Gamescom 2026 is set to be one of the busiest show floors of the year, with Xbox, SEGA, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Ubisoft, Krafton, HoYoverse, and Nintendo all committing to public appearances. Many of the biggest games are being shown as playable demos, several just weeks ahead of their retail launch. Here is exactly who is coming, what you will be able to play, and when the headline titles ship.
Quick answer: The public show runs August 26–30 at Koelnmesse in Cologne, with Opening Night Live on August 25. Confirmed playable headliners include Gears of War: E-Day, Fable, METRO 2039, Alien: Isolation 2, STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, Persona 4 Revival, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen, and The Blood of Dawnwalker.
Gamescom 2026 dates and format
The week opens on August 24 with the Gamescom Dev developer conference. Opening Night Live, hosted by Geoff Keighley, streams on August 25 and kicks off the reveals ahead of the main event. The public show floor at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany, then runs from August 26 to 30, with August 26 reserved for business and media attendees before general visitors arrive.
All exhibition booths sold out for the first time, and the event spans roughly 230,000 square meters, making it one of the largest editions to date. Confirmed exhibitors include Google, Microsoft, LEGO, SEGA, Capcom, Sony Pictures, Tencent, Nintendo, Level Infinite, Electronic Arts, Konami, Ubisoft, HoYoverse, Bandai Namco, Embark Studios, and more, alongside a Korea Pavilion and the Indie Arena zone.
Confirmed launch windows to track
Several games on the floor are shipping soon after the show. These are the release dates tied to the titles being demoed.
| Game | Launch date |
|---|---|
| The Blood of Dawnwalker | September 3, 2026 |
| Onimusha: Way of the Sword | September 25, 2026 |
| Gears of War: E-Day | October 6, 2026 |
| Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen | October 9, 2026 |
| METRO 2039 | February 2027 |
| Mega Man: Dual Override | 2027 |
Xbox brings 25 games and 140 stations
Xbox is marking 25 years of the brand with its largest presence of the summer, running 140 gaming stations across 25 upcoming games. The Xbox lineup also includes FanFest and live broadcasts on YouTube and Twitch starting at 4pm CEST on August 26 and 27, plus accessibility support such as adaptive controllers, adjustable stations, interpreters, and audio descriptions.
The standout playables are the first public hands-on for Gears of War: E-Day’s campaign, a live demo-theater presentation of Fable by Playground Games, and a first playable look at METRO 2039 ahead of its February 2027 release. Halo: Campaign Evolved brings a modernized remake of the original campaign, while Minecraft Dungeons II and Forza Horizon 6 round out the marquee reveals.
The wider Xbox slate also covers Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, STAR WARS Zero Company, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Turok: Origins, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, Alien Deathstorm, Crowsworn, Valor Mortis, Armatus, Bad Magpie, Genigods: Nezha, and Terrible Lizards.
SEGA’s public hands-on debuts
SEGA is bringing a batch of headline titles for their first public playable outings. Alien: Isolation 2, STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, Persona 4 Revival, and Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 all offer hands-on demos. The SEGA booth lets Total War players try three Space Marine scenarios, and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN’s demo showcases its combat system that independently controls the left and right sides of protagonist Makoto Daito.
A free-play area adds Metaphor: ReFantazio, the Lords of the End Times DLC for Total War: WARHAMMER III, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, and SONIC PICO PARK.
Capcom’s Hall 9 booth
Capcom anchors Hall 9 with a 950-square-meter booth and roughly 60 playable stations. Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen and Mega Man: Dual Override both make their world-first playable debuts, with Dark Arisen serving as the first major expansion to the 2024 action RPG. Onimusha: Way of the Sword sits on the floor about four weeks before its September 25, 2026 launch, set in an alternate early Edo-period Kyoto.
Street Fighter 6 rounds out the space as the hub for esports tournaments and community challenges, with daily streamed programming from the show floor.
Bandai Namco and The Blood of Dawnwalker
Bandai Namco is confirmed to show three games: ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE, DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 3, and The Blood of Dawnwalker. The latter gets its first publicly playable demo just before its September 3, 2026 launch, landing only days after the show wraps.
Ubisoft, Krafton, and HoYoverse
Ubisoft is keeping it focused, bringing Rayman Legends Untold for a 20-minute hands-on run that covers a dragon ride, the first level, and a musical level. The Ubisoft showing also revives the returning Community Lounge.
Krafton is debuting an unannounced project built around the PUBG IP, alongside NO LAW, Project ZETA, Age Twisters, and TARAE: The Unbound. HoYoverse is introducing two new games, Honkai: Nexus Anima and Petit Planet.
Nintendo’s playable lineup
Nintendo returns to Cologne for the full August 26–30 window with nine playable titles, three of them Nintendo-original. Building on a strong Switch 2 presence the year before, the company is leaning on hands-on demos rather than a big stage reveal.
| Category | Titles |
|---|---|
| Nintendo original | Pokémon Pokopia (Expansion Pass), Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, Splatoon Raiders |
| Third-party | 007 First Light, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, EA Sports FC 27, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Minecraft Dungeons II, Orbitals |
Other studios and what’s still to come
Beyond the majors, Tides of Annihilation from Eclipse Flow Games and Sea of Remnants from NetEase are both bringing playable demos. Snail Games sets up at Hall 8.1, booth A-041, showcasing ARK: Survival Ascended, For The Stars, Bellwright, Honeycomb: The World Beyond, and a first look at an unannounced internally developed AAA title.
Opening Night Live has already confirmed METRO 2039 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past, with more titles to be added before the show. With reveals still rolling out ahead of August 25, expect the confirmed list to keep growing right up to the event.