The opening night of Gamescom, a massive annual video game trade fair, is set to reveal a range of upcoming games, new trailers and world premieres. Coverage will be livestreamed on the Gamescom website, YouTube, and Twitch from 19:30 SAST tonight (25 August 2026).
Confirmed highlights include:
- Developer NC will give the currently unannounced Project Bonfire a first public reveal. The trailer will disclose the final title, main concepts and key features. NC will also present Aion 2, a successor to the online role-playing game Aion, ahead of early access on 30 September, and show a new story-and-setting trailer for open-world third-person shooter Cinder City.
- Ananta will appear after a lengthy period without a major public update. Developed by Naked Rain and published by NetEase Games, the urban open-world role-playing game lets players explore Nova City through characters working as police officers, hackers, delivery drivers and livestreamers.
- Developer 4A Games will share news on Metro 2039, the next mainline first-person shooter in the Metro series. The story sends an exile called the Stranger back towards post-apocalyptic Moscow, where survivors live beneath the poisoned city and a regime led by the Spartan known as Hunter rules through fear and propaganda. The game launches in February 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
- CD Projekt Red will reveal new information about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past. The third expansion brings monster slayer Geralt of Rivia into a new adventure more than a decade after The Witcher 3 launched and went on to sell over 65-million copies. CD Projekt Red and Fool’s Theory are developing the expansion for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2027.
- Game director Naoki Hamaguchi will take the stage to present a new look at Final Fantasy VII Revelation. The Square Enix role-playing game concludes the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, which reimagines the story of Cloud Strife and his allies across three releases.
- Konami will premiere a new trailer for Silent Hill: Townfall about a month before the game launches on 24 September 2026. The standalone first-person psychological horror sends Simon Ordell to the isolated Scottish island of St Amelia and is coming to PlayStation 5 and PC.
- PlaySide Studios will premiere the official gameplay reveal trailer for Game of Thrones: War for Westeros, giving viewers the first full look at the real-time strategy action after earlier cinematic material. Players can command the Great Houses and fight for the Iron Throne in solo or multiplayer battles when the PC game launches in early 2027.
Geoff Keighley, founder and host of The Game Awards, produces and hosts Gamescom Opening Night Live. He presents alongside Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere, an esports presenter with more than a decade of experience hosting top-level League of Legends esports in Europe.
Gamescom 2026 takes place from 26 to 30 August in Cologne, Germany. Every available exhibition area has been booked for the first time. Confirmed participants include Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Electronic Arts, Sega, Ubisoft, Bandai Namco and CD Projekt Red.
Games Done Quick, a charity speedrunning organiser, will make a European debut at Gamescom with three days of live runs from 28 to 30 August.
* Watch the Gamescom opening night live here.