Overview
- The fair opens on Thursday, Oct. 22, and will for the first time use all eight Messe Essen halls with organizers expecting about 230,000 visitors after Friday and Saturday peak‑day tickets sold out.
- Roughly 1,800–1,900 new games and nearly 1,000 exhibitors from about 53 countries will fill 81,000 square meters of show floor with demos and sales.
- Sector data from the Deutscher Verband der Spielwarenindustrie show above‑average growth in society games and puzzles through Q1–Q3 2026, with collectible card games and family and adult party games among the top sellers.
- Journalists and organisers point to clear product trends on display: nostalgia and pop‑culture tie‑ins, nature and ecology themes, manga/anime influences and a move toward quieter, more strategic game mechanics that appeal to middle‑aged adults.
- Experts caution the market is crowded—about 1,750 new titles appear worldwide each year but only roughly 50 remain in retail after two years—so prizes and word‑of‑mouth like the Deutscher Spiele Preis wins for Artengarten and Toriki are key to long‑term success.