The devcom Developer Conference 2024, held from August 18–20 at the new Koelnmesse Confex conference center, concluded with record-breaking attendance, sessions, and speakers. The event registered over 5,000 unique participants, a 45% increase compared to 2023, consolidating devcom's position as the largest industry conference in Europe and the second largest globally. Among the participants, 1,300 gamescom trade visitors also registered for the event and explored the new expo area on the second day of the conference.

The conference featured more than 350 speakers, about 100 more compared to 2023, who presented their topics across 210+ sessions on 17 stages, including the Keynote Stage. Side events such as the “Xsolla Game Night,” “European Game Night,” and “Courage Cologne” also attracted thousands of additional attendees.

In addition to the increase in attendance and content, the conference attracted participants from 1,660 companies across 83 countries. Notably, 10% of attendees represented companies with 2,000 or more employees, while 27% were from companies with 100 to 2,000 employees, indicating a significant representation from large, established companies and mid-sized, innovative businesses with substantial resources and decision-making power in the industry.

The #ddc2024 Keynotes were delivered by Kelsey Beachum, Game Writer and Narrative Designer known for her innovative work on the award-winning indie space adventure Outer Wilds, and Jason Latino, Cinematic Director at Larian Studios, who reflected on how he was completely wrong about some of the game's biggest successes.

Among the most anticipated and bookmarked sessions were "Demystifying Creativity" (Fawzi Mesmar, VP Global Creative, Ubisoft), "Code Power-Ups: 10 Game-changing Programming Hacks" (Terrance Cohen, Senior Engine Programmer, Insomniac Games), and "You Must Self-Publish: The Future of Indie Funding" (Jason Della Rocca, Co-Founder, Execution Labs).

Stephan Reichart, Managing Director of game events GmbH, commented: "This year's devcom Developer Conference was an extraordinary success, exceeding all our expectations and breaking records. The move to Koelnmesse's new Confex has allowed us to expand our offering and create a more spacious environment for our attendees, speakers, and partners. Compared to last year, we recorded a 45% increase in visitor numbers, which underscores the growing importance of devcom within the global games industry. Our B2B program was extremely well received, giving publishers and developers additional days to negotiate new projects at devcom and gamescom."

devcom's newly established Scholarship Programs, in collaboration with gamescom and over 20 international partners, provided more than 200 participants with free access to the events, both online and on-site, along with additional support and networking opportunities.

New dates for the upcoming devcom Leadership Summit (February 19–21 in Lisbon, Portugal) and the next devcom Developer Conference 2025 (August 17–19 in Cologne, Germany) have already been announced, and interested attendees can already purchase discounted passes for these events.