Gamescom 2026 Guide: What to Expect & How to Watch
Gamescom returns to Cologne, Germany, from August 26 to 30, 2026. The event will bring together major publishers, developers, independent studios, and gaming fans for several days of new game reveals, trailers, playable demos, developer presentations, and industry events. Gamescom Opening Night Live takes place on August 25, hosted by Geoff Keighley. The showcase will feature trailers, gameplay, world premieres, and updates on games scheduled for release over the coming months and years.
More than 1,600 exhibitors from 67 countries are expected at Gamescom this year, with around 70% coming from outside Germany. The event will also feature 47 country pavilions representing 40 nations, compared with 40 pavilions from 35 countries in 2025. Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Morocco, and Nigeria are joining the pavilion lineup for the first time.
Confirmed appearances include Final Fantasy VII Revelation, The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt: Songs of the Past, and Metro 2039. Other games expected to be featured include Fable, Control Resonant, Crimson Desert, Persona 4 Revival, Alien: Isolation 2, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and Gears of War: E-Day.
Xbox will have a major presence on the show floor, with 140 gaming stations featuring 25 upcoming games. The company will also host livestreams on August 26 and 27 featuring gameplay, trailers, interviews, and developer appearances.
Gamescom Dev, the event's developer conference, will feature more than 380 speakers across 230 sessions and 18 stages. The program will cover areas such as animation, level design, AI in gameplay, and AI in game production. Representatives from major companies and studios, including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ubisoft, Insomniac Games, CD Projekt Red, and Epic Games, are among those connected to this year's conference.
Gamescom Congress follows on August 27, bringing together representatives from gaming, business, politics, science, education, and media. German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is scheduled to open the congress, making him the first sitting German head of state to do so.
Gamescom's programming will extend beyond the Koelnmesse convention center. The Gamescom city festival takes place in Cologne on August 29 and 30, adding live music and other public events to the week.
Fans who cannot attend in person will still have access to much of the action through livestreams. Opening Night Live, developer interviews, game reveals, daily studio programming, and other showcases will be broadcast throughout the week. Opening Night Live streams on the Gamescom YouTube and Twitch channels. Xbox's broadcasts air on Xbox's own YouTube and Twitch channels, the Future Games Show streams from GamesRadar+.
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