Thieves Hit Gamescom 2026 Booths Overnight, Stealing Laptops and Dev Equipment From Multiple Exhibitors
Laptops, a Steam Deck and other hardware vanished from exhibitor booths at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne this week, as multiple developers reported overnight break-ins across the trade fair.
Indie developer Ryan Laley, who was showcasing Mimic — an asymmetrical survival horror game where one player controls a creature and others try to survive — posted a video to X saying his booth was broken into overnight. Thieves took his laptops and left the chargers behind. CD Projekt Red, the studio behind Cyberpunk 2077, replied to Laley's post offering sympathy and promising to check its Arasaka hardware archives to send replacement equipment his way — a nod to the in-game megacorporation from the Cyberpunk universe. (Eurogamer, 30 August 2026)
iam8bit, a Los Angeles-based publisher and merchandise company, reported that two of its laptops were stolen overnight from its station in the business area at Gamescom. The laptops were being used to demo Petal Runner and Escape Academy 2 under the iam8bit Presents label, and the theft potentially put unfinished builds of those games at risk of being leaked. The break-in occurred despite the presence of Koelnmesse security, the venue's on-site guard service. (Eurogamer, 30 August 2026)
Tessera Studios, developer of The Zibbo Show, said its booth in the Gamescom Indie Area was broken into earlier in the week. Robbers forced open a cabinet and made off with two laptops and a Steam Deck — Valve's handheld gaming PC — containing personal and company data. The studio also said it had heard of thefts at the Games from Spain booth and several more across the fairgrounds. (Eurogamer, 30 August 2026)
Ukiyo Studios added a prior-year account: the studio said a PC was stolen from its Gamescom booth two years ago, but Gamescom blocked it from filing a police report, saying it would make the event and the city of Cologne look bad. Ukiyo noted that Gamescom is the only event among the 15-plus it attends annually where it keeps a dedicated locked storage room to pack up its equipment each night. (Eurogamer, 30 August 2026)
Gamescom addressed the reports, saying it is aware of stolen hardware, takes the reports seriously and understands the frustration of affected exhibitors. The organisers stated that uniformed guards provide general security across the venue, and that individual stand security arrangements are part of its general security regulations — meaning each booth is responsible for its own protection beyond the venue-wide patrols. (Eurogamer, 30 August 2026)
Polygon also reported on the incidents, confirming that Gamescom's organisers had responded to the affected exhibitors. (Polygon, 29 August 2026) Shacknews had earlier covered the initial reports from Laley and Tessera Studios. (Shacknews, 28 August 2026)
For indie developers in particular, the losses cut deeper than the hardware. A laptop at a convention is not just a machine — it is a demo rig, a work-in-progress build and sometimes the only copy of files that represent months of development. Several exhibitors noted that the stolen devices contained unreleased game builds and company data, raising concerns about potential leaks ahead of launch.
Gamescom 2026 ran from 26 to 30 August in Cologne, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors and thousands of exhibitors across the Koelnmesse fairgrounds.
