Gamescom is Europe’s biggest annual game conference, normally held in Cologne, Germany, in the second half of August.
The conference normally features the biggest names in the industry, including Sony PlayStation, Microsoft, Nintendo as well as popular game developers Bethesda, Ubisoft, Activision and much more.
The companies attending the event normally showcase their latest or upcoming games with announcements, trailers, demos or interviews. Gamescom 2018 will kick off on August 21, but what can we expect from this year’s event?
Gamescom 2018 runs from August 21-25 and tickets are open to the general public. While the first day is generally set aside for the press, public tickets are available for the remaining four days.
Tickets cost 15.50€ in advance or 18.50€ on the day. While tickets for Saturday (August 25) tickets have already sold out, there are still plenty for the other three dates.
While most gaming companies made their big announcements at E3, a larger gaming conference that takes place every year in Los Angeles, Gamescom will allow developers to dive deeper into those games and potentially give fans an opportunity to play them.
Microsoft will be attending the event but instead of hosting a physical conference, the company will stream an announcement on August 21 at 4:30 pm UK time for Xbox.com, Mixer, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Sadly, the company haven’t revealed what the stream will be about. However, it’s also thought that Microsoft may show off more of their upcoming Forza Horizon 4 which was first announced at E3.
Nvidia will also be attending the event and has been teasing an event called the “GeForce Gaming Celebration”. It’s rumoured the company will be announcing its upcoming GTX1180 graphics card.
Meanwhile, the official invite from the company said the event will be filled with “new, exclusive, hands-on demos of the hottest upcoming games, stage presentations from the world’s biggest games developers and some spectacular surprised!”
Sony and PlayStation don’t normally make any new announcements at Gamescom as they prefer to focus on their own Paris Games Week in October. Following the plethora of announcements PlayStation made at E3, however, we might see some playable demos.
It’s thought that PlayStation will showcase their upcoming Spider-Man game, which is due for a release two weeks after the event. It’s also rumoured that we may see some gameplay for Days Gone, a title set to release early next year. It’s unlikely that we’ll see demos for The Last of Us Part II or Death Stranding.
Nintendo will also be at the event, though it’s unknown why they might announce or showcase. It’s thought that the company may show gameplay for their Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Pokemon Let’s Go! after announcing them at E3 last month.
Meanwhile, EA have announced that Gamescom visitors will be able to get their hands on upcoming titles Battle V and FIFA 19. We might even see some more information on Arsenal player Mesut Özil’s own eSports team, which was announced last week.
Ubisoft, who announced a number of games at E3, will most likely hold a behind-closed-doors conference for the press. However, it’s thought that the company will offer fans a chance to play their upcoming Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Starlink games, along with possible new content for Rainbow Six Siege.
Activision will most likely concentrate on their next few upcoming games, most of which have set release dates for this year. We’ll probably get a look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Skull & Bones, Destiny 2’s DLC Forsaken and the highly anticipated Spyro: The Reignited Trilogy.
After the huge announcement of Fallout 76, many fans may be disappointed to discover that the online game will not be playable at Gamescom 2018. Instead, however, Bethesda are expected to show off Rage 2 and VR title Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot.
Other companies expected to attend the event include Amazon, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Blizzard, CD Projekt RED, Intel, Logitech, Warner Bros, Square Enix, Sega and much more.
Pure entertainment – that’s #gamescom! Diverse, top-class events with numerous gaming, music and show acts await you both at the fair and throughout Cologne. Learn more: https://t.co/U913sNGE2g
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Gamescom 2017 broke records when a whopping 350,000 visitors from 106 different countries all attended the event.
Last year’s conference saw the announcement of Xbox’s One X console, as well as trailers for Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Assassin’s Creed Origins as well as a look at Sea of Thieves.
Meanwhile, Nintendo a SNES-inspired 3DS XL, as well as Nintendo 3DS, games Super Mario 3D Land, Luigi’s Mansion 2 and Kirby Triple Deluxe. The company also revealed a trailer for Metroid Samus Returns and gameplay for Super Mario Odyssey.
Sony PlayStation revealed a trailer for Shenmue III and Destiny 2 and offered fans the chance to play Destiny 2, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and several Play Link games.
EA revealed trailers for Star Wars Battlefront II, FIFA 18 and news on The Sims franchise. Bethesda offered in-depth looks at VR titles Fallout and Doom as well as hands-on demos of Evil Within 2.
Other announcements or gameplay trailers from Gamescom 2018 included Far Cry 5, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Final Fantasy XV, For Honour and South Park: The Fractured But Whole.
