Held at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany, Gamescom is one of the biggest video game trade shows in the world. Last year’s event alone saw held around 370,000 people. Just to understand just how big an audience that is, E3 2019, which is widely still considered the biggest video game show of the year, saw around 66,100 people in attendance. With such a big audience, Microsoft will be heading to Germany this year to bring its Xbox Gamescom 2019 show to share some news and give visitors a taste of what’s next for the company.
Xbox Gamescom 2019 | Inside Xbox start time
To start the festivities, a special episode of Inside Xbox will be streamed live from the Gloria Theatre in Cologne. Inside Xbox is a monthly show that is livestreamed on a variety of social media platforms. Whether it’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb, someone else from the Xbox team, or a developer from one of Microsoft’s game studios making an announcement, the latest news surrounding Xbox will assuredly come from that show.
What exactly is Xbox announcing? As of right now, we can only speculate what it has in store. The only piece of information we have currently is that there will be announcements about “the latest news, games, accessories, and features” and that the team “can’t wait to tell you more about it!”
This special episode of Inside Xbox will go live on Monday, August 19 at 5:00 PM CEST. If you’re not in the Central European timezone, you can expect the show to start at 8:00 AM PDT. It will be streamed on Xbox.com, Mixer, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Xbox Gamescom 2019 | Xbox Open Doors start day
While Inside Xbox is kicking off Microsoft’s Gamescom plans, the show itself doesn’t actually open to the public until Wednesday, August 21. On that day, Xbox will hold an event called Xbox Open Doors in the Gloria Theatre which will allow for fans to partake in community events, game tournaments, panels, and “other exciting experiences.” Specifics on those experiences will be announced sometime in the future.
Xbox Open Doors will last from that Wednesday to Friday, August 23 but no specific times were given. It is also absolutely free to get through the doors.
Xbox Gamescom 2019 | Playable games at the booth
Located in Hall 8 of the Koelnmesse, which can be most easily accessed from the North entrance, the Xbox booth will have nearly 200 stations for attendees to play. Much of the games showcased will be heading to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC at launch. Here are the currently announced titles that will be available for attendees to play on the show floor:
- Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition
- Battletoads
- Bleeding Edge
- Borderlands 3
- Doom Eternal
- Gears 5
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC
- Minecraft Dungeons
- NBA 2K20
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint
On Major Nelson’s post, it does say there will be more, but details on that have yet to be revealed. It is possible that more titles will be added during the Inside Xbox episode prior to the event.
For those looking to buy a new gaming PC, games such as Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition will be playable on the latest Windows PC gaming hardware. This includes custom PCs from BoostBoxx by CSL, and laptops and desktops from Acer.
Xbox is making their booth more accessible than ever. Xbox Adaptive Controllers will be available to use for almost every game, with wheelchair access at every point of the booth’s entry. Additionally, there will be sign language interpreting support in both English and German.
Xbox Gamescom 2019 | Official gear shop
Lastly, the Xbox Official Gear Shop will be returning to Gamescom this year and will be located in the Gamescom fanshop arena. Partnering with Game Legends, Xbox is bringing new apparel and collectibles from franchises such as Gears of War, Halo, and Sea of Thieves. There aren’t specifics on everything you’ll find at the shop, but there will be an exclusive Gamescom Xbox Green Tech Sphere pin available.
