For those not planning to visit Cologne in person, as previously, there’s a number of streamed announcements you can follow from home. In terms of what to expect, it’s similar to last year - there’s a headline stream hosted by Geoff Keighley of The Game Awards fame, a showcase from Xbox, a Destiny 2 reveal, and a Future Games Show offering. If you’ve followed our yearly Gamescom schedule guide from previous years, as well as date and time details, we provide some background reading so you know what to expect ahead of time - but as always, there’s bound to be a few surprise announcements along the way. On this page:
Gamescom 2022 conference schedule at a glance
If you’re looking to tune into the biggest events of the show, then make sure you’re free on Tuesday for Opening Night Live. Beyond that, there’s something each day until the weekend. Here’s when every gamescom 2022 conference is scheduled to go live at a glance: One-by-one, here’s the major streams to catch during gamescom week:
Destiny 2 Showcase times - Tuesday, 23rd August
UK: 5pm (BST) Europe: 6pm (CEST) East Coast US: 12pm (EDT) West Coast US: 9am (PDT)
Unofficially kicking off a week of gamescom streams is a showcase from Bungie on what’s next for Destiny 2. The headline reveal will be the next expansion, titled Lightfall, which is teased to focus on the story’s newly emerged threat, The Witness. We should also hear how Bungie will be keeping us busy until then - including the reveal and immediate release of Season 18. Finally, know there is a pre-show starting one hour earlier - details on what’s in there have yet to be confirmed, but know the main reveals will kick off at the above times.
Gamescom 2022 opening night live times - Tuesday, 23rd August
UK: 7pm (BST) Europe: 8pm (CEST) East Coast US: 2pm (EDT) West Coast US: 11am (PDT)
The headliner for this year’s gamescom will feature over 30 games in a two hour hosted by The Game Awards’ own Geoff Keighley. Confirmed showings include another look at Hogwarts Legacy, new gameplay for The Callisto Protocol, Telltale’s The Expanse game, Goat Simulator 3 and Justin Roiland’s High on Life, and a new trailers for Sonic Frontiers and Return to Monkey Island. There’s also a new sci-fi strategy game announcement from Unknown Worlds. No sign of a pre-show as yet - so unless confirmed otherwise, tune into the main show at the above times.
Future Games Show times - Wednesday, 24th August
UK: 7pm (BST) Europe: 8pm (CEST) East Coast US: 2pm (EDT) West Coast US: 11am (PDT)
Hosted by God of War voice actors Christopher Judge and Danielle Bisutti, the Future Games Show returns for another gamescom to showcase over 50 games on PC and consoles. What can we expect? We know there’s “exclusive content” for Goat Simulator 3 and further looks at The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me and Layers of Fears, as well as more on the likes of Deliver Us Mars, A Little to the Left, The Last Case of Benedict Fox, Stray Blade and The Chant.
Xbox gamescom 2022 stream times - Thursday, 25th August
UK: 1pm to 7pm (BST) Europe: 2pm to 8pm (CEST) East Coast US: 8am to 2pm (EDT) West Coast US: 5am to 11am (PDT)
In a slightly more chilled approach for a publisher showcase, we have a six-hour long stream looking at the biggest games coming to Xbox over the next year. The following (copied verbatium from Microsoft) is what we can expect, with new gameplay and developer interviews as part of the showing for select titles: There could be some additional surprises beyond this, of course - though best to temper expectations. We’ll be tuning in for some more Flight Simulator news all the same.
Nintendo Treehouse Live stream times - Thursday, 25th August
UK: 5:30pm (BST) Europe: 6:30pm (CEST) East Coast US: 11:30am (EDT) West Coast US: 8:30am (PDT)
Something new for gamescom week - a Nintendo stream! More in-line with E3’s Treehouse streams than an announcement-filled conference, this will focus on new gameplay and details for two titles - Splatoon 3 (looking at single player and “stages and strategies” for the Splatfest World Premiere demo) and Harvestella (first gameplay), the fantasy life simulation game coming to PC and Switch later this year.
Awesome Indies showcase times - Friday, 26th August
UK: 4:30pm (BST) Europe: 5:30pm (CEST) East Coast US: 11:30am (EDT) West Coast US: 8:30am (PDT)
Returning for another year, this is an indie-focused showcase from Gamescom created in collaboration with IGN. Whether it will trade the sprawling Koelnmesse convention halls in Cologne for Venice Beach in Los Angeles again remains to be seen - but we expect over 40 games and “exclusive trailers, gameplay and a unique arrangement”. Here’s last year’s show for a taste of what to expect:
EEK3 2022 showcase times - Friday, 26th August
UK: 11pm (BST) Europe: 12pm (Saturday, CEST) East Coast US: 3pm (EDT) West Coast US: 6pm (PDT)
Originally scheduled for the 19th, EEK3 - an indie retro horror showcase - now falls within gamescom week for your viewing pleasure. If you love weird, low-resolution PS1-styled horror, this is for you. You can watch last year’s show for an idea of what to expect:
What about gamescom 2022 plans from other publishers?
For a fifth year running (yes, we’ve been counting) there is no dedicated showcase from PlayStation, a publisher who was once a big proponent of Gamescom in previous console generations. Nintendo, who also began doing more with gamescom pre-pandemic, is also absent. It tends to do its own streams around this time of year anyway - and with a Direct dedicated to Splatoon 3 recently, don’t expect anything beyond that. (UPDATE: Well, looks Nintendo is doing something. Tune in for Thursday for a Treehouse stream!) Activision and Take-Two are also not taking part, but Ubisoft, Bandai Namco and Embracer will have a show floor prescence. To risk sounding like a broken record, don’t expect much from any publisher at Gamescom this year - but hopefully we’ll get one or two interesting reveals all the same.
