Nintendo confirms it won't attend Gamescom 2024
UPDATE: "After careful consideration."
UPDATE 2.50pm UK: "Nintendo UK has now confirmed to Eurogamer it will not be present at this summer's Gamescom. The company's statement is below:
"Gamescom is a great event, and each year we evaluate whether Nintendo should participate or not," a Nintendo UK spokesperson told Eurogamer. "After careful consideration from all perspectives, we’ve made the decision not to be present at gamescom 2024. Players will have opportunities to try out Nintendo Switch games at other events throughout the year."
ORIGINAL STORY 2.30pm UK: Don't expect Switch 2 to make an appearance at Gamescom 2024.
Nintendo of Europe has reportedly now confirmed it will skip this year's Gamescom - the largest gaming convention by attendance in the world, and a key date in the gaming calendar.
"Gamescom is a central event in Nintendo's event calendar," a Nintendo of Europe spokesperson told German site Games Wirtschaft. "This year, however, after careful consideration, we decided against taking part in Cologne. Instead, players can try out the games for Nintendo Switch as part of other Germany-wide events."
Nintendo has consistently appeared at Gamescom in the past, so it skipping the event is unusual - though perhaps not unexpected, considering the fact the highly-anticipated Switch 2 is now set to arrive in 2025, per Eurogamer sources.
When will Nintendo formally acknowledge its new hardware and unveil it to the public? Not at Gamescom this August, it seems.
Still, last year, Eurogamer reported that Nintendo demoed Switch 2's hardware capabilities to third-party developers around Gamescom. Perhaps we'll hear more of what those building games for Nintendo's new hardware are up to then regardless.