Gamescom live streams: Every event you need to watch this week

Gamescom‘s all-digital event kicks off this week, bringing with it a slew of new game announcements and glimpses of the biggest upcoming titles.

Gamescom 2021 will be an all-digital event for the second year running after its organisers abandoned plans to stage a hybrid show combining digital elements with on-site events, due to restrictions around the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gamescom 2021’s main event days will take place from August 26-27, following an Opening Night Live showcase, which will again be produced by journalist Geoff Keighley.

Major game publishers have confirmed their participation in this month’s event including Xbox, EA, Sega and Activision.

Read on for all the major Gamescom live streams you need to look out for and stay tuned to VGC for the biggest news as it arrives.

Destiny 2 Showcase

Bungie is set to hold a Destiny showcase on Tuesday, August 24 at 9am PT / 5pm BST / 6pm CEST detailing both Season of the Lost and possibly next year’s Witch Queen expansion.

Potentially, the event could lend even further weight to an alleged leak detailing the game’s future roadmap. Destiny 2 could be set to receive Halo-themed content as part of Bungie’s 30th anniversary plans later this year, according to a document claiming to contain leaked content.

The Destiny 2 community has been documenting elements of the alleged leak that have since been proven correct, and this week a significant milestone was hit when Bungie confirmed the game’s next season, Season of the Lost – something first named in the ‘leak’ post.

Xbox Gamescom Stream

The official Gamescom 2021 Xbox Stream is set for Tuesday, August 24 at 10am PT/6pm BST/7pm CEST and will offer “in-depth updates from some of our previously announced Xbox Game Studios titles alongside some of our third-party partners,” as well as news on titles coming to Xbox Game Pass.

Xbox Game Studios will likely use the event to provide updates on upcoming 2021 games such as Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite.

Users can watch the show on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook Gaming, Twitter, and select regional sites like VK.com in Russia and Bilibili in China.

In addition, Xbox also points to the August 25 Gamescom: Opening Night Live in its show plans brief, which could suggest that the platform holder will also feature some of its games during the Geoff Keighley-hosted show.

In addition to the Xbox event, Bethesda Germany will have its own livestream program over several days, starting August 26. You can tune in to Bethesda’s MainStream on Twitch.

Gamescom Opening Night Live

Gamescom will again hold its own live event on Wednesday, August 25 with an Opening Night Live showcase including over 30 games, Koelnmesse and the German Games Industry Association have confirmed.

Opening Night Live will start at 10.30am PT / 1.30pm ET / 6.30pm BST / 7.30pm CEST with a half-hour pre-show, followed by the main event, which will last for two hours.

“We’re delighted to produce another Gamescom: Opening Night Live, which will present more than 30 games from across the industry this year,” said event host and producer Geoff Keighley.

“The community can look forward to new game reveals, updates on the most anticipated games and other surprises with guests on stage and much more – all live streamed for fans around the world.”

This year, for the first time, Keighley will be joined by a co-host from Germany, with GameStar’s Natascha Becker sharing the stage.

Gamescom Awesome Indies

The indie-focused showcase is again set to take place on Thursday, August 26 at 11am PT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST, and offer exclusive looks and “the most exciting indie games on the horizon”.

The event, which is produced in collaboration with website IGN, will again be hosted by internet personality Michael Swaim from Los Angeles, California.

Announcements and trailers will be interspersed with “comedy bits and other surprises in various locations around Venice Beach”.

Future Games Show

Future Publishing’s Future Games Show at Gamescom arrives on Thursday, August 26 at 1pm PT / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST, hosted by Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village) and Aaron LaPlante (The Duke from Resident Evil Village).

“This special Gamescom edition of the Future Games Show will feature more than 40 games from a variety of publishers including Frontier Developments, Team17, Koch Media, and Tripwire Interactive,” Future said.

“The series of Future Games Shows have enjoyed over 100 million viewers so far, with a record-breaking E3 2021 event which reached three million+ live viewers and 35 million+ post-show views.”