We communicate with Rana Rahman about greatest practices earlier than, throughout and after Gamescom 2026.
Cell devs, publishers and tech startups all have distinctive causes to attend, and particular recommendation to observe.
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Germany’s flagship video games truthful Gamescom is simply across the nook, promising loads of showcases and networking alternatives between August twenty sixth and thirtieth, 2026.
We’ll have our personal stand on the present (situated in corridor 2.1 on stand E033). In the meantime the Pocket Gamer Cell Video games Awards in affiliation with Samsung Gaming Hub may even return to Cologne on August twenty fifth.
Forward of one other busy occasion for one of many world’s largest shopper and enterprise gaming occasions, we communicate with Raptor PR CEO and founder Rana Rahman about his expertise at Gamescom, alternatives for startups and the way corporations can take advantage of out of the present.
“One of many greatest errors corporations make is treating Gamescom as a four-day occasion quite than the centrepiece of a wider strategic communications programme,” he warns.
“Too many manufacturers go silent for months, make a variety of noise through the present, then disappear once more. Gamescom needs to be one chapter in an ongoing story, not the entire story.”
Then and now
Raptor supplies world PR for the video games business and media manufacturers. Rahman first attended Gamescom in 2022, three years after the corporate’s founding.
He attended to assist his purchasers on the bottom and assist organize media interviews. Wanting again, he calls this a “reconnaissance mission”, spent at networking dos, studying about Gamescom itself, attending interviews and extra.
“Jan Kuhlmann, our key contact at Xsolla on the time, persuaded me to attend. I’m glad I listened to him,” Rahman remembers.
“I hadn’t totally appreciated the dimensions or significance of the occasion. Regardless of being a beginner on the time, I had a productive time studying about this explicit tentpole in gaming.”
“Conferences ought to present a compelling cause for prospects to recollect you past a easy introduction of your organization.”Rana Rahman
4 years later, he considers Gamescom one of the crucial essential business occasions in his calendar. It serves as a spot to attach with corporations from across the globe, construct relationships and rejoice collective work.
It’s additionally a spot the place B2B and B2C collide, so he enjoys strolling the halls “as each a lifelong participant and an business professional”.
It is also essential, he says, to take a look at the buyer facet of the present – not simply get slowed down in enterprise, metrics and spreadsheets.
“That is a perspective our business generally loses sight of.”
Builders, publishers and cellular
We ask whether or not cellular builders and publishers ought to attend this yr, and Rahman solutions it needs to be “critically thought-about” by these seeking to develop.
“The most important problem for startups is not simply constructing a terrific product, it is ensuring the correct folks know they exist.”Rana Rahman
He says that, at Gamescom, cellular devs are searching for publishers, and vice-versa, whereas know-how service suppliers are sometimes looking for each of those in addition to funding.
Although corporations on all sides could also be seeking to strike offers, these attending shouldn’t view Gamescom as a dash: “Belief is constructed over time, not over 4 days.”
Rahman recommends starting to speak “nicely earlier than Cologne” and persevering with lengthy after everybody goes again residence.
Bulletins, govt interviews, buyer conferences and social content material are all types of communication. They need to assist an organization develop into a recognised title, remembered and even related to fixing a particular downside all earlier than procurement really begins.
Picture credit score: Raptor PR.
“It is a marathon, not a dash,” he reiterates. “Use your owned channels and LinkedIn to construct momentum, share your perspective from the present and lengthen the lifespan of each assembly you could have. The occasion itself is just one touchpoint in a for much longer communications journey.”
Most significantly, Rahman recommends arriving at Gamescom with a plan. An organization ought to ask itself what story it’s bringing to the occasion: a product launch, a buyer announcement, a funding milestone, a analysis report and even an govt viewpoint.
It’s essential to construct conversations round this story. If it isn’t already apparent what to debate, Rahman thinks sitting down with advertising and marketing and management groups earlier than travelling to Cologne can be smart.
“Conferences ought to present a compelling cause for prospects to recollect you past a easy introduction of your organization,” he suggests.
Publishers, builders, know-how distributors and buyers will every have totally different objectives at Gamescom, however preparation is one widespread piece of recommendation he offers to all.
Rahman warns that the busiest enterprise is never the one getting essentially the most out of the occasion. Somewhat, the true winners are these attending with a transparent plan, a transparent story and a transparent concept of what success will appear like.
He additionally has distinct recommendation for builders and publishers who shall be attending Gamescom for basically totally different functions.
“For builders, Gamescom is about proving you could have one thing value backing.
“Your comms ought to concentrate on demonstrating momentum, showcasing the standard of your video games and making it straightforward for publishers, buyers and platform holders to grasp the market potential of your cherished recreation. Each assembly ought to reinforce the identical clear story, since you’ll typically be repeating it dozens of occasions over the week.
“For publishers, the problem is nearly the alternative. Greater than selling your personal enterprise, you are competing to draw one of the best builders. Which means speaking your imaginative and prescient, your observe report, your experience and the worth you deliver past funding. Builders have extra selection than ever, so publishers must construct a popularity as a associate of selection, not simply one other supply of capital.”
A worthy journey
Rahman believes Gamescom has arguably develop into the point of interest for the video games business, above GDC. He observes a rising sentiment that Gamescom 2026 shall be among the many greatest but and alerts these undecided on attending that resort costs are hovering.
“When you’re nonetheless on the fence, you should decide quick. At this late stage, lodging is dear, diaries are filling up and lots of corporations have had their schedules locked in for months. That stated, there’s nonetheless loads of business worth to be gained. It’s possible you’ll simply need to rely just a little extra on what the Gamescom universe will present.”
A lot of the “magic” of Gamescom can occur at mixers, breakfasts, dinners and facet occasions, he expands. Somewhat than a crowded sales space, a smaller setting can facilitate stronger business relationships.
“In case your price range permits, take into account partnering with an organiser resembling Metal Media on a networking dinner or reception.”
Rahman particularly recommends early stage studios and tech startups to attend. Whereas offers are unlikely to be penned in a single day, Gamescom can speed up months of relationship-building into a couple of days and assist startups develop into identified by the correct corporations.
“In case your price range permits, take into account partnering with an organiser resembling Metal Media on a networking dinner or reception.”Rana Rahman
“The most important problem for startups is not simply constructing a terrific product, it is ensuring the correct folks know they exist,” Rahman explains.
Asserting a services or products previous to the occasion, and constructing some consciousness earlier than heading to Germany, may additionally be useful. By asserting the platform forward of Gamescom quite than throughout it, there’s time for the information to flow into and attain its viewers earlier than assembly on the occasion.
“I would encourage startups to suppose the identical method. Whether or not it is funding, a product launch, analysis, a buyer story or a robust standpoint, give folks a cause to recognise your online business earlier than you arrive. Then use Gamescom to deepen conversations, not introduce your self for the primary time,” Rahman says.
“As a founder, what I get out of it’s stronger relationships with purchasers and companions, worthwhile conversations with prospects and, sometimes, a variety of enjoyable occasions.”
To conclude, Rahman calls Gamescom an amplifier greater than a place to begin: “The businesses that construct momentum earlier than the occasion are normally those that go away with the strongest relationships afterwards.”
The Pocket Gamer Cell Video games Awards 2026 gala ceremony takes place in Cologne on August twenty fifth.
On the twenty sixth, we’ll be at Klub Domhof celebrating Pocket Gamer’s twentieth anniversary. Enroll now, arrive early to keep away from the queue and benefit from the restricted free bar.
