Transcription
at least 165,000 followers. You are trying to scam people out of their money here. So Kamui, if you're up for it, travel expenses will be covered. I actually didn't plan to make a video today, but Gamescom, you're forcing me to, and I'm a little bit enraged, so we're making this video with a good old Berlin accent. What even happened? Gamescom has launched an appeal. They are looking for a Cosplay Ambassador for Gamescom 2026. So far, so good. I saw this on Instagram first. Cosplay Ambassador. No idea what that is, what they want from you. I'll take a look. So I went to the website. Cosplay Ambassador Program. Cosplayers, pay attention. We are looking for official Cosplay Ambassadors for the biggest gaming festival in the world. Do you love games, pop culture, and embody your favorite characters on your socials? Do you want to present your cosplay live at Gamescom in Cologne and bring the hype to your community? Then apply now and become a Gamescom Cosplay Ambassador. At this point, I thought to myself, okay, I'm a cosplayer, not the best, but I'm pretty good. Let's read on to see what they offer. Your benefits. Travel cost support, flight costs (economy class) as well as local and long-distance public transport up to €800. Accommodation: Hotel room in Cologne from August 25th to 30th, 2026, including breakfast. Free entry to Gamescom 2026 on all days and to Gamescom Opening Night. Access to the exclusive Creator Coworking Space, personalized merchandise package, tour of Gamescom, organized by the game association, presentation of your account on the Gamescom website. Something is missing there. Oh yes, the payment. But I thought, well, I'm a small creator, I'd like to go to Gamescom. They're paying for the travel, they're paying for the entry. It's not so bad. Let's read on. Do you know this? You just want to exist peacefully in summer or spring, but your eyes itch, your nose runs, your throat scratches? Super annoying. Congratulations, you very likely have a pollen allergy. First, eye drops, allergy tablets, or nasal spray will help fundamentally. It's best to get information about this from your allergist or family doctor. And if you have the problem like me, that you can't fall asleep every evening because your nose is still stuffy, then this baby here will help you. This is an air purifier. This ensures that you can fall asleep and sleep through the night without problems. You turn it on in the evening, for example, in the whisper-quiet sleep mode. And it takes 15 to 20 minutes, and your nose suddenly becomes clear because this thing filters everything out of the air that you are allergic to. All these tiny particles and pollen. I definitely don't want to miss this thing anymore. You can find the QR code to the product here, and the link is also in the video description. Here you go. Thank you. To apply for the Gamescom Cosplay Ambassador Program, you must first be over 18 years old. Check. Second, have proficient English skills in speaking and writing. I believe I spider check. With your social media channel, you must meet at least one of the guideline values set for cosplay accreditation. Instagram at least 50,000 followers, YouTube at least 165,000 followers. TikTok at least 200,000 followers. Facebook at least 165,000 followers. But that's not enough, because fourthly, at least 90% of the content on your channel must be related to cosplay. Let's finish this. Last point, what we expect from you. Your presence during the entire duration of Gamescom 2026. Yes, that's a few days, to be precise, five full days that you must be present at Gamescom. Well, where do I start? Well, um, if you've seen these demands, let's take a look at who would even be eligible. Of course, there's Kamui, 1.2 million followers on Instagram. She can apply. I don't think she will. So Kamui, if you're up for it, travel expenses will be covered, yes, you'd just have to work for free, but you can just pay for your fridge contents with a few cosplay Gamescom photos. Other German cosplayer Lightning Cosplay, she's also eligible. One million followers on Instagram, also mainly 90% cosplay content. So Laura, pay attention. Gamescom offers you accommodation, a flight, and they want your reach. What you get in return is um, yes, what was it again? Oh yes, nothing, no payment. Then you might have Bibi Nian, 254,000 followers on Instagram, 90% cosplay content. Yes, you could also ask Farbenfuchs, she'd probably be really keen to do it for free. Let's just look on Google for the most famous cosplayers. Kamui Cosplay, Swetlana Quint, Lightning Cosplay, and Saya Cosplay or SA Cosplay. That's this nice lady over here. Yes, Saj, with only 35,000 followers on Instagram, you're unfortunately out. Gamescom doesn't want you. It hurts so much. With a high probability, people who have these follower numbers are working full-time in their field. That means they do it as a full-time job. YouTube, Instagram, influencing, whatever. Of course, they have to earn money. They have to pay their taxes, their health insurance, their living expenses. Yes, are you serious? I don't think my viewers have ever seen me as angry as I am right now. Dear Gamescom, we can understand that you want to benefit from the reach of influencers, but reach costs money. If you buy advertising with it, it costs money. And that's basically exactly what you're doing. You are trying to scam people out of their money here. I have to say that clearly now. Yes, Stella, but why is Gamescom doing this? There will be people who apply for it. And at this point, I want to make a clear statement and say: "No, I will definitely not apply, and I generally don't do anything for free." And I would also definitely not recommend you, if you are a small cosplayer with a small reach, to apply for jobs where you only get free entry or just travel expenses. That's fraud, because you're going in with a plus-zero or even paying extra because you still have to eat something on site. If even big cosplayers like Lightning Cosplay and Maul Cosplay publicly say, please don't do jobs without payment, then there's something to it. And if we all finally stop falling for this and playing along, only then will we have a chance to get fair payment for our work. I've gone a step further and clicked the apply button, and it's super clear what it's all about. They don't give a damn what cosplay you have, how long you've been doing it, they only care about followers, because there isn't even a field where you can upload a picture of your cosplay or your costume. They just want to know your channel and your follower count. That's it. Nothing else interests them. Yes, of course, they can then also look at the cosplays via the channel. Exactly. And I was thinking, "Hey Stella, you're not the worst cosplayer. You've had a YouTube channel since 2017. You show people how to make their cosplay. Your cosplays are quite decent. Maybe you could apply because you really want to go to Gamescom." Yes, what can I say? Now it's up to you. I need 165,000 YouTube subscribers. Then let's get started. Share the video with friends, subscribe, hype it up. Maybe we'll get ten more subs. And even then, I wouldn't apply because there's still no fee. And you don't seriously believe that Gamescom is unable to pay a fee for staying at the fair for 5 days. Do you even know how exhausting that is and that you can't eat with free entry and can't pay your rent with it either. I need to calm down. First, a sip of tea from the dwarf mug. I can only say it again, please. Don't apply. A personal word at the end. I like Gamescom very much. I was there once in my life and I found it really nice. What I find a shame, however, is when event organizers, who definitely make good money with their events, make good profit, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Established large events make a lot, a lot of profit. If these events want to exploit cosplayers by saying, oh, come here with your big reach. We won't pay anything for it, but it would be great if you were here for five days. That's beneath contempt. That's just the cheapest exploitation, and unfortunately, I see that very, very often at other trade fairs in Germany too. I've been observing this for a while. Tonight at 9 PM, there will also be a livestream from Maul Cosplay on the same topic. I'm very, very curious to hear what dear Ben has to say about it. I hope he finds just as honest words as I am doing right now. I'm almost sure. Finally, a small appeal to you. Please do not accept jobs without payment. No matter how much you want to go to the con, even if they give you free entry and breakfast. Wow, please know your worth, because otherwise you're ruining jobs for everyone, because event organizers are clearly taking anything they can get for free. In that spirit, we'll see you in the next video. Until then, we'll see you and leave a subscription. I need 165,000.