Microsoft has announced its plans for the upcoming Gamescom 2022 show taking place later this month in Cologne, Germany. This year's event will be Microsoft's first in-person showing at Gamescom since 2019, but for the benefit of those who can't attend (which, let's be honest, is most of us) it will also offer a livestreamed presentation that will include interviews and gameplay from multiple studios and games.
The Xbox Booth at Gamescom livestream will begin at 5 am PT/8 am ET on August 25 (it's in Europe, remember) and run until 11 am PT/2 pm ET. Along with the English-language broadcast, the event will also be available in German, French, Polish, Italian, Spanish (Latin American & Castilian), Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (Simplified), along with ASL, BSL and DGS interpretation, and English Audio Descriptions.
A detailed schedule will be released closer to Gamescom, but this is "a taste of what to expect":
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios Publishing)
- Gunfire Reborn (Duoyi Games / 505 Games)
- Sea of Thieves (Rare Games / Xbox Game Studios)
- Lies of P (Neowiz)
- High On Life (Squanch Games)
- Grounded (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
- Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios)
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment)
- Minecraft Legends (Mojang Studios & Blackbird Interactive / Xbox Game Studios)
- Planet of Lana (Wishfully / Thunderful)
- Age of Empires 4 (Relic Entertainment & World’s Edge / Xbox Game Studios)
There's definitely some interesting stuff in there. Pentiment, a 16th-century narrative adventure in development at Obsidian, is probably at the top of my list, but Lies of P—the Pinnochio Bloodborne-alike—looks darkly promising too, and of course everyone is waiting for a closer look at Minecraft Legends, the RTS Minecraft spinoff. The indie platformer Planet of Lana, due out later this year, is another one I have high hopes for.
For those who can attend Gamescom in person, Microsoft will have a range of games publicly playable (including Lies of P and Planet of Lana), as well as an opportunity to have your picture take with, among other creatures, the VASCO robot from Starfield and a five-meter-wide Broodmother spider from Grounded, if that's what you're into. Here's when you can get in:
- Thursday, August 25 – 10:00am – 8:00pm CEST
- Friday, August 26 – 10:00am – 8:00pm CEST
- Saturday, August 27 – 9:00am – 8:00 pm CEST
- Sunday, August 28 – 9:00am – 8:00pm CEST
Gamescom 2022 will get underway in earnest with Geoff Keighley's Opening Night Live show, which will begin at 11 am PT/2 pm ET on August 23. The Future Games Show, hosted by our good pals at GamesRadar, will run at the same time on August 24 with a showcase of 50 games from a range of different developers.
