Are you ready for Gamescom 2019? With the summer gaming event about to kick off, and some of the biggest titles in the gaming calendar set to be on show, you better be.
While Gamescom isn't typically a big show for announcements – that's usually the remit of the earlier E3 2019 event in July – journalist and presenter Geoff Keighley is looking to shake up the formula, hosting a pre-show announcement live stream called Opening Night Live which will feature announcements and new content from Square Enix, Google Stadia, Epic Games and many more – and kicks off in just a few hours time.
TechRadar will be live from Cologne during Gamescom 2019 week, bringing you all the latest news, announcements and previews from the show.
There's only a few weeks to wait, so here's everything you need to know about Gamescom 2019 including the latest news, rumors, exhibitor schedules and our predictions about what we're likely to see at the show.
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Gamescom: Opening Night Live
In a new twist, Geoff Keighley (the creator of The Game Awards) will be hosting a pre-Gamescom live show called Opening Night Live.
Keighley promises the show will include plenty of world premiere content and announcements. Check out the list Keighley tweeted below with just some of the companies that we can expect new content from:
Keighley has a some great contacts within the gaming industry, so we're expecting some surprising announcements to come out of the show. With Private Division, Ubisoft and Epic Games on the billing, it would be fair to assume we will be getting a closer look at The Outer Worlds, Watch Dogs: Legion and new Fortnite content.
What's more, we know that Hideo Kojima will be making a live appearance to premiere an “exclusive new look” at Death Stranding.
You can watch the Opening Night Live stream from the comfort of your home.
The livestream will be available to watch on Twitch on August 19 at 7pm BST / 11am PT / 2pm ET / 8 pm CEST or August 20 at 4am AEST.
- Gamescom Opening Night Live 2019: how to watch the announcement live stream
Sony at Gamescom 2019
Sony attending Gamescom 2019 will be the company's first public appearance of the year – and we're very excited following such a long period of radio silence.
So what are we expecting from Sony? Well, according to Geoff Keighley's announcement line-up, Sony will be showing new content or making an announcement of some sort. Whether that is confined to the Death Stranding footage is up for speculation, but we're hoping for more details on Sony's exclusive titles such as The Last of Us: Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima.
Despite announcing the PS5 earlier this year, we don't think it's likely that Sony will reveal more about its next-generation console during Gamescom 2019. But we can always hope…
Microsoft at Gamescom 2019
Microsoft Xbox is going pretty hard for Gamescom 2019. Xbox will have nearly 200 booths on the show floor, including the first public hands-on of both Minecraft Dungeons and Gears 5's Horde Mode. Fans will also have the opportunity to try out Project xCloud.
We also know Xbox Games Studios will be making an appearance during Opening Night Live, so we're expecting to hear more on Gears 5, Sea of Thieves and maybe Halo Infinite? But that could be wishful thinking. It's also possible we could get more details on Xbox Project Scarlett. Fingers crossed.
In addition, Inside Xbox will be hosting a special episode live from the Gloria Theatre in Cologne on August 19 at 5pm CEST / 4pm BSt / 8am PT / 11am ET or August 20 at 1am AEST.
Xbox will also be hosting Open Doors at the Gloria Theatre from August 21 to August 23. Entry to Xbox Open Doors is free and fans will be able to participate in community events, game tournaments, panel sessions and other experiences.
Check out the opening times below:
- Tuesday, August 20 – 9am until 7pm. CEST (press/trade only day)
- Wednesday, August 21 – 9am to 8pm CEST
- Thursday, August 22 – 9am – 8pm CEST
- Friday, August 23 – 9am – 8pm CEST
- Saturday, August 24 – 9am – 8pm CEST
Nintendo at Gamescom 2019
Nintendo has now revealed what its on and offline plans for the show will be.
Gamescom itself runs from August 20 to August 24 but the majority of Nintendo’s online activity will take place between the August 20 and August 22. Across these dates, those not attending the show itself will be able to watch a series of videos featuring extended gameplay from the publisher's upcoming Switch lineup.
Games getting some time in the spotlight will include Luigi’s Mansion 3, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, The Witcher 3, Astral Chain, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Dragon Quest 10 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age.
For visitors to the show floor, Nintendo will have a booth where it’ll be possible to get hands on with titles including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Dragon Quest 10 S, Pokémon Sword and Shield and even that highly-anticipated The Witcher 3 port.
New gameplay is all very well and good but if you like nothing more than a good competition then you’ll want to tune into Nintendo’s one-off Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Gamescom 2019 Invitational on August 22. The event will start streaming on Nintendo’s YouTube channel in the afternoon and will see players go head to head for the chance to be flown to Japan for the Ultimate World Challenge Cup held in October.
Unfortunately there's not been any mention of the newly announced Nintendo Switch Lite, but we're hoping Nintendo will have some surprises up its sleeve.
Nvidia at Gamescom 2019
Nvidia will be at Gamescom 2019, but its unlikely it will have any new graphics cards to show off, much less an entire generation like it did last year. However, now that more games than ever are using its unique ray tracing technology, we expect Gamescom 2019 to be all about the ray tracing.
We have seen some rumors of a possible RTX 2080 Ti Super, but we wouldn't hold our breath. However, if you recently dropped stacks on an expensive Nvidia Turing graphics card, Nvidia should have some new games to show off that take advantage of those RT and Tensor cores.
Intel
While we do know that Intel is going to be at Gamescom this year, we really don't know what it's going to have to offer. If we were to hazard an (optimistic) guess, Intel would take this gaming event to show off its answer to AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation. But, we wouldn't get our hopes up.
What we could see happening is Intel taking its recent announcement of Ice Lake processors and the Gen11 graphics that are packed in, and let gamers know what it means for them. And, we might even get some updates about Intel Xe graphics cards – Gamescom seems like the perfect place for that.
Still, we don't really know what Intel has up its sleeve, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Dell and Alienware at Gamescom
Dell and Alienware will also be present at the European gaming show, and while we're not sure what to expect, you can bet they'll have some slick gaming hardware to show off. Whether its the latest in accessories, a new Alienware desktop PC or something nobody sees coming, we don't know what we're in for.
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