It’s that time of year again - and gamers are already getting excited for Gamescom 2024.
The opening night celebration of the annual event kicks off tonight (August 20), with a number of booths from all sorts of developers and a large lineup of upcoming releases, including playable demos of its exclusive and third-party games.
Attendees at the gaming extravaganza in Cologne, Germany will be among the first to go hands-on with the likes of Star Wars: Outlaws, Warhammer’s Space Marines 2 and new DLCs for Diablo 4 and Fallout 76.
Here is everything we know about the event:
What is Gamescom 2024?
It is one of the world’s biggest gaming events and it all starts on Tuesday night.
Germany’s Gamescom event is arguably the biggest in-person gaming convention on the planet and takes place every year in Cologne.
Gamescom was first held in 2009 and is a stage for multiple giant publishers and studios to showcase their products to gamers in attendance and around the world.
Fans can expect premieres of trailers, gameplay reveals and massive announcements for games that will be soon coming to the market.
The likes of Microsoft, 2K, Team 17 and Bethesda will all be giving gamers a preview of their latest projects.
Sony is once again skipping Gamescom this year, having not featured at the event since pre-pandemic.
It runs for nearly a week from Tuesday, August 20 through to Sunday, August 25.
What is happening on opening night?
Canadian videogame journalist and presenter Geoff Keighley will host Opening Night Live from 8pm local time (2pm ET). Keighley has even revealed some of what will be covered during the opening:
Games confirmed for @gamescom Opening Night Live appearances on Tuesday include:
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) August 17, 2024
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Little Nightmares III
- DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO
- Batman: Arkham Shadow
- Dune Awakening
- Marvel Rivals… pic.twitter.com/ENo8sZFvRL
Organisers say on their website: “Welcome to the big opening show of gamescom! Be there live as host Geoff Keighley and co-host Eefje Depoortere aka Sjokz lead you through an outstanding show. With thousands of fans on site in Cologne and millions of digital viewers. Look forward to new game announcements, trailer and gameplay reveals, talks with prominent guests, a first look at Gamescom 2024 events and much more.”
How to watch Gamescom 2024 live
You can stream it on the Gamescom website or on their YouTube channel.
What games will feature?
It has been confirmed that Batman: Arkham Shadow, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, Dune: Awakening, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Little Nightmares 3, Marvel Rivals, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Sid Meier’s Civilization VII will be present during tonight’s stream.
During the week-long event, Bethesda will also offer a look at Starfield’s first expansion, titled Shattered Space.
Visitors will also be treated to new footage from a crop of would-be blockbusters, including Starfield’s Shattered Space story expansion, Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, Forza Horizon 5 and Doom: The Dark Ages.
