Gamescom 2026: show schedule, main announcements and where to watch broadcasts
From August 25 to 30, Cologne will host gamescom 2026, the largest gaming exhibition on the planet and the main gathering point for the industry in the second half of the year. This is where publishers show fall releases and announce projects for next year. We tell you what shows and presentations are planned, what has already been confirmed and how to watch broadcasts from Russia.
What is gamescom and why is it important?
Gamescom annually attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Cologne - it is the largest gaming event in the world in terms of number of guests, surpassing even E3 in its best years. The exhibition takes place in the gigantic Koelnmesse exhibition complex: publishers are building entire pavilions with gaming areas, developers are holding closed screenings for the press, and viewers around the world are watching online broadcasts.
For players, the main thing about gamescom is not the exhibition itself, but the shows attached to it. After the cancellation of E3, it was Cologne week that became the “second June” of the gaming industry: Summer Game Fest summer presentations take place in June, and gamescom at the end of August closes the annual cycle of announcements before the autumn release season. Here they traditionally show gameplay of games that will be released in autumn and winter, reveal release dates and make unexpected announcements.
In 2026, the exhibition falls during a particularly hot period: in the fall, the industry is awaiting the release of GTA 6, the biggest game of the decade, and Nintendo is gaining momentum with Switch 2. The show in Cologne is expected to feature final gameplay displays of autumn blockbusters and the first announcements of projects for 2027.
gamescom 2026 main show schedule
| Show | Date and time (MSK) | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Night Live | August 25, 21:00 | The main show of the exhibition from Geoff Keeley: world premieres of trailers, announcements and gameplay |
| Xbox Broadcast | August 26, 17:00 | A separate Microsoft broadcast for the 25th anniversary of Xbox: Fable and other major projects |
| Future Games Show | August 26, 20:00 | 90 minutes of premieres, demos and exclusives from GamesRadar |
| FGS Live from Cologne | August 26, immediately after FGS | Reports from the exhibition floor, interviews and additional premieres |
All shows are broadcast free of charge on YouTube and Twitch, Future Games Show is additionally shown on Facebook and X. Russian-language gaming publications and streamers traditionally conduct parallel broadcasts with translation and commentary.
Opening Night Live: what's already confirmed
The Opening Night Live (ONL) opening ceremony starts on August 25 at 21:00 Moscow time with a half-hour pre-show. The hosts this time will be permanent producer and host Geoff Keely and TV presenter Efje “sjokz” Deportere. The format is familiar: a series of world premieres, gameplay shows and announcements - usually two or three dozen projects are shown in an evening.
Two major participants have been officially confirmed. Firstly,Final Fantasy VII Revelationis the third part of the Final Fantasy VII remake project from Square Enix. Game director Naoki Hamaguchi will personally come to the show, which means that you should expect not a short teaser, but a full-fledged show: a new trailer, plot details and, possibly, a release date. The second part of the trilogy, Rebirth, was released in 2024, and fans are eagerly awaiting news of the ending to the story of Cloud and Sepiroth.
Secondly, ONL will showThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Songs of the Past— a plot expansion for the legendary third part of The Witcher. A full-fledged addition to the eleven-year-old game is an event in itself: CD Projekt RED returns to Geralt while working on the fourth part of the series. Almost nothing is known about the content of the expansion yet, so the gamescom reveal will be the first detailed look at the project.
Xbox Broadcast: 25 Years of Xbox and Fable
On August 26 at 17:00 Moscow time, Microsoft will hold a separate broadcast from Cologne. The occasion is solemn: in 2026, the Xbox brand celebrates its 25th anniversary, and the company promises to “celebrate 25 years of gaming” by showing the largest upcoming projects for the Xbox Series X|S.
The central project of the show is calledFable— a relaunch of the cult fairy-tale RPG from the Playground Games studio, the authors of Forza Horizon. The game has been in development for many years, and every showing of it is an event: judging by Microsoft's statements, an extended demonstration of gameplay is expected in Cologne. In addition to Fable, the broadcast promises trailers, gameplay excerpts, interviews with developers and “special guests.” Traditionally, Xbox uses gamescom to announce Game Pass content—subscribers of the service should watch especially closely.
Future Games Show and displays from the exhibition floor
On the evening of August 26, at 20:00 Moscow time, the Future Games Show will take place - a 90-minute show from GamesRadar with world premieres, demo releases and exclusive trailers. It will be hosted by actorsResident Evil RequiemNick Apostolides (Leon Kennedy) and Angela Sant'Albano (Grace Ashcroft) - in itself a hint that Capcom's new horror film will not be left without attention at the show. Immediately after FGS, the editors will broadcast live from the exhibition areas: reports from the pavilions, interviews with developers and additional premieres.
What else to expect from gamescom 2026
In addition to confirmed projects, during gamescom week it is logical to expect news about the fall releases of the year: Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. will be released at the end of August. 2, Star Wars Zero Company and Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition for Switch 2, EA Sports FC 27 in September, Rayman Legends Retold and Star Wars: Galactic Racer in October. A separate intrigue is whether the third trailer for GTA 6 will appear in one of the shows: there are less than three months left before the release of the game on November 19, and Rockstar has just entered the active phase of the marketing campaign. There are no exact promises, but the game week in Cologne is the ideal stage for such a premiere.
As usual, some announcements will happen outside the main shows: publishers like to release trailers and press releases right on the days of the exhibition, taking advantage of the increased attention of the audience. We will monitor the events and publish the main news of gamescom 2026 - bookmark the site.
A little history: how gamescom became the main exhibition in the world
Gamescom has been held in Cologne since 2009 and grew out of the Leipzig Games Convention. Over the course of a decade and a half, it turned into the most massive gaming event on the planet: in its best years, the exhibition was visited by more than 350 thousand people, and the exhibition area exceeded 200 thousand square meters. After E3 Los Angeles closed for good in 2023, Cologne remained the only event of its scale open to the public.
The gamescom format is unique in that it combines two worlds. For ordinary visitors, this is a gigantic festival: queues at game stands, cosplay competitions, concerts, retro zones and merch. For the industry, it is a business platform: the developer conference devcom is taking place at the same time, and in closed meeting rooms, publishers sign contracts and show embargoed projects to the press. This is why the news from gamescom flows all week long: what is shown to journalists behind closed doors often becomes public announcements in a matter of days.
What else is happening at the exhibition
In addition to evening shows, Cologne traditionally hosts huge stands of the largest publishers: in past years, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Capcom, Bandai Namco and dozens of other companies built their pavilions. Visitors are given the opportunity to play autumn new releases long before release, tournaments, meetings with developers and cosplay shows are held - gamescom is famous for one of the largest cosplay communities in the world. Special attention is traditionally paid to the indie zone and the retro zone, where you can find rare consoles and arcade machines.
For Russian players, a personal visit this year is difficult, but the online format eliminates distances: all key broadcasts are available for free, and the main trailers appear in the public domain within minutes after the premiere. So having a “home gamescom” on the evening of August 25th and 26th is a great idea.
How to watch gamescom 2026 from Russia
Official broadcasts of all shows go on YouTube and Twitch without regional restrictions - just open the gamescom, Xbox or Future Games Show channel at the right time. If watching a live broadcast is inconvenient, recordings appear on the same channels immediately after the end. The main show Opening Night Live starts at 21:00 Moscow time on August 25 - a convenient time for evening viewing.
Read also: GTA 6: everything we know about the release on November 19, 2026,Genshin Impact promo codes for August 2026,Honkai: Star Rail promo codes.
Sources:GamesRadar, official gamescom and Xbox announcements.