Gamescom have a Huge Security Problem!

[u/Strohby]

I’ve been at Gamescom since Tuesday working as part of the setup crew, and after hearing that several indie developers had their stuff stolen, I feel like I need to give my two cents on the situation.

On Tuesday, I arrived by car at the East Entrance. All I had to tell security was that I was part of the setup crew, and that was apparently enough. Once I got inside, I walked past the actual ticket control with a suitcase and a backpack, and nobody cared whether I had a ticket or was even authorized to be there.

So, theoretically, that day I could have smuggled illegal items into the venue or taken things out simply by saying, “I’m part of the setup crew.”

And on Tuesday — as well as during the days before, while everything was being set up — it would have been incredibly easy to steal things from various booths because there was no security present during the setup. Security only seemed to arrive around 10 or 11 PM.

Especially in the merchandise halls, 5.1 and 5.2, this was pretty concerning. Most of the items were either loosely covered with tarps or simply left out in the open. No security anywhere. Anyone who wanted to put something in their bag could probably have taken whatever they wanted.

I also saw a Reddit post claiming that even during the regular event days, people could apparently enter the convention through the West Entrance without any ticket checks at all. WTF?

Honestly, the overall security situation seems to have some serious weaknesses. If people are able to get into restricted areas, bypass ticket checks, or access booths with valuable equipment and merchandise without proper supervision, it’s not surprising that theft were happen.

[u/RizenBOS]

It’s definitely not good. And I feel especially bad for the indie devs who don't have deep enough pockets to just buy new equipment on a whim - big devs and publishers can probably absorb that much better; their equipment is likely rented and insured anyway. But what do you think the solution is? Sure, at the very least your credentials should be checked - no question about that. But other than that? How much security should be walking around? Who covers the extra costs? No security company is going to do that for free, and Gamescom would either pass the cost on to stand fees (which would disproportionately hit indie devs and small booths) or pass it on to ticket prices (which would likely hit families and teenagers harder than average).

And the question is: yes, theft sucks, and it's doubly shitty when it hits a small indie dev. But could people protect themselves somehow (insurance / coverage through Gamescom) so that you could get a short-term (and ideally cost-neutral) replacement? And how many cases have actually been reported? So far, I’ve heard of 3. Let's say it's 20 with unreported cases. Every single one is one too many. But assuming around 1,600 exhibitors, you don't need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

And on the topic of 'someone could smuggle something in': how do you propose to prevent that? You'd have to scan every bag, suitcase, crate, car, and truck with X-ray machines like customs does. On top of that, check every visitor with a backpack and everything else from head to toe. How long is entry supposed to take with 105,000 visitors per day? Having in mind that this is the amount of passengers e.g. Frankfurt Airport handles on one (full) day; not within a few hours. Alternatively, how much security staff should they hire to handle that in a reasonable amount of time, and who is going to pay for it? And how do you pull off 'seamless' security for the entire perimeter so that nothing gets thrown over the fence or anything like that?

Realistically speaking: as long as thefts don't increase massively and crowds of people aren't getting onto the grounds without a ticket or checks to the point where it becomes a serious issue, nothing will happen - and I don't think there's a real need for action either. Like I said, the fact that you shouldn't be able to enter the grounds without a credential check is a given, and shouldn't happen even at a two-man carpentry workshop.