The annual Gamescom event is meant to showcase some of the best upcoming video games, but at least two apparent thefts have thrown a damper on this year’s festivities. Indie developer Ryan Laley reported that his equipment was stolen from his Gamescom booth, which he said was “a huge blow financially and mentally.” Fortunately, Laley has received an outpouring of support from the industry, including The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red.
On X, CD Projekt Red responded to Laley’s initial message and offered to “see if we can send a few things your way,” before adding “No choom should have to start from zero.”
Laley went on to thank CD Projekt Red and others in the industry for their generous offers. He also gave a shoutout to marketing consultant Indie Game Joe for donating the funds to replace his lost equipment.
In turn, Indie Game Joe suggested that players should wishlist Laley’s upcoming game, Mimic.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only reported theft at Gamescom this year. Iam8bit has posted that two of its laptops were stolen from its booth overnight despite the presence of security. It also noted that the laptops contained early demos for Petal Runner and Escape Academy 2.
Gamespot has reached out to Gamescom for comment about the reported thefts. We’ll update this story if and when we receive a response.