Gamescom 2021 Opening Night Live features two hours of upcoming games

Gamescom 2021
(Image credit: Gamescom)

Gamescom 2021's Opening Night Live showcase date and time have been confirmed.

In a tweet earlier today, presenter Geoff Keighley announced that this year's show will take place on Wednesday, August 25, starting at 11:00 PT/14:00 ET/19:00 BST. 

The two-hour showcase will offer "a new look at this holiday's biggest upcoming video games and what lies beyond." It'll also be "streaming and co-streaming everywhere," presumably meaning you'll be able to catch official broadcasts on all major platforms, as well as being able to watch along with your favorite streamers.

Gamescom held the first Opening Night Live in 2019, and the event returned in 2020 as part of the all-digital version of the show held in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Organizers had originally planned a hybrid digital/in-person event for 2021, but those plans were cancelled back in May in favour of a second all-digital show.

Last year's Opening Night Live featured an impressive slate of game trailers. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Dragon Age 4, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart were among the highlights featured in 2020. With a whole suite of titles due out this year now delayed into 2022 - including God of War Ragnarok and maybe even Horizon Forbidden West - and a full two hours of games to show off, this year's Gamescom could be pretty stacked, making Opening Night Live 2021 a showcase that's not to be missed.

Gamescom 2021 kicks off with Opening Night Live on August 25, and runs until Sunday, August 29.

Gamescom 2021 will feature a playable MMO hiding more than 120 indie games that you'll be able to enjoy within the show.

Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

Read more
Summer Game Fest
Summer Game Fest 2025 confirmed with Geoff Keighley back as host and a new "thought leader event" discussing the industry's "changes, challenges, and opportunities"
FGS Spring 2025
How to watch The Future Game Show Spring Showcase 2025 – and what to expect
FGS Spring 2025
The Future Games Show Spring Showcase is back and will have a new live segment from the GDC event floor
A close-up of the Doom Slayer in the upcoming PC game, Doom: The Dark Ages.
Xbox Developer Direct kicks off 2025 with Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur, and a "surprise" fourth game
A close-up of the Doom Slayer in the upcoming PC game, Doom: The Dark Ages.
Xbox Developer Direct 2025: date, time, and where to stream the showcase
FGS 2023 Multiple Logos
Future Games Show 2025: Watch the Spring Showcase on March 20
Latest in Games
"I didn’t have a single ally": Tekken 4's negative reception put series boss Katsuhiro Harada under so much stress that he left Namco for a year
Quacks: All-In Edition box art
Fellow witchcore weirdos, prepare your cauldrons for a classic potion-making board game refresh with Quacks: All-In Edition
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe looking at map
Assassin's Creed Shadows map size and all regions
The Witcher 4 cinematic screenshot showing a closeup of Ciri, protagonist of the new adventure
"We slept under our desks and lived in chaos": Before the Witcher 3 became an RPG phenomenon, CDPR's CEOs had a tough time making the original game
WOTLK
Following a high-profile guild quitting WoW Classic Hardcore, Blizzard makes the unprecedented decision to revive MMO characters that die during DDoS attacks "at our sole discretion"
Jeff the Land Shark as he appears in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals has an unintentional Team-Up ability for Jeff the Land Shark and Doctor Strange, who can join forces for a bug that sends foes into an inescapable void
Latest in News
"I didn’t have a single ally": Tekken 4's negative reception put series boss Katsuhiro Harada under so much stress that he left Namco for a year
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last of Us
The Last of Us showrunner praises Abby actor's "physically tremendous" performance ahead of season 2: "We just haven't f**ked up in casting"
Quacks: All-In Edition box art
Fellow witchcore weirdos, prepare your cauldrons for a classic potion-making board game refresh with Quacks: All-In Edition
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in Superman
Superman star to lead upcoming thriller movie from Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train director
The Witcher 4 cinematic screenshot showing a closeup of Ciri, protagonist of the new adventure
"We slept under our desks and lived in chaos": Before the Witcher 3 became an RPG phenomenon, CDPR's CEOs had a tough time making the original game
Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter
Jason Isaacs says Meryl Streep should play Lucius Malfoy in HBO's Harry Potter series: "She can do anything"