Organisers reached the decision after taking into account feedback from the industry and consultation from stakeholders.
Gamescom Asia event organisers said: “We apologize to the fans who have been waiting to celebrate and interact offline with each other and their favourite games at the festival, and welcome them to join us for a borderless online experience this year.”
Despite this, the Gamescom Asia business showcase will remain as an in-person event with the option to attend digitally.
Set to take place from the 20th of October to the 22nd of October, the event will be held in Singapore at the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre with the virtual showcase starting on the 19th.
Other news from Gamescom Asia
At the start of this month, a report from Niko Partners and Gamescom Asia delved into the peculiarities of the Southeast Asian market.
The report found that the total mobile and PC gaming revenue in Asia will reach 55 percent of the global total this year, with the region’s 1.47 billion gamers contributing $82 billion to the global economy.
Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines were seen to represent 6 percent of Asian games revenue at $5 billion dollars, and 270 million gamers which is 19 percent of the continent’s total.
The Southeast Asian region is also one of the fastest growing games markets in the world, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 8.6 percent between 2020 and 2025, the report showed.
Esports was shown to be popular in Asia, with over 60 per cent of Southeast Asian gamers drawn to esports.