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Today’s the day! Gamescom Opening Night Live is right around the corner, so make sure you’re up to date on the following facts, and let’s get ready for the show.
Gamescom 2026 is almost upon us, and that can only mean one thing…
It’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.
In this guide, we’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’re expecting to see.
This year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live showcase kicks off on Tuesday 25th August. Here is the exact time that it’ll get underway in your region:
- North America: 11am PDT / 12pm MDT / 1pm CDT / 2pm EDT
- UK/Ire: 7pm BST
- Europe: 8pm CEST / 9pm EEST
- Asia/Oceania: 3am (Wed) JST / 2am (Wed) AWST / 4am (Wed) AEST
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.
You’ll be able to watch this year’s Opening Night Live show via both The Game Awards’ official YouTube and Twitch channels.
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.
To maintain some element of surprise, we don’t know the full Opening Night Live 2026 running order just yet, but a few games are already confirmed to be making an appearance.
The only game confirmed for Switch 2 that we know will be showing up in the show is Final Fantasy VII Revelation, though The Witcher 3‘s upcoming ‘Songs of the Past’ DLC and Game of Thrones: War for Westeros (neither of which have been announced for Switch at the time of writing) are also set for a reveal.
We’ll keep this section updated in the run-up to the show with any other games that get an ONL confirmation.
Here are some frequently asked questions you might have about Opening Night Live 2026.
How long is Opening Night Live 2026?
While Keighley and co. still haven’t put a precise runtime on ONL 2026 just yet, the event schedule on the Gamescom website suggests it’ll last for roughly two hours — a similar runtime to what we’ve seen in previous years.
Will any Nintendo games be in the show?
No, it’s highly unlikely that any first-party Nintendo games will be cropping up in Opening Night Live 2026, though that’s not to say that there won’t be any other Switch 2 titles in the show.
Last year’s event featured the likes of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight and Orbitals alongside an Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Switch 2 announcement, so our fingers are crossed that 2026 will be just as exciting.
All that said, Nintendo will be on the show floor, offering hands-on time with the likes of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, Modern Warfare 4, Orbitals, 007 First Light, Metaphor: ReFantazio and more on Switch 2.