Gamescom 2026, the world's largest video game trade show, returns to Cologne, Germany, from Wednesday 26 August to Sunday 30 August. The event kicks off with the traditional Opening Night Live (ONL) showcase on Tuesday 25 August at 7pm BST, hosted for the seventh consecutive year by The Game Awards' Geoff Keighley.
ONL will be streamed live on YouTube and Twitch, with a half-hour pre-show starting at 6:30pm BST. During a pre-briefing, Keighley teased several major reveals, including Microsoft's Gears of War: E-Day, Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Revelation (with an appearance by director Naoki Hamaguchi), the new The Witcher 3 expansion Songs Of The Past, and a live performance of music from Mewgenics.
Record-Breaking Scale and Exhibitors
Gamescom Director Tim Endres announced that this year's show will feature more than 1,600 exhibitors, the first time in the event's history. All available exhibition space has been sold out, leaving no room for late entrants. Endres described the venue's footprint as 'Over 233,000 square metres, about the size of 33 football fields.'
Attendees are advised to wear comfortable, durable footwear given the show's vast size. Notably, Rockstar Games and Sony will not be present, but Nintendo, Microsoft, EA, Square Enix, Sega, Bandai Namco, and Capcom will all have stands.
Playable Highlights and Indie Focus
Among the playable games will be Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, described as the final and most ambitious installment of the remake project, featuring a new open world. Other titles include Tomb Raider: Legacy Of Atlantis, a new Rebellion title, and several releases from Saber Interactive, such as Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival, Turok: Origins, and Stuntman: Hollywood. Also generating buzz are Ontos from the Amnesia developers and Ritual Tides, a Wicker Man-inspired British-themed game.
Endres emphasized Gamescom's 'hybrid approach,' combining the physical show with online presence, including the Awesome Indie Show in collaboration with IGN and the video-centric Gamescom Studio. Felix Falk, Managing Director of game, the German games industry trade body, highlighted a focus on indie publishers. Endres noted there will be 420 indie exhibitors, 'Up 16% on last year's show.'
For the first time, Gamescom will partner with gaming charity Games Done Quick to stream speedruns with unusual restrictions, such as blindfolded players and shared gamepads. While exact ONL content remains under wraps, attendees and viewers can expect new game announcements and trailers in one of the biggest events in the gaming calendar.
