With tears welling up, Ryan Laley faced a camera and told the internet that his gamescom had come to an end.
In a video shared to X/Twitter, the one-man team behind the forthcoming asymmetrical horror title Mimic laid out why his “gamescom is over early.” Overnight in Cologne, Germany, his booth and several neighbouring ones had been “raided.” “All our laptops have been stolen,” he said.
The week was meant to belong to Mimic — fresh eyes on the game, possible partners, players drifting past the booth. What he has instead is a police report.
“As an indie, solo dev, this s**t’s expensive and hard to do all by yourself,” he said. “And to have this happen is beyond frustrating – it’s heartbreaking.”
The math on losing your gear midweek
The show got underway with Opening Night Live on Tuesday, August 25, handing the remainder of the week to developers demoing their projects. More than two days of the event were still ahead at the time of publication — which is precisely what makes the timing so cruel.
Laley flagged the theft to both security staff and the authorities, though he holds out little hope. “I don’t expect it, obviously, to be found or returned,” he said.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do now,” he added. “We’ll post updates if I get any updates, but effectively, gamescom is over for me.”
His written post read: “My #gamescom cut short. Our equipment was stolen last night from the booth. Police reports have been filed. At a loss for words to describe the feeling. Just defeated. Gonna do my best with what’s left of the week. But a huge blow financially and mentally”
Then the industry showed up
The clip spread widely enough to reach people with the means to act. CD Projekt Red, the studio responsible for The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, wrote back with an apology for the position Laley had been put in. While the team said it couldn’t “help right this second,” it pledged to “send a few things” his way.
“No choom should have to start from zero,” its post said.
Joe Henson — the developer of Don’t Scream, widely known as Indie Game Joe — went a step further, replying with a video in which he offered help. Laley accepted.
“Thank you everyone so much for your support and love,” Laley wrote in a follow-up. “I’m trying to say thanks to everyone, but honestly, my fingers aren’t fast enough. Huge shout-out and thanks to @IndieGameJoe, who kindly donated the money to replace my stolen hardware. He truly is a champion for the little guys, and [I’m] so thankful for his support towards all of us indies!”
He’s still on the show floor, just without a booth
Laley followed up once more with fresh thanks, inviting anyone interested in Mimic to track him down regardless.
“Thank you for the support everyone. Long crazy day. I’m still around this weekend if you want to catch up at Gamescom. I’ll be boothless but still in my Mimic shirt (a fresh one DW) so come say hi if you see me 🙂 Looking forward to meeting other Devs and trying out their…”
And another: “Thank you everyone for outpouring of love and support today! You are the reason why I love this industry ❤️”
Laley wasn’t the only target
iam8bit, a publisher and pop-culture collectibles outfit, filed a report of its own, stating that two laptops disappeared overnight from its station in the business area hall — Koelnmesse security notwithstanding. The stolen machines had been running demos of the iam8bit Presents lineup, Petal Runner and Escape Academy 2.
According to the company, “on top of disrupting our very busy appointment schedule, this theft has potentially put unfinished builds of these games at risk of being leaked.”
Tessera Studios, the team behind the game show-inspired The Zibbo Show, released a video stating it had been “robbed at gamescom,” calling the fallout for the team “pretty huge.” The studio’s post read: “We were robbed at Gamescom. On Wednesday, we arrived at our booth in the Indie Area to find our cabinet forced open. Two laptops and a Steam Deck were gone. The devices contained not only our Gamescom demo, but also personal, company, and critical information. Here’s our story”
No public statement on the reported thefts has come from gamescom organizers so far. We’ve reached out for comment.
The part he keeps coming back to
Teaching is a big part of Laley’s work. He mentors, runs Unreal Engine training, and speaks at universities to students hoping to break into the industry. The message he gives them never changes — and this week he had something to point to.
“Words can’t describe how much I’m grateful for everyone’s support,” he said. “I’m a mentor and trainer in Unreal Engine, I train a lot of people up and go to a lot of universities, talk to a lot of students who want to get into games, and one of the things I always say to them is how friendly and warm and supportive of each other it is. Today is just evident of that. Proof that you guys are amazing.”