Templar Media – Gate Zero | Gamescom Cologne 2026

Next-Gen Gaming Experience for Templar Media at Gamescom Cologne 2026

Templar Media came to us to design a stand for Gate Zero at Gamescom Cologne 2026. The brief was more than visibility. It was about giving the gaming audience a reason to stop, play and remember the brand. Gamescom is one of Europe’s most competitive exhibition floors. Within a 56 sqm footprint, this Gamescom exhibition stand needed to work as a showcase, a hands-on demo arena, and an introduction to Gate Zero’s world.

The Challenge

At Gamescom, attendees move fast through a dense corridor of large screens and sound. They pass booth after booth, with brands fighting for the same few seconds of attention. A conventional gaming exhibition stand with a logo wall, some seating, a screen — wasn’t going to hold up here.

The harder problem was space. At 56 sqm, the stand needed overhead branding, a multi-station hands-on demo area, and clear queue management for a high-traffic time. It also needed enough visual storytelling to introduce a new IP to people walking past at speed. All of this had to fit without the stand feeling cramped, and without visitors blocking the aisle.

Understanding the Brand Before Designing

Before any layout work started, we treated Gate Zero as a game world first, and an exhibitor second. The IP gave us a strong starting point. It’s a historical-fantasy setting built around Roman-era imagery: legionary armour, red-plumed helmets, robed figures. This sits against an ancient walled city of temples and columns, with mythological creatures woven into the world art.

The name itself was a gift for a stand designer. A “gate” is both a narrative device and a physical form. Our approach followed one logic:

Brand → Story → Visitor Experience → Stand Design.

We didn’t treat “Gate Zero” as just a logotype. We brought its world to life through the stone wall and booth design. That way, a visitor’s first impression wasn’t a screen or a banner. It was an actual carved stone wall, marking the entry to the game’s world. That thinking shaped every exhibition stand design decision that followed.

Design Approach

We avoided generic gaming-booth language. Instead, this custom exhibition stand was built around one central architectural idea, with a small set of supporting decisions:

• A literal wall as the design anchor. The stand’s focal point is a sandstone-clad column structure with the Gate Zero mark carved directly into it. It echoes the temple architecture from the game’s world. It doesn’t just display the brand name. It embodies it.
• Two large screens built into the gate structure itself. They loop cinematic and gameplay content. They’re visible down the aisle from a distance, not mounted as separate standalone units.
• An overhead branded truss sign. It’s suspended and rigged from the hall’s ceiling grid, with the Gate Zero mark lit on multiple faces. In a venue the size of Koelnmesse, this gave the stand a long-sightline beacon. Visitors could spot it well before reaching the stand. It solved the “visually crowded floor” problem from a distance, not just up close.
• A dedicated hands-on demo bar. Individual gaming PCs, RGB-lit builds, gaming headsets and keyboard-and-mouse set-ups sit at each station. NVIDIA GeForce RTX branding is worked into the stand graphics here, rather than added as a separate sponsor panel.
• World-building side walls. Gate Zero’s key art — its characters and its ancient city setting — does the storytelling work that a generic banner wall couldn’t. Platform logos for Steam, Xbox Series X|S and PS5 make the multi-platform release clear at a glance.
• A managed queue system. Numbered demo-station markers and rope-and-post barriers keep waiting visitors contained. Nobody spills into the aisle or blocks circulation for people just passing through.

56 sqm Space Planning

With a footprint this size, we planned the stand in zones. Nothing was just decorated space:

• Overhead signage zone — the suspended branded truss. It handles long-distance visibility without using any floor space.
• Central architectural zone — the stone gate structure and its two integrated screens. This anchors the stand visually and marks the “entrance” to the experience.
• Demo zone — a linear run of individual gaming PC stations along the counter. Each has its own seat, headset and numbered queue marker.
• Storytelling zone — the side wall key art panels. These sit where waiting or passing visitors naturally look, whether they’re in the queue or just walking by.
• Circulation and queue management — rope-and-post barriers, plus a floor-level LED strip tracing the stand’s footprint. This keeps waiting visitors contained, without a hard wall blocking sightlines into the demo area.

From Concept to Construction

As the exhibition stand builder on this project, we moved from concept and 3D design through technical planning, stone-effect cladding, and graphic production. The final stage was structural rigging and on-site installation. Everything was completed before the doors opened.

The overhead branded truss was installed first. It was carefully lifted into place using chain hoists connected to the venue’s ceiling grid. That has to happen early, before the stone-clad gate, demo counter and graphic walls go in underneath it.

What Made the Stand Different?

• The brand identity became part of the booth architecture. A striking stone wall created a strong focal point and made the stand easy to recognise.
• Visibility engineered for hall-scale distances. The suspended overhead sign solved the “crowded floor” problem before visitors were even close to the stand.
• World-building through key art. Gate Zero’s own characters and setting replaced a generic gaming aesthetic that could belong to any title.
• Queue and flow designed for a high-traffic demo. Numbered stations and rope management kept the visitor movement, even during busy periods.

The Result

This Gamescom stand delivered on what it set out to do: give Gate Zero a strong, visible presence on the show floor and a space where visitors could genuinely engage with the game, not just walk past it.

Our team stayed available throughout the process, through design revisions, technical planning, production and on-site installation — so any questions or last-minute adjustments could be handled quickly rather than becoming delays. That level of support carried through to opening day, with the stand fully built, tested and ready ahead of doors opening.

Templar Media was pleased with the outcome, and the stand stood out as a strong representation of the Gate Zero brand at Gamescom Cologne 2026.

Our Expertise

On this project, our team delivered exhibition stand strategy, 3D stand design, space planning, branding and graphics production, stand production, technology integration, structural rigging coordination, on-site installation and event handover. We went from the first concept through to a finished stand, ready for Gamescom’s opening day.

Planning Your Next Stand?

Planning your next gaming or technology exhibition in Germany? Let’s discuss how we can turn your brand, product and visitor objectives into a custom exhibition stand design that works both visually and commercially, as an experienced exhibition stand builder in Cologne and across Germany.