This year's Gamescom brought players a wealth of exciting news, but unfortunately, at least two theft cases cast a shadow over the event.
Indie game developer Ryan Laley revealed that his equipment was stolen from his booth at Gamescom, stating that it had caused him "significant financial and emotional distress." Fortunately, Laley received strong support from industry peers, including CD Projekt Red, the developer behind The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
On social media, CD Projekt Red replied to Laley's initial message, saying they would "see if we can send you something," adding that "no bro should have to start from zero."
CDPR tweeted: "We're so sorry this happened to you. Hope you know you're not alone in this. While it might not help much right now, we'll check our Arasaka hardware archives to see if we can send some stuff your way. No bro should have to start from zero."
Laley then thanked CD Projekt Red and others in the industry for their generous assistance. He specifically thanked marketing consultant Indie Game Joe for donating to help Laley replace his stolen equipment.
Subsequently, indie gamer Joe advised players to add Laley's upcoming game, Mimic, to their wishlists.
Unfortunately, this was not the only theft reported at this year's Gamescom. Iam8bit announced that two laptops were stolen overnight despite security personnel being present at their booth. The company also noted that the stolen laptops contained early demos of Petal Runner and Escape Academy 2.
