From August 17 to 19, 2025, the city of Cologne hosted the devcom developers conference #ddc2025, one of the largest international gatherings dedicated to game creation. The event opened in grand style with the debut of the devcom awards, held on Monday evening, August 18, on the Keynote Stage. The ceremony featured a live performance by AMuse, who sang In the Flood from the acclaimed game Horizon: Forbidden West, marking a memorable start to the celebration.

Starting in October 2025, the conference will be officially renamed gamescom dev. This change reflects the goal of firmly integrating the conference into the gamescom brand family, expanding its reach and reinforcing its relevance within the global video game industry. The new name also aims to strengthen communication with the audience, positioning the event as a key reference for developers.

The devcom 2025 awards recognized outstanding projects across multiple categories. In Blockbuster, presented by gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show, the winner was Royal Revolt Survivors by Team Warriors. In the Creative Overkill category, presented by the Epic Games Store, the award went to Unboxing Mr. Coo by creator Nacho Rodríguez.

In the category Graphics Galore, presented by Astragon Entertainment, the honor went to About Cannons & Sparrows by BookWood Games. The Mobile Marvels award, supported by gamescom latam, was given to Reggie, His Cousin, Two Scientists and Most Likely the End of the World by degoma. Sandfall Interactive won the Award for Excellence in Game Design with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Among the tributes, the Ambassador Award was presented to Don Daglow, renowned game designer, writer, speaker, and consultant, recognizing his influence and significant contributions to the industry. The roster of winners highlighted the diversity of styles and approaches shaping today’s game development landscape.

During the conference, Stephan Reichart, Managing Director of game events GmbH and organizer of devcom, stated: "I am delighted about devcom's upgrade in positioning and its inclusion among the key gamescom sub-brands. We've had an incredible, exciting and at times very challenging journey with devcom over the years. Right from the start, people kept asking, 'So you're the game developer side of gamescom?' That is why we decided to add the subtitle, The official game developer conference of gamescom. Now, everyone gets it – everything related to developer content happens at gamescom dev – which I think is awesome!"

Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – The German Games Industry Association and co-organizer of gamescom, added: "The devcom developer conference has rapidly grown into one of the world's most important events for game developers. It has become a key pillar of the gamescom family. By renaming it gamescom dev, we aim to create greater synergies with the other gamescom formats and tap into new opportunities through closer integration with the gamescom brand world. This will take our success story to the next level." Oliver Frese, COO and Managing Director of Koelnmesse, concluded: "Renaming the conference to gamescom dev allows us to fully integrate it into our unified, globally recognizable brand architecture. The new name is short, clear and understood worldwide, ensuring high recognition. This allows us to communicate more directly with our target group and emphasizes the strong connection to gamescom."