How to watch Gamescom 2025 and what to expect

It feels like Summer Game Fest is only just in our rear view mirror and yet there’s another video game extravaganza on the horizon. Gamescom is the planet’s largest gaming event and we’re sure to find out about a bunch of interesting new games at the Opening Night Live showcase (and, fingers crossed, maybe get a Hollow Knight: Silksong release date?). Xbox is broadcasting from the show floor across two days, and there will be other presentations that are worth keeping an eye on.

Gamescom is taking place between August 20 and 24 this year, and we’re learning bits and pieces about what to expect from the various showcases. The affair will kick off with Opening Night Live, a showcase hosted by Geoff Keighley that bridges the gap between his two other major events, Summer Game Fest Live and The Game Awards. That will be followed by two days of Xbox broadcasts, the latest edition of the Future Games Show and three days of Bethesda streams.

There will also be news from Ubisoft on what’s next for The Division 2. The company will host two panels related to the franchise during Gamescom. One will include more info about The Division Resurgence (a delayed mobile game), as well details about a “big Division 2 project.”

We’ll update this preview with more Gamescom details as we get them, and embed video versions of each stream as they become available too. Here’s our breakdown of how to watch Gamescom 2025 and what to expect from the event.

Gamescom schedule

• Opening Night Live — August 19, 1:30PM ET (pre-show), 2PM (main show)

• Xbox @ gamescom 2025 Broadcast — August 20, 9AM ET

• Future Games Show — August 20, 2PM ET

• Xbox @ gamescom 2025 Broadcast — August 21, 9AM ET

• Awesome Indies — August 21, 12PM ET

• Bethesda — August 22-25

How to watch Gamescom Opening Night Live – August 19, 2PM ET

Watch on YouTube

Opening Night Live perhaps won’t feature as many heavy hitters as Summer Game Fest Live or The Game Awards typically have, but one thing’s for certain: Call of Duty fans will definitely want to tune in. The two-hour showcase will feature the “worldwide reveal” of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. We’ll almost certainly get a release date here too.

Given that Microsoft has said Hollow Knight: Silksong will be playable on PC and ROG Xbox Ally X at its Gamescom booth, and the game is still slated to arrive this year, this event seems as good a time as any for us to finally get a release date for that thing — over six years after we first got to try it out. There will certainly be more eyeballs on ONL than Microsoft’s own streams, so that seems like the likeliest bet for any concrete Silksong news at Gamescom.

You can also expect a trailer for multiplayer RPG Honor of Kings: World, along with new looks at Ghost of Yotei, The Outer Worlds 2, Resident Evil Requiem, Silent Hill f, Ninja Gaiden 4, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion and The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin. You’ll get to see the opening cinematic for the World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion as well.

It won’t all be game reveals and announcements, though — there’ll be a performance of music from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 featuring composer Lorien Testard and vocalist Alice Duport-Percier. Additionally, you’ll get a peek at season two of Prime Video’s Fallout series, which will arrive in December.

We’ll be keeping tabs on all the news from Opening Night Live right here on Engadget. Myself, senior editor Jess Conditt and editor-in-chief Aaron Souppouris will be live-blogging our way through ONL. Join us! It should be fun.

How to watch Xbox @ gamescom 2025 Day 1 Broadcast — August 20, 9AM ET

Watch on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok or Facebook

One major piece of news we’re likely to get from Xbox during one of its streams (if it isn’t revealed at ONL beforehand) is the release date and pricing for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handheld systems. Leaker billbil-kun has reported the devices will arrive on October 16, at least in Europe, costing €599 for the Xbox Ally and €899 for the higher-end Xbox Ally X.

Microsoft had already confirmed these handhelds would be available in time for the holiday season, so that rumored release date makes sense. Either way, we should get confirmation during Gamescom of when to expect these devices, especially since the company says it will discuss the handhelds during its August 20 stream.

This particular event will feature the likes of Grounded 2, Keeper and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The Order of Giants, an expansion for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, will be showcased alongside Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Dying Light: The Beast, World of Warcraft: Midnight, Hotel Barcelona, Invincible Vs., Cronos: The New Dawn, Outbound, Powerwash Simulator 2 and Starsand Island.

Along with the English-language broadcast, Xbox’s streams will be available in other languages on regional Xbox channels on the likes of YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Facebook. The streams will be available in Traditional Chinese, German, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Mexican Spanish, as well as with ASL and English audio descriptions.

How to watch Future Games Show — August 20, 2PM ET

Watch on Twitch or YouTube

Actors David Hayter (Snake in the Metal Gear series) and Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village) will be hosting this edition of the Future Games Show. This installment will feature more than 50 games across world premieres, new trailers and sudden demo releases.

Capcom, Bandai Namco Entertainment, EA and NACON are among those who’ll be represented in this one, which will feature projects from AAA and indie publishers and studios. Several games have been confirmed to make an appearance here, including Skate (which is slated to hit early access this year), Resident Evil Requiem, Cronos: The New Dawn, Hotel Barcelona, Deer & Boy, The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin and Katanaut. Not only that, there will be a post-show that will run for 40 minutes and feature more trailers, world premieres and demo announcements.

How to watch Xbox @ gamescom 2025 Day 2 Broadcast — August 21, 9AM ET

Watch on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok or Facebook

Xbox will be broadcasting live from the Gamescom show floor for a second straight day. This particular stream will include details on Ninja Gaiden 4, The Outer Worlds 2 and Overwatch 2 (perhaps with more info about Season 18, which is set to start on August 26).

You can also expect looks at Onimusha: Way of the Sword, At Fate’s End, Age of Empires IV, High on Life 2, Jurassic World Evolution 3 and Fragpunk. In addition, the lineup for this stream includes Silent Hill f, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Lego Voyagers, Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, Mistfall Hunter and My Hero Academia: All’s Justice.

How to watch Awesome Indies — August 21, 12PM ET

Watch on YouTube and Twitch

The Indie Arena Booth will host more than 200 games for Gamescom attendees to check out, but you won’t necessarily need to be there in person to see them. Many will be featured in an hour-long showcase called Awesome Indies. Here, we’ll see “exclusive trailers, first peeks at never-before-seen gameplay, amazing premieres and exciting newcomers,” according to Gamescom.

There are a lot of interesting games being featured at the booth, including Cairn and Strange Antiquities. I’m particularly hoping the showcase will include some more details about Ball x Pit, which is one of my most anticipated games right now, Militsioner and the creepy-looking Fractured Blooms.

How to watch Bethesda broadcasts – August 22

Watch on Twitch

There will be plenty from the Bethesda side of the Xbox division as well. The publisher will be broadcasting from the Xbox show floor at Gamescom for three days, starting on August 22. According to Microsoft, these streams will include “developer interviews, game showcases, community segments, crafting highlights and live IRL tours.”