Gamescom 2027 runs August 23 to 29 in Cologne, Germany, and for anyone following from afar, Opening Night Live, the awards and the online shows are what to watch.
Opening Night Live: where many studios announce games
Opening Night Live is the show that opens the week, where many companies choose to announce new games and release trailers. According to the organizers' schedule, it takes place on the evening of August 24 German time. In August Germany is on summer time, five hours behind Vietnam, so viewers in Vietnam will see it in the early hours of August 25. The organizers have not announced a specific start time.
In 2026 the show drew more than 78 million views, and CD Projekt Red used that night to present The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered. Details are in our gamescom 2026 recap.
Who are the days in the week for?
Gamescom does not open to everyone at once. The first two days, August 23 and 24, are gamescom dev, a conference for game makers, and August 25 is Business and Media Day for industry and press, with wildcard holders admitted from 1 p.m. The public gets in from August 26 through 29. That means most news about deals, partnerships and industry trends appears before ordinary visitors walk in, while those visitors are the first to play the games on display.
Gamescom dev is increasingly tied into the week. In 2026 the conference had 6,200 registered participants, up 15 percent on the year before.
What to watch when you are not in Cologne?
Most of gamescom can be followed online. In 2026 the whole digital program drew more than 624 million views, including more than 302,000 for the gamescom awesome indies show, a showcase for independent games. The gamescom award, split into jury awards and awards voted by the audience, was presented on August 28 in 2026 across 19 categories, from best visuals to favorite booth. Anyone who just wants to know which games are worth waiting for can start from that list, since it shows which titles stood out most by the end of the week.
Sources: gamescom's official site (gamescom 2027 schedule) and the organizers' final gamescom 2026 report (2026 figures, wildcard entry time). Checked on November 2, 2026.
