Gamescom boss talks Geoff Keighley, Opening Night Live expectations and more
It started with an email.
If you’ve ever wondered how Geoff Keighley, the face of LA’s glamorous Game Awards, ended up hosting a conference in Cologne, Germany, it really was as simple as that.
Felix Falk, managing director of game (the German Games Industry Association) and basically the big boss of Gamescom, spoke to Radio Times ahead of the 2024 edition of his huge gaming convention.
You can see the full video version of this interview in the player above, or on the Radio Times Gaming YouTube channel.
It should offer you an interesting overview of this year’s Gamescom, which kicks off tonight at 7pm UK time with its Opening Night Live showcase.
One of the things we asked Falk about was Geoff Keighley, who also hosts Summer Game Fest and became the de facto host of the whole industry in recent years. What’s it like working with an institution such as Geoff?
Falk told us: «He's not just an institution, but he's a great guy.
»I really liked him from the first meeting we had in LA, when… well, I don't know if I told somebody [before], but, like, he dropped me an email saying, 'I love Gamescom. I just want to let you know.'
«So there wasn't anything connected, it was just a really nice email.
»And then we said, 'OK, I should meet him and talk about this idea we had for years, and he will be the perfect fit.' And then Gamescom Opening Night Live was the end of that.
«So, yeah, he's a great guy. Really responsive, you know? Even when little indie studios say, 'Oh, we have this idea. We might want to pitch this to Gamescom,' he takes time for everyone and replies really promptly, checks the contents, says, 'Well, he needs to make a place in Gamescom Opening Night Live.'
»So it's a great partnership. And we built up from the first year, which was, I think, 2019. So we have, you know, millions of people and growing dialling in and tuning in, into Gamescom Opening Night Live. So I think that's great."
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