On Friday, August 28, indie developer Ryan Laley posted a video on X to say his Gamescom 2026 attendance was being cut short after discovering that all his team's laptops had been stolen from its booth during an alleged overnight theft. In the post, the visibly distraught dev called the incident "a huge blow financially and mentally," and confirmed that police reports had been filed.
Laley's post earned an outpouring of support on the platform from gamers and fellow developers—including Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red, which offered to "check the Arasaka hardware archives and see if we can send a few things your way." Laley, however, was just one of a number of developers and publishers that reported similar thefts over the weekend, generating concern about the efficacy of Gamescom security practices.
