Gamescom 2026: Every Playable Game, Every Stream, Every Date

Updated 10 August 2026. This page is live until the show ends. We add every confirmed lineup, stream time and announcement as it lands, so bookmark it instead of chasing twenty separate posts.

The basics

Gamescom 2026 runs from 26 to 30 August at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. With E3 gone, it is now the last major showcase of the summer and the biggest one on the calendar. Exhibitor space sold out, and Xbox, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Capcom and Bandai Namco are all on the floor.

If you are reading this from the Gulf, the number that matters is the stream time. Xbox broadcasts at 4:00 PM CEST, which is 6:00 PM in the UAE, 5:00 PM in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, and 5:00 PM in Qatar. Evening viewing, not a 3 AM alarm.

Xbox: 25 games, 140 stations, 25 years

Xbox is treating this as its birthday party. The booth sits in Hall 7 with 140 playable stations and 25 games, tied to the brand’s 25th anniversary. Four of those 25 slots are still unannounced, which is the part worth watching.

First public hands-on

• Gears of War: E-Day is the headline. First public playable campaign demo, covering the origins of the Locust War and the start of the Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago partnership. It ships 6 October, so this is a pre-launch victory lap, not a tease.
• Fable gets a theatre presentation rather than a queue. Playground Games runs live gameplay through a Hero’s journey, breaking down how melee, ranged and magic combine. Release is set for 23 February 2027.
• Minecraft Dungeons II is playable publicly for the first time.
• METRO 2039 from 4A Games, first hands-on. Post-apocalyptic Moscow, due 2027.
• Stranger Than Heaven also makes its public debut.

Also on the floor

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Core 6v6 multiplayer running on Xbox Series X
• Alien: Isolation 2
• Halo: Campaign Evolved
• Forza Horizon 6 with the new Drift Attack mode
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 with competitive National Championship Air Races
• Star Wars Zero Company
• Turok: Origins
• The Blood of Dawnwalker
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
• Bad Magpie

Xbox streams and FanFest

Live broadcasts run from the booth on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 August, starting 4:00 PM CEST (6:00 PM UAE), on both YouTube and Twitch. Expect developer interviews, gameplay reveals, new trailers and guests. Xbox FanFest takes over the booth on the evening of 26 August.

Nintendo: Switch 2 in Hall 9

Nintendo confirmed its lineup on 5 August, and it is a bigger commitment than the company has made to Gamescom in years. Everything below is playable across all five days.

• Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, twelve motion-controlled sports on Wuhu Island, due in October
• Splatoon Raiders, already released on Switch 2 and reviewing well
• Pokemon Pokopia, with the Bubbly Basin content from the Expansion Pass
• 007 First Light, the Switch 2 version, which still has no dated release
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
• Minecraft Dungeons II
• EA Sports FC 27
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Orbitals

Worth noting what is not here. Star Fox has been circulating in Gamescom rumour threads and it is not on Nintendo’s confirmed list. Treat any lineup post that includes it as unverified.

What we are watching for

Three things decide whether this show matters beyond the queue lengths. Xbox has four unannounced slots and a 25th anniversary to justify, which is the shape of a reveal. Microsoft’s celebratory messaging is landing at the same time as persistent reporting about pressure inside its gaming division, and the gap between those two stories will be visible on the floor. And Nintendo bringing this much Switch 2 software to Cologne suggests a release calendar it wants filled before the holidays.

Gear for the games above

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Nothing on this list is required to enjoy Gamescom from your couch. It is here because the two questions we get most in the run-up to a big show are what console to buy and what to fix first about the setup you already have.

• Xbox Series X is the machine every Xbox demo above is running on, and Gears of War: E-Day in October is the first real reason this year to own one.
• Nintendo Switch 2 is the only way to play Splatoon Raiders and Pokemon Pokopia, both of which are out now rather than promised.
• A decent wired headset does more for Modern Warfare 4 than any graphics setting. Footstep audio is the entire game at 6v6.
• Storage expansion is the one you will regret skipping. Call of Duty alone will eat most of an internal drive.

Keep this page open

We update this hub through 30 August as reveals land, so check back rather than hunting. The Morning Brief carries the same coverage to your inbox if you would rather not.