gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2026 opened its business area today at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC), welcoming games industry professionals from around the world on the first of two trade days. Exhibitors from a record 29 countries and regions, including 20 national pavilions from 12 markets, brought studios, publishers, investors and government delegations from Asia, Europe and North America under one roof.
DOOM and Quake co-creator John Romero delivered the headline keynote, Why We Still Make Games. In conversation with Evva Karr, CEO of Glitch, Romero reflected on more than four decades in the industry, the setbacks that tested him, and why the next generation of developers still has every reason to believe in games, before taking questions from the floor.
“New ideas are the most important ingredient because you can bring experience to developing a new idea, but it’s new ideas that keep the industry moving forward… I love indie games. There’s tons of new ideas there, and I’m excited by people who are going to try stuff and see what happens.”
The Stage 1 programme went on to explore how distinctive IP is built and sustained. AdHoc Studio co-founders Nick Herman and Dennis Lenart unpacked the making of their breakout hit Dispatch, Ubisoft’s creative leads discussed reimagining Assassin’s Creed Black Flag and Rayman Legends for a new generation, and Massive Monster’s Jojo Zhou shared how Cult of the Lamb’s world has grown through post-launch updates. On the business track, publishers including PlaySide, Focus Entertainment, Fireshine Games and Team17 turned the tables in the Reverse Pitch, pitching directly to developers on what they want to fund next.
Day 1 highlights
- John Romero keynote:Why We Still Make Games, with live audience Q&A
- AdHoc Studio: the story behind Dispatch and evolving the interactive narrative genre
- Ubisoft panel: what it takes to remake a classic for a new audience
- Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno: why horror titles like Cronos: The New Dawn win over the long tail
- Voodoo: a frank look at how AI is already changing game development today
- Invest Circle and VIP XPerience (sponsored by Xsolla): curated speed networking between studios, publishers and investors
Tonight at 8pm (GMT+7), PRIMETIME streams online with the latest trailers, reveals and indie showcases, in English with Thai, Bahasa Indonesia and Vietnamese localisation. Tomorrow, Roblox’s Zhen Fang, former Chief Global Publishing Officer of KRAFTON Jin Oh and DigixArt’s Yoan Fanise take the stage, the Pitch Competition crowns its winners, and the entertainment area opens to the public.
