After 24 grueling hours of travel, we finally touched down in Amsterdam around 6pm, exhausted but excited for what lay ahead. A quick 15-minute train ride brought us to the hotel in the city center, where we would spend one night before continuing to Germany.
The next morning, we took advantage of my Amsterdam layover to explore the city's vibrant center before catching the ICE train to Düsseldorf. The three-hour journey gave us time to mentally prepare for Gamescom 2025 – one of the world's largest gaming conventions held annually in nearby Cologne.
We chose Düsseldorf as our base for practical reasons: it was close to Cologne with excellent transport links, but most importantly, accommodation was three to five times cheaper than anything we could find in Cologne itself. Smart budgeting meant more money for gaming gear!
As trade visitors, we had early access to the convention, and what a difference that made. Day one was blissfully manageable as we leisurely explored the international and indie gaming areas. The highlight was checking out the hall showcasing Pokémon games and other upcoming Switch 2 titles, along with Borderlands 4.
We spent quality time reconnecting with familiar faces from the gaming peripheral world: Wooting, Lamzu, Akko, and Gateron. Each vendor was eager to share their latest innovations and discuss industry trends. Little did we know this would be our last peaceful day at the convention.
One great product that we where introduced to was functional gaming ware - eWear is an innovative start-up that fuses gaming and clothing into a unique, wearable experience. Founded with the vision of breaking the boundaries between the virtual world and real movement, we have developed the aim.one collection - the world's first functional clothing line for gamers.
Check out their kickstarter, which was has alread been funded.
Day two hit us like a freight train. The moment we stepped through the entrance, we knew we were in for a completely different experience. The crowds were absolutely overwhelming – so much so that Gamescom staff had to implement crowd control measures and redirect foot traffic just to keep people moving.
I made the mistake of trying to do some shopping at one of the game stores in Hall 6. After queuing for 30 minutes, I discovered that most of the items I wanted had already sold out. The popularity of the event had clearly caught everyone off guard.
After a few hours of fighting through endless crowds, we made the strategic decision to cut our losses and head out early. On our way out, we stopped to thank the vendors who had graciously shared their time with us the previous day.
Interestingly, many vendors expressed genuine surprise at the massive increase in attendance. Some admitted they weren't sure how they'd handle the sudden surge in attention compared to day one. Despite the chaos, everyone we spoke to remained enthusiastic about showcasing their brands and products to the gaming community.
Faced with the prospect of another day battling impossible crowds, we made the decision to skip day three entirely. Instead, we caught a FlixBus to Brussels to decompress and prepare for our long journey home the following day.
Gamescom 2025 was a study in contrasts – the intimate, manageable experience of the trade day versus the absolute chaos of the public days. While the crowds were overwhelming, the passion and enthusiasm of both vendors and attendees was infectious. Sometimes knowing when to retreat is just as important as knowing when to charge ahead.
The gaming industry's continued growth was on full display, perhaps a little too much so. Here's hoping next year's event can better accommodate the ever-growing enthusiasm of the global gaming community.
