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At least three exhibitors got robbed at Gamescom 2026 — laptops and handhelds with unfinished game builds stolen from locked cabinets

erek

erek

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“Gamescom organizers responded to the issues, saying that although they have arranged for uniformed guards to provide general security, individual booth security must be booked separately. They’ve also advised exhibitors to have insurance against theft, and said these warnings are noted in the terms and conditions for participants, as well as in the event’s technical guidelines.


“All cases have been reported to us and to the police, and investigations are already underway,” the organizers’ statement read. They also said that security is one of their priorities at the event, but also added, “At an event of this size, however, there will always be individuals attempting to take advantage of the situation.”“

Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/video-...ished-game-builds-stolen-from-locked-cabinets
 
erek said:
“Gamescom organizers responded to the issues, saying that although they have arranged for uniformed guards to provide general security, individual booth security must be booked separately. They’ve also advised exhibitors to have insurance against theft, and said these warnings are noted in the terms and conditions for participants, as well as in the event’s technical guidelines.


“All cases have been reported to us and to the police, and investigations are already underway,” the organizers’ statement read. They also said that security is one of their priorities at the event, but also added, “At an event of this size, however, there will always be individuals attempting to take advantage of the situation.”“

Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/video-...ished-game-builds-stolen-from-locked-cabinets
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Inside job???
 
philb2 said:
Inside job???
Click to expand...
probably

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"Gamescom Crime Spree? Three Exhibitors Report Their Laptops Were Stolen (tomshardware.com)3​

Posted by EditorDavid on Sunday August 30, 2026 @08:38PM from the game-on dept.
From the gaming news site Aftermath"Game developer and consultant Ryan Laley traveled to Cologne, Germany from Essex, England to showcase his upcoming horror social deduction game Mimic at the annual Gamescom event. He paid "thousands of pounds" to get a booth at the show, where other game developers and press could try the game ahead of its October release. But Laley's Gamescom was cut short when he realized Friday morning that his brand new Alienware laptop, purchased for the event, was missing. The laptop was stored in a cupboard in the booth, and Laley started asking nearby vendors to see if someone had moved it. That's when he realized it was stolen — and that he wasn't alone. Laley's booth in Gamescom's business area, specifically in the International Game Developers Association Lounge, had been hit in what appears to be a string of thefts at the convention center. The business area of the convention is not open to the public, only press and others with specific tickets. Laley said Gamescom advertised this area as having 24/7 security and limited access after hours...

Publisher and merchandiser iam8bit, in a nearby booth showcasing Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School and Petal Runner, had two laptops with game builds stolen Thursday night from its booth, a representative confirmed to Aftermath.
"Meanwhile, Tessera Studios had two laptops and a Steam Deck taken from its cabinet," reports Tom's Hardware:Gamescom organizers responded to the issues, saying that although they have arranged for uniformed guards to provide general security, individual booth security must be booked separately. They've also advised exhibitors to have insurance against theft, and said these warnings are noted in the terms and conditions for participants, as well as in the event's technical guidelines. "All cases have been reported to us and to the police, and investigations are already underway," the organizers' statement read. They also said that security is one of their priorities at the event, but also added, "At an event of this size, however, there will always be individuals attempting to take advantage of the situation.""
 
Totally sounds like an inside job! I hope developers had their expensive laptops insured, and everything was under full disk encryption.
Reminds me of this real story from couple of years back - about poker pro player who got his laptop stolen/hacked in a 5-star hotel in Barcelona, to make him loose games in a tournament:
https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/74/ audio podcast about this story here, there's also a transcript and written sources.
 
When any industry rakes in hundreds upon hundreds of billions of dollars, the legal ramifications of (aka the "price") of espionage become much more justified.
 
Trade show theft is pretty common, almost always venue staff, labourers, other exhibitors or security. And somehow the cameras were never working in that area. Been ripped off a couple of times at the Anaheim Convention Center.
 
pioruns said:
Totally sounds like an inside job! I hope developers had their expensive laptops insured, and everything was under full disk encryption.
Reminds me of this real story from couple of years back - about poker pro player who got his laptop stolen/hacked in a 5-star hotel in Barcelona, to make him loose games in a tournament:
https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/74/ audio podcast about this story here, there's also a transcript and written sources.
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Willing to bet they are no under any MDM, especially "Developers" cause "wE nEeD fUlL uNcOntroLLed DeVicEs"
 
westrock2000 said:
No booth babes anymore, sadly.
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I read on Reddit this is no surprise from the German locals in Cologne. Apparently crime is under reported and they just let anyone do security work, its also underpaid too.
 
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uOpt said:
Surely they have full disk encryption on those lappertoppers?

Non-event.
Click to expand...

Non-event maybe for code and assets being leaked.

But it means the developers can't show anything and the whole event for them is a bust. This is happening to small indy devs and solo devs. People using their personal laptops and borrowing their friend's laptop to show off their games.
 
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