During Gamescom 2026 in Cologne, Germany, display equipment including laptops was stolen from exhibitor booths set up in the business hall. As developers, particularly at small indie booths, voice the significant harm suffered, warm support from gaming fans and companies has continued to pour in.

Ryan Laley, a solo developer working on the indie horror game 'Mimic', discovered on August 28 that equipment in his booth, including laptops, had vanished entirely, and shared the news on his X account. Expressing his devastating feelings, he stated that "Gamescom is over for me." While police reports have been filed, there is no guarantee that all the equipment will be recovered.

Gamescom's business hall is a space dedicated to meetings between exhibitors, publishers, and developers, where general attendees are restricted, and it had been advertised as having 24-hour security personnel on site. However, this failed to prevent the incident. He shared that he estimates at least seven to eight laptops were stolen in the spree.

Publisher iam8bit, which set up a booth in Hall 5 (the B2C hall), also reportedly had two demo laptops stolen for games they are publishing. Those laptops were reported to contain unreleased builds of 'Petal Runner' and 'Escape Academy 2'.

Meanwhile, after Laley shared his emotional message immediately following the incident, words of comfort and support from gaming fans and companies poured in.

Playtonic Games, the developer of 'Yooka-Laylee', expressed sympathy through its official account, while numerous fans offered to help with donations if a fundraising page were set up. In response, Laley politely declined donations, stating that simply wishlisting the game and sharing it with others would be more than enough.

Indie Game Joe, a marketing consultant, expressed outrage over the incident and provided funding so Laley could purchase equipment. CD Projekt Red also left a message via the official 'Cyberpunk 2077' account, saying, "We hope you know you're not on your own," and adding that they would check their "Arasaka hardware warehouse" to see how much they could send over. This is seen as a witty message of support incorporating the universe of their franchise.

Meanwhile, Gamescom left a reply through its official account offering an apology regarding the incident and wishing for the recovery of the lost items.

Laley later posted a new message expressing gratitude for the community's support. He shared that while he will be walking around the venue instead of staying at his booth, he will remain at the show through the weekend and looks forward to meeting many people and playing games.