{"id":1006988,"date":"2026-08-17T18:22:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T18:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1006988\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T18:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T18:22:20","slug":"gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-how-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1006988\/","title":{"rendered":"Gamescom 2026 Opening Night Live: Time, Date &#038; How To Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Gamescom ONL 2026\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/e4bb576020a8c\/gamescom-onl-2026.large.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gamescom-onl-2026.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" alt=\"Gamescom ONL 2026\"\/><\/a> Image: Nintendo Life<\/p>\n<p>Gamescom 2026 is almost upon us, and that can only mean one thing&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s almost time for Opening Night Live! Sandwiched neatly between Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley is back with another showcase, presumably packed with news and announcements for the coming months.<\/p>\n<p>In this guide, we&#8217;ll share everything you need to know about Opening Night Live 2026, including when it all kicks off, how you can watch it, and some of the games we&#8217;re expecting to see.<\/p>\n<p>On this page: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-and-how-to-watch\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gamescom 2026 Opening Night Live: Time, Date &amp; How To Watch<\/a><\/p>\n<ol class=\"scrollbars\">\n<li class=\"open first\">1.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-and-how-to-watch#when-is-gamescom-opening-night-live-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">When Is Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"open\">2.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-and-how-to-watch#how-to-watch-gamescom-opening-night-live\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How To Watch Gamescom Opening Night Live<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"open\">3.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-and-how-to-watch#gamescom-opening-night-live-2026-every-game-appearance-we-know-so-far\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 &#8211; Every Game Appearance We Know So Far<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"open last\">4.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-and-how-to-watch#gamescom-opening-night-live-2026-faqs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 FAQs<\/a>\n<ol>\n<li class=\"open first\">4.1.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-and-how-to-watch#how-long-is-opening-night-live-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How long is Opening Night Live 2026?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"open\">4.2.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-and-how-to-watch#will-any-nintendo-games-be-in-the-show\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Will any Nintendo games be in the show?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"open last\">4.3.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/gamescom-2026-opening-night-live-time-date-and-how-to-watch#where-is-gamescom-2026-taking-place\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Where is Gamescom 2026 taking place?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a title=\"Gamescom ONL 2026\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/28a890830f846\/gamescom-onl-2026.large.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786990937_941_gamescom-onl-2026.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Gamescom ONL 2026\"\/><\/a> Image: Ant Dickens \/ Nintendo Life<\/p>\n<p>This year&#8217;s Gamescom Opening Night Live showcase kicks off on <strong>Tuesday 25th August<\/strong>. Here is the exact time that it&#8217;ll get underway in your region:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\" first\"><strong>North America:<\/strong> 11am PDT \/ 12pm MDT \/ 1pm CDT \/ 2pm EDT<\/li>\n<li><strong>UK\/Ire:<\/strong> 7pm BST<\/li>\n<li><strong>Europe:<\/strong> 8pm CEST \/ 9pm EEST<\/li>\n<li class=\" last\"><strong>Asia\/Oceania:<\/strong> 3am (Wed) JST \/ 2am (Wed) AWST \/ 4am (Wed) AEST<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As with many-a Geoff fest, there is also a 30-minute pre-show to the livestream, which may well feature some game announcements of its own.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll be able to watch this year&#8217;s Opening Night Live show via both The Game Awards&#8217; official <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qwC9EFT6EFk\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube<\/a> and <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/thegameawards\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Twitch<\/a> channels.<\/p>\n<p>As ever, we will also be hosting a livestream right here on Nintendo Life, where you can watch along with us and have a good old natter while you do so.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"FFVII Revelation\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/032d53a6b8897\/ffvii-revelation.large.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ffvii-revelation.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FFVII Revelation\"\/><\/a> Image: Square Enix<\/p>\n<p>To maintain some element of surprise, we don&#8217;t know the full Opening Night Live 2026 running order just yet, but a few games are already confirmed to be making an appearance.<\/p>\n<p>The only game confirmed for Switch 2 that we know will be showing up in the show is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/final-fantasy-vii-revelation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Final Fantasy VII Revelation<\/a>, though <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/witcher_3_wild_hunt_-_complete_edition\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Witcher 3<\/a>&#8216;s upcoming &#8216;Songs of the Past&#8217; DLC and <strong>Game of Thrones: War for Westeros<\/strong> (neither of which have been announced for Switch at the time of writing) are also set for a reveal.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll keep this section updated in the run-up to the show with any other games that get an ONL confirmation.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some frequently asked questions you might have about Opening Night Live 2026.<\/p>\n<p>How long is Opening Night Live 2026?<\/p>\n<p>While Keighley and co. still haven&#8217;t put a precise runtime on ONL 2026 just yet, the event schedule on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamescom.global\/en\/program\/onl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gamescom website<\/a> suggests it&#8217;ll last for roughly <strong>two hours<\/strong> \u2014 a similar runtime to what we&#8217;ve seen in previous years.<\/p>\n<p>Will any Nintendo games be in the show?<br \/>\n<a title=\"Gamescom Nintendo 2026\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/bad141fb0df89\/gamescom-nintendo-2026.large.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gamescom-nintendo-2026.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Gamescom Nintendo 2026\"\/><\/a> Image: Ant Dickens \/ Nintendo Life<\/p>\n<p>No, it&#8217;s highly unlikely that any first-party Nintendo games will be cropping up in Opening Night Live 2026, though that&#8217;s not to say that there won&#8217;t be any other Switch 2 titles in the show.<\/p>\n<p>Last year&#8217;s event featured the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/orbitals\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Orbitals<\/a> alongside an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Indiana Jones and the Great Circle<\/a> Switch 2 announcement, so our fingers are crossed that 2026 will be just as exciting.<\/p>\n<p>All that said, Nintendo will be on the show floor, offering hands-on time with the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/nintendo-switch-sports-resort\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nintendo Switch Sports Resort<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Modern Warfare 4<\/a>, Orbitals, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/007-first-light\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">007 First Light<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/metaphor-refantazio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Metaphor: ReFantazio<\/a> and more on Switch 2.<\/p>\n<p>Where is Gamescom 2026 taking place?<\/p>\n<p>Just like in previous years, Gamescom 2026 will take place in <strong>Cologne, Germany<\/strong>. After the ONL show on 25th, the event will then run through until 30th August, featuring more game reveals, hands-on play sessions and developer interviews.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s just about all we know about Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026, but we&#8217;ll be keeping an eye out for more information in the coming days and will keep this guide updated with it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"avatar\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751376851_582_avatar.jpg\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Jim Norman\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image: Nintendo Life Gamescom 2026 is almost upon us, and that can only mean one thing&#8230; It&#8217;s almost&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1006989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[96268,8972,158,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1006988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-gamescom","tag-guides","tag-technology","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117112249148766499","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1006989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}