Spiel 2025 welcomes more visitors than ever before

Last week’s Spiel show in Essen welcomed 220,000 visitors – the most in the show’s history.

The fair was sold out on all four days, but visitor numbers were intentially kept below the maximum capacity for the space.

“It doesn’t help any of us if we cram people into the halls,” said Carol Rapp, Managing Director of the organiser, Merz Verlag.

“We want traffic to flow in the aisles, while at the same time allowing as many people as possible to visit us.”

Florian Hess, Managing Director of Merz Verlag and Executive Board Member of Spielwarenmesse eG, added: “For exhibitors at the fair the focus is also on the joy of the games. At the same time, an incredible number of effective business developments emerge here – and this happens naturally alongside everything else. I don’t know of any other event that is as strong a springboard for a business’s launch as Spiel.

“I have met exhibitors who started here a few years ago with a small booth and are now occupying several hundred square meters and selling games internationally. Experiencing this kind of B2B rocket launch never ceases to fascinate me.”

Spiel 2026 will take place from October 22nd to October 25th, 2026 in Essen.

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