Between Boss Battles, the Business Area and Retro Moments: Foxira at gamescom 2026

A packed day at the show, new impressions, old memories and plenty of games: we were back at gamescom in Cologne in 2026. This time without our own booth, but with even more time to play, observe, exchange ideas and network.

After travelling through the night, our gamescom day began early, and at first it was surprisingly quiet. Anyone who only knows the show from the later hours could almost forget how relaxed the long connecting corridors can still feel in the morning.

Compared with our visit in 2025, gamescom felt even busier to us this year. By the afternoon at the latest, some areas were densely crowded and the sheer scale of the show was impossible to miss.

Aniimo: from hands-on straight into the boss battle

One of our first gaming stops took us to Aniimo. The booth stood out from afar with its bright design, large figures and extensive play area.

At the regular play stations, visitors could first try Aniimo for themselves and, in a manner of speaking, unlock the next stage: a timed boss battle.

Naturally, we didn't need to be told twice.

So: played, qualified and into the boss battle.

And yes: We won. 😄

In addition to that small sense of achievement, we also received a few goodies, including an Aniimo plushie. A lovely example of how a quick stop at a show can suddenly turn into a little story that you actually remember later.

When trade show booths become game worlds themselves

Of course, the day wasn't just about boss battles. Every year, the big halls demonstrate anew just how important staging has become at a show like gamescom.

One particularly impressive example was Tides of Annihilation. With its large fantasy set, the booth almost became part of the game world itself.

Elsewhere, things were much more playful. Between huge screens, figures and elaborately designed areas, familiar names kept appearing, such as Crazy Taxi, complete with a yellow taxi in the middle of the hall.

For us, it isn't only interesting what is being shown. Especially as developers, it is also worth looking at how games are presented, which elements attract attention and how different studios try to make their identity visible within a huge show.

From Atari and the C64 to our own studio

Between all the current games, there were also moments that took us much further back.

For Bernd, his own gaming journey began in the early 1980s with the Atari VCS, also known as the Atari 2600. Accordingly, looking at the Atari area felt familiar, even though more than four decades now separate those living rooms from gamescom 2026.

A little later came the Commodore 64, which likewise remained an important part of that journey for many years.

And that was precisely where a particularly lovely retro moment was waiting at gamescom: the Commodore 77, a Cyberpunk 2077 special edition based on the modern Commodore 64 Ultimate.

The connection to the C64 Ultimate isn't entirely coincidental. When the modern reissue was released, Bernd, as an old C64 hand, couldn't resist; in his case, it was the gold-transparent Founders Edition.

Standing at gamescom more than four decades after those first steps with Atari and later the C64 – now no longer only as a player and developer, but with our own studio and our own game project – suddenly makes those seemingly small exhibits feel quite personal.

And somehow that fits gamescom perfectly: the past, present and future of the games industry sometimes stand quite literally only a few metres apart.

Indie games, publishing and a look behind the scenes

For us as an indie studio, gamescom is of course more than a consumer show.

Publishers, other developers, service providers and technology companies are also part of a day like this for us. That is precisely why we consciously make time for areas that may look less spectacular than the major show floors, but can be at least as interesting for developing and marketing a game of our own.

The indie area remains particularly exciting: small teams, a wide variety of concepts and a direct look at the ideas currently emerging and how other studios present their projects.

Not every conversation immediately leads to a collaboration or a concrete next step. But personal exchange almost always broadens our view of the industry, market and development, and that, for us, is an important part of visiting a show like this.

Games Made in Hessen

Later in the afternoon, our path also took us to the Business Area and the joint presence of the Hessian games industry.

Under the banner “Games Made in Hessen”, studios, industry stakeholders and representatives from business and politics came together.

For Foxira, this part of the show is especially relevant. Our studio is based in Hesse, and Lepusona is being created here too. Accordingly, exchanging ideas within the regional games landscape is just as important to us as connecting with other developers, potential partners and institutions.

At a show of this size in particular, it becomes clear time and again what a difference face-to-face encounters can make. Many contacts and conversations can be prepared or continued digitally, but some things only come about when people are actually standing together at the same table.

What remains from gamescom 2026?

Above all: a great many impressions.

gamescom felt noticeably busier to us this year, at times louder and definitely exhausting. At the same time, it was once again a place where practically the full spectrum of the games industry can be experienced within a single day.

We tried new games, defeated a boss, rediscovered old companions from our own gaming history, exchanged ideas with developers and industry representatives, and of course took a very close look at how games, studios and brands present themselves today.

Not all of that can be transferred directly to Lepusona, and that isn't the point.

What matters is returning home with new impressions, questioning things and developing an even better sense of where we ourselves want to go with Foxira and Lepusona.

And by the time an Aniimo plushie was allowed to travel back to Hesse at the end of the day, one thing was clear anyway:

The Cologne mission definitely wasn't entirely unsuccessful. 😄