It’s been a disjointed summer for the gaming industry. Usually, trade show events throughout June, July, and August are targeted by game publishers for showcasing their latest creations.
This year, of course, the pandemic has removed the possibility of staging such massive, international conventions, so some companies have decided to go digital.
Sony unleashed the PlayStation 5 ‘Future of Gaming’ showcase in June, with the Microsoft’s Xbox Series X presentation coming at the end of July.
Determined to stage a major collective gaming event this year, Cologne’s colossal annual show Gamescom will be going ahead online.
Here’s everything that you need to know and some of what we want to see from Gamescon 2020.
Contents
When is Gamescon 2020?
Gamescon 2020 will be taking place digitally from Thursday, 27 August to Sunday, 30 August. The events will be shown via a global live stream, and while platforms haven’t been officially announced yet, Gamescon 2019 was streamed live on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Mixer, and Twitter. So, expect much of the same in 2020.
It is said that the event will be open to all visitors, suggesting that you won’t need to pay a fee to watch the live streams for Gamescon 2020.
When are the Gamescon 2020 shows in UK time and US time?
There are four days of digital showcases, and it all kicks off with Geoff Keighley’s Opening Night Live.
The official Gameson program is listed under Central European Summer Time, as it is a Germany-based event, so, here are all of the UK times (BST) and US times (EDT/PDT) as well:
- Gamescon Day 1: Thursday, 27 August 2020
- Opening Night Live Pre-Show (English): 19:30 CEST, 18:30 BST, 13:30 EDT, 10:30 PDT
- Opening Night Live (English): 20:00 CEST, 19:00 BST, 14:00 EDT, 11:00 PDT
- Opening Night Live After-Show (English): 21:30 CEST, 20:30 BST, 15:30 EDT, 12:30 PDT
- Gamescom Studio (English): 22:00 CEST, 21:00 BST, 16:00 EDT, 13:00 PDT
- Gamescom Studio (German): 22:00 CEST, 21:00 BST, 16:00 EDT, 13:00 PDT
- Gamescon Day 2: Friday, 28 August 2020
- Gamescom Studio (German): 14:00 CEST, 13:00 BST, 08:00 EDT, 05:00 PDT
- Gamescom Studio (English): 18:00 CEST, 17:00 BST, 12:00 EDT, 09:00 PDT
- Gamescom Daily Show (German): 20:00 CEST, 19:00 BST, 14:00 EDT, 11:00 PDT
- Gamescom Daily Show (English): 23:00 CEST, 22:00 BST, 17:00 EDT, 14:00 PDT
- Gamescon Day 3: Saturday, 29 August 2020
- Gamescom Studio (German): 13:00 CEST, 12:00 BST, 07:00 EDT, 04:00 PDT
- Gamescom Studio (English): 18:00 CEST, 17:00 BST, 12:00 EDT, 09:00 PDT
- Gamescom Awesome Indies (English): 19:00 CEST, 18:00 BST, 13:00 EDT, 12:00 PDT
- Gamescom Daily Show (German): 20:00 CEST, 19:00 BST, 14:00 EDT, 11:00 PDT
- Gamescom Daily Show (English): 23:00 CEST, 22:00 BST, 17:00 EDT, 14:00 PDT
- Gamescon Day 4: Sunday, 30 August 2020
- Gamescom Studio (German): 16:00 CEST, 15:00 BST, 12:00 EDT, 09:00 PDT
- Gamescom Studio (English): 17:00 CEST, 16:00 BST, 13:00 EDT, 10:00 PDT
- Gamescom Best of Show (English): 20:00 CEST, 19:00 BST, 14:00 EDT, 11:00 PDT
The Opening Night Live show will feature a bunch of new game announcements, trailers, and gameplay reveals, as well as a look at what else is to come at Gamescon 2020.
The Gamescom Studio shows, which take place every day in German and English, will focus on “the latest and greatest gameplay, demos, news, interviews, and game reveals,” per Gamescom.
One of the most intriguing slots on the calendar is the 90-minute Gamescom Awesome Indies show that takes place on the Saturday of the event. It’s said to include demos, developer spotlights, and even some indie awards.
Finally, the Gamescom Daily Show programmes will round up the day’s events, with the Gamescom Best of Show pulling together the highlights of the entire event on Sunday, 30 August.
What games will be revealed at Gamescon 2020?
Opening Night Live looks set to be the big one to watch for game reveals and trailers, with the potential for more being scattered across the Gamescom Studio shows.
As you would assume, it’s unclear what the big-name publishers and developers have handed over to Geoff Keighley to unleash unto the world during Opening Night Live.
However, we do know which games companies have partnered with Gamescom, with the biggest hitters being Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Frontier Developments, Sega Europe, Ubisoft, and Xbox.
With the season of sports games in full swing, one could expect Electronic Arts to showcase FIFA 21 at Gamescon 2020. They may also see this as the prime time to show something on NHL 21, with there being a strong European following for ice hockey.
Following all of the release date hints and revisions recently, and with it still officially being a 2020 title, Gamescon looks to be the prime opportunity for Bandai Namco to unveil some long-awaited information on Digimon Survive.
Perhaps the most exciting for fans of Middle-earth lore, German developers Daedalic Entertainment will be attending Gamescom. So, maybe, we’ll get even more information about The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
Lastly, while it seems incredibly unlikely, the gaming community craves an update on the 2018-teased sequel to one of the most successful single-player games of all time: the people want to know more about The Elder Scrolls VI.
Bethesda has made it clear that Starfield is the priority, but they’re also set to publish Deathloop this year, Ghostwire: Tokyo next year, the mobile game Commander Keen, and Quake Champions. So, any of those could be why they’ve partnered with Gamescom.
The official list of partners for the event is enormous, so there should be a great mix of content on show at Gamescom 2020.
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