 13 -17. Tickets sold out this year, so if you have any inclination to attend next year, you may want to start planning soon.