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.