gamescom 2026 breaks records even before the start: 1600 participants from 67 countries, Saturday tickets are sold out
The largest gaming exhibition on the planet starts in a week, and records are already falling. The organizers of gamescom 2026 announced in a press release today that they will come to Cologne this year more than 1600 exhibitors from 67 countries - more than ever. For comparison: a year ago there were about 1,500 participants.
Record exhibition figures
— 233,000 square meters of exhibition space;
— 47 national pavilions from 40 countries;
- expanded indie gaming zone - it will be bigger than ever;
— all wildcard applications and tickets for Saturday are completely sold out;
— for the first time in history, the entire available space at Koelnmesse is reserved for exhibitors.
Let us remind you that gamescom 2025 attracted 357 thousand visitors from 128 countries - and this year the organizers are expecting no less.
When and what to watch
The exhibition will be held from August 26 to 30 in Cologne, and the day before, on August 25 at 21:00 (Moscow time), the online show Opening Night Live with Geoff Keeley will take place - dozens of trailers and announcements from Ubisoft, Bandai Namco, Amazon Games and other publishers will be shown there. It is here that Xbox, according to insiders, is preparing a mysterious, unexpected announcement.
A special premiere this year is gamescom GDQ: from August 28 to 30, the legendary charity speedrun marathon Games Done Quick will be held in Europe for the first time in a live format.
Games are now politics
The exhibition will be visited by the President of Germany for the first time in history: Frank-Walter Steinmeier will open the gamescom congress. And at the political opening ceremony, Executive Vice President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen will talk about the European strategy to support the gaming industry. The official opening will be held on August 26 by Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil and Federal Games Minister Dorothee Baer.
The background for the records, however, is ambiguous: according to the game association, the German gaming market in the first half of 2026 brought in 4.2 billion euros - 3% less than a year earlier. So the European industry itself has something to discuss.