German political guests of honor officially opened Gamescom on August 20, 2025, with speakers highlighting the importance of the event and the games industry.

Among the political guests of honour were Dorothee Bär, Germany’s federal minister responsible for video games; Hendrik Wüst, minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia; and Henriette Reker, mayor of Cologne and chairwoman of the supervisory board of Koelnmesse.

In their speeches, speakers highlighted the importance of the games industry and Gamescom, while emphasising policymakers’ goal for Germany to become one of the world’s leading games locations.

“The gaming sector holds great cultural, economic, and technological potential, impressive proof of which is on display at gamescom year after year, ” said Bär. “Strengthening the international competitiveness of our gaming location is important to me so that we can all benefit more from the potential of digital games in the future.

“To do so, games funding must be plannable and reliable. As a first step, funding will therefore be more than doubled. Looking to the future, we are working to introduce tax incentives, as has already been done in other countries.”

Hendrik Wüst said: “With outstanding developer studios and the world’s top event for video games, North Rhine-Westphalia is the [number one] games state. The long-term commitment of gamescom to Cologne this year is a strong signal for North Rhine-Westphalia. It’s where innovations are developed, which drive the entire economy forward.

“Video games create jobs, promote creative thinking and connect people across borders. North Rhine-Westphalia is leading the way and has developed a new, modern and market-oriented games funding guideline.

“It focuses specifically on small, up-and-coming projects, as start-ups are crucial to ensuring that the games ecosystem grows and remains vibrant. This focus complements federal funding in the best possible way. The new federal government has finally got things moving in the games sector.”