About the Festival

Just in time for Gamescom, the creative community of Schanzenstrasse in Köln-Mülheim brings together industry professionals, artists, researchers, and those curious about the future of virtual worlds to explore the true nature of virtual and mixed realities. Visitors of the two-day festival will encounter a selection of outstanding exhibits from AR smartphone apps to full VR games and XR performances that all place the body of the player at the heart of the experience.

Join us for an unparalleled celebration of the senses at SomaFest, a festival dedicated to take a deep dive into the thrill of full-body engagement in spatially immersive media. Discover compelling Mixed Reality experiences and the hardware, software, and design techniques that make them come to life.

SomaFest is a research-creation-dissemination project initiated by the Cologne Game Lab – Institute for Game Development and Research at TH Köln.

The Organizers

The Cologne Game Lab, an institute at the faculty for cultural sciences at TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences, researches and develops games and other interactive content, and its bachelor’s and master’s programs educate future game industry professionals and academics who conduct research and transfer knowledge in the field of digital games.
Our interdisciplinary team of practitioners and scholars from various fields, such as Applied Arts, Game and Sound Design, Informatics, Economics, Psychology, Game and Social Studies, conducts research in theoretical and applied projects. With a long list of internationally recognised academic publications as well as an exceptional track record in hosting public events, such as the NotgameFest Trilogy and the annual Clash of Realities Conference, the CGL has become a hub for industry and academia alike to
exchange ideas and innovate.