Sony Skipping Gamescom 2022 And Opening Night Live

One of the largest video game brands in the world, PlayStation, has confirmed that it will not be a part of the annual Gamescom 2022 trade show, nor will it have any big news or announcements to share during the Opening Night Live event hosted by video game pope, Geoff Keighley. It joins other companies skipping the show this year as the video game industry continues to reckon with the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.

Yesterday, Sony quietly confirmed its decision to not attend Gamescom 2022 via a statement given to Games Wirtschaft, a video game news site in Germany. In the past, its Opening Night Live livestream has operated as another mini-E3-like event and typically wrapped up Keighley’s “summer gaming” hype train. Games Wirtschaft explains that to be part of the opening night event, companies must also take part in the Gamescom trade show.

Kotaku contacted Sony seeking comment.

Gamescom is an annual European video game trade show that has historically been held in Cologne, Germany. Before covid-19, the show was regularly attended by huge numbers of people, often being called the world’s largest gaming expo as a result of these big crowds. This summer’s Gamescom—which starts August 24 and runs until the 28th—is a return of sorts for the show, as it’s the first physical Gamescom event since 2019.

But things are different now, and this return will feature fewer big companies, as Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, Wargaming, and Take-Two Interactive have all confirmed they too are skipping the annual European convention. So far, Microsoft has yet to confirm if it will be attending the show or not.

If Sony is completely skipping Gamecom, as has been reported, it does seem to limit where and when we will finally get an actual, specific release date for its upcoming God of War sequel, Ragnarök. We know it’s supposed to come out this year, as was recently confirmed, but when exactly is still a mystery, and one which apparently won’t be answered at Gamescom. Recent reports pegged it for a November launch, but Sony has yet to confirm a release date.