Gamescom is Europe's biggest video games show and the annual event is once more about to kick open its doors to eager fans. The show starts in full this Wednesday 26 August and runs through to the end of play on the Sunday. However, you will also be able to watch a massive showcase event on the Tuesday before.
Gamescom Opening Night Live is hosted by Geoff Keighley of The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest fame, and like those other presentations, it'll be jam-packed with new trailers and reveals to watch live.
You can see it all unfold above, and get ready to strap yourself in for a major session as it's set to run for two hours.
Here then is everything you need to know about Gamescom Opening Night Live, including some of the games confirmed to feature.
When does Gamescom Opening Night Live start?
Gamescom Opening Night Live will begin at 20:00 CEST on Tuesday 25 August 2026 – the local time to Cologne in Germany, where it's taking place.
Here are the start times for multiple regions:
- US West Coast: 11:00 PDT
- US East Coast: 14:00 EDT
- UK: 19:00 BST
- Central Europe: 20:00 CEST
- India: 23:30 IST
- China (Beijing): 02:00 CST (26 August)
- Japan: 03:00 JST (26 August)
- South Korea: 03:00 KST (26 August)
- Australia (Sydney): 04:00 AEST (26 August)
How to watch Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026
You can watch the entire, two-hour Opening Night Live showcase via the video further up this page,
Alternatively, it is being hosted on The Game Awards YouTube channel.
What to expect
As with Keighley's other shows, you should expect plenty of big game announcements and new gameplay trailers during Opening Night Live.
Confirmed games so far include Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Gears of War: E-Day, Metro 2039, and Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons. But arguably the most exciting of the bunch will be The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past.
Coming 11 years after The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was first released, this is the first major expansion to the RPG since Blood and Wine in 2016.
It'll be released next year while CD Projekt Red continues development of The Witcher 4, although we don't know much about it as yet. Hence its debut during the show.
