Gamescom 2026 has already given us new games, trailers, release dates, and more announcements than anyone could reasonably keep track of. Today, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the first German head of state to attend the event, opening the Gamescom congress in Cologne with a speech that looked beyond games as entertainment and towards what they can offer culture, communities, education, and democracy.
For an event that’s been running since 2009, having the country’s head of state turn up for the first time is a pretty significant moment.
Games Are Now Part of Everyday Culture
Steinmeier used his appearance to talk about just how much attitudes towards gaming have changed. Games are no longer something sitting on the fringes of culture. They’re played by millions of people, bring huge communities together, and increasingly find uses well beyond simply keeping us entertained for a few hours.
“Games are now an integral part of our cultural life,” Steinmeier said during his speech. He went on to highlight how the conversation surrounding games has shifted, with their positive, creative, and community-building potential receiving considerably more attention than it did just a few years ago.
That’s particularly relevant at this year’s Gamescom. Research published ahead of the event found that 85% of people surveyed in Germany believe gaming communities can have a positive effect on community spirit, while 83% pointed towards greater tolerance and 80% saw benefits for inclusion and participation.
Turns out repeatedly dying together in a co-op game might be doing more for us than we thought.
Gamescom Congress Is Looking Beyond Entertainment
The Gamescom congress is a little different from the enormous show happening around it. Rather than revealing the next big release, the one-day conference looks at what games and gaming technology can contribute elsewhere. This year’s program features 85 sessions and 165 speakers, bringing together people from the games industry, politics, education, science, business, and organizations including UNHCR, Europol, and the World Health Organization.
Two themes sit at the center of the 2026 event and they are Playing Field Democracy and The Games Effect.
The first looks at how games can support things like civic education, participation, media literacy, social cohesion, and democratic resilience. The second goes considerably wider, exploring how games and the technology behind them can be used in areas including healthcare, education, research, architecture, public administration, and industry.
There are some interesting real-world examples too. UNHCR is discussing research into how gaming can support the wellbeing, social connections, education, and integration of refugees, while Europol is presenting Cyber Defenders, a Roblox experience that puts children into cybercrime scenarios involving fraud, identity theft, and online grooming.
That Doesn’t Mean Ignoring the Problems
Steinmeier wasn’t suggesting everything about gaming is positive. He also argued that the medium’s enormous reach makes discussing its problems increasingly important, specifically pointing towards gaming addiction as one of the issues that shouldn’t be ignored.
Perhaps the most important part of Steinmeier’s appearance is simply that it happened at all. Germany’s head of state opening a conference about the social potential of video games would have seemed considerably less likely when gamescom began 17 years ago. His visit follows yesterday’s political opening, which attracted more high-profile political guests than any previous gamescom.
Steinmeier is also spending time at the main event, meeting developers and members of the gaming community to learn more about how games can contribute to culture and society.
Gamescom might be the world’s biggest gaming event because of the hundreds of thousands of people, enormous booths, new releases, and endless queues filling the Koelnmesse every year.
This week, though, Germany’s Federal President has provided a reminder that gaming’s influence now stretches considerably further than the show floor.