Just one more day until Gamescom! Well, technically two days. The Germany-based gaming convention is taking place from August 20th to the 24th, so it officially begins on Tuesday. However, things are really kicking off on Monday the 19th with several press conferences. There will be big announcements and celebrated guests, most of it livestreamed, and we're going to tell you when to watch.
The Big One - Opening Night Live
The biggest one to watch out for is Gamescom's own Opening Night Live. According to a producer, the show will feature 25 games in two hours. These won't just be vague teases of next year's games, either. We'll get some big reveals on this fall's releases. Gears 5 and Borderlands 3 will be shown, as will Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Hideo Kojima will also attend in person to show us more of Death Stranding.
Opening Night Live will be streamed on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Twitter, and Facebook. It will air at 8PM CEST, 2PM EDT, and 11AM PDT.
Nintendo Indie World - All About Indies
Nintendo's showcase of indie games isn't an actual part of Gamescom, but it's happening within hours of the other streams, so we're going to count it. As the name implies, don't expect to see anything about Luigi's Mansion 3 or the in-development Breath of the Wild Sequel. This will be all about the Nindies. Rumors, and the word of many sources with clout, say that Ori and the Blind Forest will be revealed for the Switch. There's also official word from Nintendo that tells us new Nindies will be announced.
Nintendo Indie World will air on Twitch, YouTube, and Nintendo's site. It will happen at 3PM CEST, 9AM EDT, and 6AM PDT.
Inside Xbox - Lots of Gears
Microsoft is already giving a lot to Gamescom with a Gears 5 campaign reveal as part of Opening Night Live. It's also there to push Mixer hard now that the streaming platform is in the spotlight. That said, it's still making time for a special edition of Inside Xbox. The stream will show the Horde mode of Gears 5, as well as a Ghost Recon Breakpoint multiplayer reveal. There probably won't be much new to this presentation, but rather a focus on the big titles that will hopefully sell Xboxes during the holiday season.
Inside Xbox will air on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, and of course, Mixer. It will take place at 5PM CEST, 11AM ET, and 8AM PT.
Google Stadia Connect - Wait, What About Sony?
We've gotten very used to the big three in console gaming having competing E3 conferences. But 2019 is the year without Sony, it seems. The PlayStation producer skipped out on E3, and also didn't show any movies at San Diego Comic-Con. It seems it will continue this trend for Gamescom as well, leaving the new kid on the block to take its place. Google lined up a prime slot for its Connect broadcast, probably hoping to get one last boost of exposure before Stadia's November launch. So what will we see? According to Eurogamer, Google promised this presentation will be "all about the games" and will showcase "brand-new trailers to going behind-the-scenes with our partners." Cool? Stadia will need a lot more than trailers to get people hyped, it needs gameplay or even an exclusive reveal. Or maybe just a developer with a sick beard...
Google Stadia Connect can be seen on YouTube. It will air at 7PM CEST, 1PM EDT, and 10AM PDT. Right before Opening Night Live.
Which one are you most excited for? Are you hyped for more Death Stranding, even though no one knows what it actually is? Or are you looking forward to learning more about Gears 5? Perhaps it's Nintendo's 20 minutes of indies or Google Stadia that catch your fancy. Whatever you like, Gamescom will have something for everyone.