John Romero has spent more than three decades answering, one game at a time, the question he's now bringing to Bangkok as a keynote title. The Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein 3D co-creator will headline the business area conference at gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2026 this October, delivering a talk called "Why We Still Make Games."
It's a pointed title from a developer who has outlasted several industry cycles. Romero co-founded id Software in 1991 and helped invent the modern first-person shooter with Wolfenstein 3D and Doom before Quake pushed the genre into 3D. His keynote promises a reflection on a lifetime of building games, the setbacks along the way and how the industry itself has changed around him. For an event trying to position itself as more than a trade floor, landing a founder-era voice to ask why any of this is still worth doing is a specific kind of credibility play.
Romero's talk anchors a show that organizers say is also having its biggest expansion since launching last year. The entertainment area grows to four halls for the first time, pushing total event space past 35,000 square meters, a 20 percent jump from the inaugural 2025 edition, which drew 206,159 attendees from 95 countries and 294 exhibitors.
The exhibitor list leans on familiar names. Platinum sponsor Synnex-Nintendo headlines new game and product showcases alongside AMD, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Sandisk, Sega and The Pokemon Company. More than 70 speakers from over 20 countries will fill four stages, including representatives from Roblox, Tencent, Rovio Entertainment and Gameloft.
New this year is ACE Bangkok, described as Thailand's newest pop culture platform for anime, manga, comics, film and fandom, folded into the show for the first time rather than run as a separate event. The business side also keeps its indie-facing programs: a pitch competition for developers from around the world, the return of Invest Circle and VIP Mixer, plus the Thailand Game Talent Showcase spotlighting games built by the country's student teams.
gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show runs from 29 October to 1 November 2026 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok. The business area, where Romero's keynote takes place, is open to industry professionals and media on 29 and 30 October. The entertainment area opens to the public from 30 October through 1 November.
