Gamescom is back in 2021 and, as always, it is shaping up to be one of the biggest events on the gaming calendar. Naturally, the event will be a bit different this year due to Covid-19. Organizers had originally planned to make Gamescom 2021 a hybrid event with some face-to-face parties alongside virtual access, but physical presence has been ruled out due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
Like Gamescom 2020, this year’s event will be fully digital, with a keynote address and announcements from leading publishers and developers. The organizers have also revealed that there will be some new features this year, including a community activity called Gamescom Epix along with the return of Opening Night Live from Geoff Keighley.
If you want to prepare for this year’s event, we have compiled all the information available, including when and where it is held, and what we can expect from the exhibitors that have been confirmed so far. Read on for everything you need to know about Gamescom 2021.
- What is? The largest gaming event in the world
- When is? August 25-27
- Who attends? 19 publishers confirmed, including Xbox, EA and Ubisoft
What is Gamescom?
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Gamescom is the largest video game event in the world and takes place annually (usually in August). In 2019, the event received 373,000 visitors, with hundreds of exhibitors showcasing their latest gaming, eSports and technology projects.
When it is face-to-face, Gamescom takes place in Cologne, Germany, with fans and gamers from all over the world who want to try new games before they launch and participate in community activities, such as cosplay contests and eSports competitions. . It is also a meeting point for the gaming industry’s retail, business and media representatives.
Usually the most prominent publishers in the industry attend the appointment and we often see a lot of news about games revealed during the event, whether it is announcements of new games, release dates or trailers.
When is Gamescom 2021?
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Every year Gamescom takes place at the Koelnmesse exhibition center in Cologne, Germany. But this year, there is no physical presence due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, Gamescom 2021 will be completely digital and online.
Gamescom kicks off with Opening Night Live on August 25, an opening event hosted by Geoff Keighley. Like the lectures that were seen at E3, it is likely to bring a ton of reveals and news about games.
Gamescom events will run over three days, August 25-27. Before that will be the developer conference, Devcom, which begins on August 23 for the days focused on content. After that, the business focus days will be August 25-28.
New for 2021, there will also be a “joint search activity” called Gamescom Epix. There are few details at the moment, but it seems that fans will be able to participate before the event premiere, and interactive missions will have to be completed to win prizes. This year’s E3 offered something similar with its online portal.
Participants and predictions
At the time of writing this article, 19 publishers are confirmed to be attending Gamescom 2021. Beyond the list below, there will also be 80 independent titles presented through virtual spaces during the event.
At the moment some important publishers such as Sony and Nintendo are missing, but we do not rule out that they will include any games during the event. Last year, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart appeared during Opening Night Live, so who knows. We may see a Sony State of Play or Nintendo Nintendo Direct close to the event, to get an idea of what to expect from the event itself.
- 505 Games
- Activision
- Aerosoft
- Assemble Entertainment
- Astragon Entertainment
- BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
- Bethesda Softworks
- Electronic Arts
- GAMEVIL COM2US Europe
- Headup
- Indie Arena Booth
- Koch Media
- NExT Studios (Tencent Games)
- SEGA Europe
- Team17
- Thunderful Games
- Ubisoft
- Wargaming
- Xbox
Xbox y Bethesda
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Psychonauts 2 will already be out when Gamescom 2021 rolls around, so we have to look a little further into the future to find out what Xbox will reveal during this year’s event.
Sable will be landing in September, so we may see a new trailer first, but the big news could focus on the two big Xbox titles coming later this year: Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite. We don’t have a release date for the next Halo game yet, so one may be finalized shortly.
Games like STALKER 2, Starfield, and Arkane’s Redfall are scheduled to release in 2022, so Xbox may want to introduce next year’s games alongside what’s to come in the remainder of 2021 as well. Fans are also expecting updates on games like Fable, Avowed, Perfect Dark, and more, so the ball is really in Microsoft’s court.
Electronic Arts
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Like Xbox, Electronic Arts is also involved in several major projects that could appear during Gamescom 2021. There are great and long-awaited titles such as Skate 4, Dragon Age 4, Dead Space Remake and the next Mass Effect project, but EA also has some the big games have yet to come this year.
Battlefield 2042 and FIFA 22 are out in October, so we’ll be seeing some news on these titles, along with some updates for games like Knockout City and Apex Legends. And who knows, we may know more about the “new single player adventure” that Respawn is reportedly working on.
Ubisoft
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Ubisoft has a few games to debut near the event, such as Far Cry 6, Riders Republic, and Just Dance 2022, so it would be reasonable to have a lot of information on these at Gamescom, but the publisher has a few tricks up its sleeve as well.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora are all slated to release in 2022, so Ubisoft could give us a sneak peek of what’s to come in the future. There’s also the untitled Star Wars project being prepared by Massive Entertainment from The Division.
In addition to the possible games, we are likely to see some updates to other Ubisoft titles such as Tom Clancy’s XDefiant and Rainbow Six Siege as well.
Bandai Namco
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Elden Ring! All eyes will be on Bandai Namco at this year’s Gamescom as, aside from The Game Awards later this year, there aren’t many good opportunities to introduce From Software’s next game. The Elden Ring will arrive in January 2022, so we may see some of Soulsborne’s collaboration with George RR Martin during Gamescom 2021.
Beyond one of the most anticipated games of 2022, Bandai Namco also has a few games coming later this year, like Tales of Arise in September and The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes in October. Digimon Survive is on the horizon too – the game doesn’t currently have a specific release date, but it’s slated for 2021, so there will surely be news at the event.
Activision
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We haven’t heard anything about Call of Duty 2021 yet, so this year’s Gamescom may be the perfect opportunity to introduce it to the public. Last year’s installment, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War, was introduced as part of Gamescom 2020 Opening Night Live, so we may see something similar this year. Call of Duty Warzone (battle royale mode) updates may also arrive in the pack, as Activision seems to want to unite all the games through their free service.
We learned last year that Activision was considering bringing Pro Skater 1 + 2 developers from Tony Hawk, Toys for Bob, and Vicarious Visions to work on other projects, but who knows what they might have up their sleeves for this year’s event. It’s unclear how much of a presence Blizzard will have at Gamescom 2021, but with Diablo 2: Resurrected in September this year, they may want to release a new trailer or talk about possible DLCs for some of Blizzard’s titles. Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 are still a long way off.
What is Opening Night Live?
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Since 2019, Gamescom has had its own gaming press conference called Opening Night Live, which takes place on the opening night of the event. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, Opening Night Live is streamed online globally, and is back in 2021, starting August 25.
Opening Night Live will undoubtedly introduce us to the most important bits of game news that this year’s Gamescom has to offer. We can expect trailers, trailers, release date announcements, interviews, and maybe some new title reveals during the show.
What happened at Gamescom 2020?
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Gamescom 2020 had several major reveals. During Opening Night Live, we got our first look at Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War and a concept art teaser for Bioware’s Dragon Age 4.
There was also news on the Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time and Star Wars Squadrons ahead of its release. The World of Warcraft: Shadowlands release date was also revealed during the event before it concluded with a long gameplay trailer for Insomniac Games’ Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
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