Design hacks and experiential touches helped the publisher adhere to strict booth regulations in Cologne
After years of sharing exhibit space in the Indie Arena Booth at Gamescom, PM Studios leveled up its presence at the world’s largest IRL gaming event this year with a booth of its own.
With a diverse lineup of titles now under its banner, the brand used the scope of the event, hosted Aug. 26-30 at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany, to build awareness and credibility within the show’s vast and passionate global gaming community.
But every good mission comes with its side quests. And at an event that attracts a crowd of 368,000 gamers, creators and industry leaders, competing for attention as an independent publisher came with its hurdles. As did adhering to Gamescom’s strict structural and content regulations—which incur hefty fines when broken.
For more insights on how the booth was built to spec, and engaged everyone from consumers to developers, we asked PM Studios and agency partner INVNT for the lowdown.
Complying with Exhibit Regulations
Among Gamescom’s stringent rules, exhibitors must ensure that young attendees are not exposed to mature-rated video content or gameplay within their booths. So for PM Studios, the biggest challenge was determining how to showcase the breadth of its portfolio without breaching the regulation.
On top of promoting Avatar Legends and its all-ages “cozy” games, like Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen, My Time at Evershine and Hoa 2, the brand needed to highlight The Wolf Among Us Remastered, a mature-rated title that revolves around a dystopian 1950s Manhattan aesthetic.
In addition, traffic had to be considered—and like most superfans, gamers are willing to wait in extensive lines for a first look at new titles and to engage with their favorite publishers’ booths. It’s up to exhibitors, however, to keep those queues in check and prevent them from spilling into the broader event, or risk getting slapped with a serious fine.
Solving for Constraints
The first thing PM had to consider were the sightlines of the booth. With multiple points of entry, it was imperative in designing the footprint that, regardless of what angle an attendee viewed the exhibit from, The Wolf Among Us content was not visible.
As a solution, rather than creatively positioning a few partitions, the brand decided to take a cue from the gritty game itself.
“Because Wolf is quite noir-ish, it’s dark, it’s eerie, creating a more enclosed space and making that really dark with red lighting worked well,” says Caspar Mason, creative director-EMEA at INVNT. “So we took that constraint and leaned into it to create something that was even truer to the brand.”
As for managing exhibit lines, PM Studios created what Mason calls a “distinct user flow.” While one side of the footprint allowed attendees to freely come and go, the side dedicated to the mature title featured just one physical pathway.
Incorporating In-World Elements
Each vignette within the booth was anchored by gameplay, and supported with experiential touchpoints and design elements that plunged fans further into the game’s universe.
For The Wolf Among Us Remastered, before attendees entered the enclosed space dedicated to the title, which included gaming stations, branding and lighting effects, they could participate in a content opportunity.
Just outside the gameplay area, fans could step inside a scene from the game’s iconic Trip Trap Bar, which came complete with real props and life-size cutouts of two characters.
And over on the family-friendly side of the booth, which encompassed a blend of free-flowing areas, décor pulled straight from the featured IPs added an extra layer of engagement. The My Time at Evershine space, for instance, included AstroTurf, draped ivy and physical lanterns to bring the game’s romantic feel to life.
Gameplay vs. Human Connection
Providing attendees with ample opportunities for gameplay was paramount, but fostering real-life bonds among gamers, and between attendees and the brand, was equally critical. In that spirit, the publisher treated the booth like a third space.
“Hands-on play was important, but so was human connection,” says Ami Blaire, CMO at PM Studios. “We had members of our development teams at the booth throughout the show, demoing their games, answering questions and talking directly with fans. Giving players that access, while giving developers the opportunity to see and hear reactions firsthand, was incredibly valuable on both sides.”
Utilizing the Booth for Meetings
For the first time this year, PM Studios added a B2B component to its Gamescom strategy. Before the show opened to consumers, the brand used its exhibit space to host media and partners during the event’s business days. (Partners: IGDA; LEDHouse)
“It served as our business hub for media interviews, creating meaningful access to our developers, as well as meetings with platform and prospective partners,” Blaire says. “It gave us space for deeper conversations… and a stronger presence within the global development and publishing community.”
Defining Success
The brand considered a number of factors to determine the success of the program, from media reach to platform engagement. But there’s a softer metric that matters more.
“The biggest KPI may ultimately be momentum,” says Blaire. “Gamescom increased awareness of both our individual titles and PM Studios itself, and gave us a much clearer picture of how we can make the experience even stronger next year.”
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