Gamescom 2026 is set to commence this week in Cologne, Germany, with its signature opening event, Opening Night Live. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, the showcase will take place on Tuesday, August 25, and is scheduled to run for two hours, featuring trailers for new and upcoming video game titles.
The event will officially kick off at 8:00 p.m. CEST. For viewers in the United States, this translates to 11:00 a.m. PT, 1:00 p.m. CT, and 2:00 p.m. ET. A 30-minute pre-show will precede the main presentation. Both YouTube and Twitch will offer live streams of the event.
While many of the games to be featured remain under wraps, Geoff Keighley has confirmed that at least eight titles will make an appearance. These include The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Gears of War: E-Day, Ananta, Tides of Annihilation, Metro 2039, Game of Thrones: War for Westeros, and Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons. Polygon also reports confirmed appearances for Monster Hunter Outlanders, Silent: Hill Downfall, and Valor Mortis, with Xbox expected to showcase games like Alien Isolation 2, Fable, Stranger Than Heaven, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Minecraft Dungeons 2, and The Blood of Dawnwalker.
Gamescom 2026 officially begins on Wednesday, August 26, and will continue through Sunday, August 30, at the Koelnmesse convention center. Last year's event drew an attendance of 357,000 visitors from 128 countries. This year's convention will feature exhibitors such as Bandai Namco, Capcom, CD Projekt Red, Nintendo, Sega, Ubisoft, and Xbox, among many others.