Ryan Laley, the solo indie developer behind upcoming asymmetrical horror sport Mimic, has shared a video confirming his gamescom was “lower brief” after he and different builders had their laptops stolen.
A teary Laley took to X/Twitter to share a video explaining why his “gamescom is over early,” saying that “all our laptops have been stolen” after he and others had their cubicles “raided” in a single day. Bringing Mimic to the Cologne, Germany gaming occasion meant getting the chance to present it off to a brand new viewers of potential companions and keen avid gamers alike, however stolen gear would carry that dream to an finish.
“As an indie, solo dev, this s**t’s costly and arduous to do all by your self,” he mentioned. “And to have this occur is past irritating – it is heartbreaking.”
My #gamescom lower brief. Our gear was stolen final night time from the sales space.
Police studies have been filed.
Puzzled to describe the sensation. Simply defeated. Gonna do my greatest with what’s left of the week.
However an enormous blow financially and mentally pic.twitter.com/dKpp3Of6df
— Mimic | Ryan Laley (@RyanLaley) August 28, 2026
Laley went on, saying the gamescom theft was reported to the right safety groups and authorities. Regardless of the hassle he and others have been placing in, he famous, “I do not anticipate it, clearly, to be discovered or returned.”
“I do not know what I am going to do now,” he added. “I can not do my job. We’ll publish updates if I get any updates, however successfully, gamescom is over for me.”
gamescom kicked off when Opening Evening Reside (ONL) aired Tuesday, August 25, letting builders unfastened for the remainder of the week to present what they carry to the desk. On the time of this story’s publication, there are nonetheless greater than two days left in the present, making Laley’s loss an particularly painful one. Fortunately, his story and video gained sufficient traction to attain the eyes of builders wanting to assist.
The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 staff at CD Projekt Red quickly chimed in, apologizing to Laley for the circumstances he’d been thrust into. They admitted they would not have the option to “assist proper this second,” however they did promise to “ship a number of issues” his manner.
“No choom ought to have to begin from zero,” its publish mentioned.
Gaming business knowledgeable and Do not Scream developer Joe Henson (a.ok.a. Indie Recreation Joe) went as far as to publish a video message reply providing his help. It is a proposal that Laley appears to have accepted.
Thanks for the help everybody. Lengthy loopy day.
I am nonetheless round this weekend if you’d like to catch up at Gamescom. I will be boothless however nonetheless in my Mimic shirt (a contemporary one DW) so come say hello in the event you see me 🙂
Wanting ahead to assembly different Devs and making an attempt out their… pic.twitter.com/b0gro1BL0Y
— Mimic | Ryan Laley (@RyanLaley) August 28, 2026
Thanks everybody for outpouring of affection and help right this moment! You’re the motive why I really like this business
❤️
— Mimic | Ryan Laley (@RyanLaley) August 28, 2026
“Thanks everybody a lot on your help and love,” he mentioned in a follow-up publish. “I am making an attempt to say thanks to everybody, however actually, my fingers aren’t quick sufficient. Enormous shout-out and thanks to @IndieGameJoe, who kindly donated the cash to exchange my stolen {hardware}. He actually is a champion for the little guys, and [I’m] so grateful for his help in direction of all of us indies!”
Laley returned with an extra publish later, thanking everybody once more for his or her help. Though he’ll now not have his sales space, he nonetheless inspired anybody in Mimic to discover him at gamescom.
“Phrases cannot describe how a lot I am grateful for everybody’s help,” he mentioned. “I am a mentor and coach in Unreal Engine, I practice lots of people up and go to quite a lot of universities, discuss to quite a lot of college students who need to get into video games, and one of many issues I all the time say to them is how pleasant and heat and supportive of one another it’s. At present is simply evident of that. Proof that you simply guys are wonderful.”
At present at gamescom we arrived to our station in the enterprise space corridor to uncover that our two laptops had been stolen over night time, regardless of the presence of Koelnmesse safety.
These have been machines we have been utilizing to demo iam8bit Presents titles Petal Runner and Escape Academy 2 to…
— iam8bit @ gamescom corridor 5.2 stand C051 (@iam8bit) August 28, 2026
We have been robbed at Gamescom.
On Wednesday, we arrived at our sales space in the Indie Space to discover our cupboard pressured open. Two laptops and a Steam Deck have been gone.
The gadgets contained not solely our Gamescom demo, but in addition private, firm, and vital data.
Right here’s our story pic.twitter.com/ZghaSx9RJB
— The Zibbo Present ➡️ Wishlist on Steam 💥 (@tesserastudios) August 28, 2026
Sadly, Laley was removed from the one particular person affected by thieves at gamescom. Writer and pop-culture collectible firm iam8bit shared its personal message reporting stolen items at gamescom, saying that it had two laptops taken in a single day. It added that, “on high of disrupting our very busy appointment schedule, this theft has probably put unfinished builds of those video games at danger of being leaked.”
Tessera Studios, which is engaged on the sport show-inspired The Zibbo Present, additionally printed a video saying it had been “robbed at gamescom.” They referred to as the injury it is induced the staff “fairly large.”
For now, gamescom organizers have but to publicly touch upon the studies of theft at the occasion. IGN has reached out for remark.
Michael Cripe is a contract author with IGN. He is greatest identified for his work at websites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be certain to give him a comply with on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).