Xbox is marking the brand’s 25th anniversary with its largest Gamescom presence yet, and most of it is being piped out to people who aren’t in Cologne. The company is running two live broadcasts straight from its show floor booth, packed with gameplay reveals, developer interviews, new trailers, and guest appearances, while 140 gaming stations at the venue host 25 playable titles.
Quick answer: The Xbox @ Gamescom broadcasts start at 4:00 PM CEST on Wednesday, August 26 and Thursday, August 27, streaming on Xbox’s YouTube and Twitch channels.
Release time: Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 4:00 PM CEST
Xbox @ Gamescom 2026 broadcast start times by time zone
Both days start at the same hour, so the conversion below works for August 26 and August 27 alike. The show will be available with American Sign Language and English audio descriptions, and select segments will carry additional language options.
| Region | Start time |
|---|---|
| Cologne / Central Europe (CEST) | 4:00 PM |
| London (BST) | 3:00 PM |
| New York (EDT) | 10:00 AM |
| Los Angeles (PDT) | 7:00 AM |
| India (IST) | 7:30 PM |
| Tokyo (JST) | 10:00 PM |
| Sydney (AEST) | 11:00 PM |
Where to watch the Xbox Gamescom stream
The broadcast goes out simultaneously on Xbox’s official YouTube and Twitch channels. Nothing needs to be claimed or registered in advance; open either channel at the times above and the stream will be live.
Games scheduled for each broadcast day
The two shows split the lineup rather than repeating it, so the games appearing on Wednesday are different from Thursday’s slate. Day one leans on Xbox’s own studios plus a run of third-party action and racing titles, while day two is the longer of the two and carries most of the indie and simulation entries.
| Day | Games featured |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, August 26 | Minecraft Dungeons II, Gears of War: E-Day, Alien Deathstorm, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, Mega Man: Dual Override, Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Crazy Taxi: World Tour, Persona 4 Revival, Where Winds Meet, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, Warhammer 40K: Dark Heresy, Terrible Lizards |
| Thursday, August 27 | Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Turok: Origins, Stranger Than Heaven, Stuntman: Hollywood, Planet Zoo 2, Cassette Beasts 2002, Dune: Awakening, Kingdom III: Rising Realms, Armatus, Deep Dish Dungeon, The Séance of Blake Manor, DayZ, Son of Thanjai, Arkheron, Holstin, Tides of Annihilation, Albion Online, Militsioner |
What each headline game is actually showing
Several of these appearances are firsts rather than repeat trailers. Fable gets a live demo theater presentation from Playground Games, showing its combat in real time in front of an audience for the first time, with melee, ranged, and magic abilities chained together. Gears of War: E-Day brings the first public playable campaign build, covering the early days of the Locust War and the start of the Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago partnership.
| Game | What’s being shown |
|---|---|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 | Core 6v6 multiplayer, playable on Xbox Series X |
| Gears of War: E-Day | First public playable campaign demo (out October 6, 2026) |
| Fable | Live demo theater presentation (out February 23, 2027) |
| Minecraft Dungeons II | First playable build, co-op focused |
| Stranger Than Heaven | First public demo, with independent left and right control of Makoto Daito across three of the game’s five cities and eras |
| METRO 2039 | First hands-on, ahead of a February 2027 release |
| Forza Horizon 6 | New Drift Attack feature plus upcoming partnership collaborations |
| Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 | First public hands-on with the National Championship Air Races |
| Halo: Campaign Evolved | Playable remake of the original campaign with updated visuals and expanded combat |
Beyond that group, the booth adds Alien: Isolation 2, Alien Deathstorm, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, Crowsworn, Genigods: Nezha, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, STAR WARS Zero Company, Terrible Lizards, Turok: Origins, Armatus, Bad Magpie, and Valor Mortis.
Xbox booth location, hours, and accessibility at Gamescom
The booth sits in Hall 7, stand A-0.61 at Koelnmesse, with 140 stations spread across the 25 titles. Alongside the demos, there are interactive areas built around 25 years of Xbox hardware, games, and moments.
| Date | Booth hours (CEST) |
|---|---|
| Thursday, August 27 | 10am – 8pm |
| Friday, August 28 | 10am – 8pm |
| Saturday, August 29 | 9am – 8pm |
| Sunday, August 30 | 9am – 8pm |
The stand is wheelchair accessible, with Xbox Adaptive Controllers available on request and some stations fitted with height-adjustable desks and monitors. “Here to Help” staff assist with adaptive setups, and a quiet room with sensory items is available for anyone who needs a lower-stimulation space. ASL, BSL, and DGS interpreters plus English and German audio descriptions are on hand from 12pm to 5pm, Thursday through Sunday.
Xbox FanFest in Cologne: Date and how to enter
FanFest returns at the Xbox booth on Wednesday, August 26 from 8pm to 11pm CEST, with giveaways and developer meet-and-greets. Entry is handled through a sweepstakes rather than general admission, and details are posted through Xbox’s official social channels and the FanFest page.
One detail worth watching: Xbox has committed to 25 playable games but has not attached names to every slot, leaving room for a handful of reveals during the show itself. Note that the games listed as playable at the booth and the games featured on each broadcast day are not identical sets, so a title appearing on stream isn’t a guarantee of a hands-on station, and vice versa.
