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How to Watch and What to Expect at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023

It’s Geoffin time!

by Hayes Madsen
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Mortal Kombat 1
Warner Bros.

As the busy fall season looms ahead for video games, Gamescom Opening Night Live promises, once again, to provide a wide array of updates and announcements. The Cologne, Germany-based event seemingly gets bigger every year, and host Geoff Keighley has already given a good idea of a few games to expect, including a fresh look at Mortal Kombat 1.

If you’re hoping to catch all of the reveals, here’s how to watch Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023, and what to expect from it.

When Is the Gamescom Opening Night Live Date and Start Time?

Opening Night Live will kick off Gamescom on Tuesday, August 22 at 11 a.m. PT and 2 p.m. ET. Geoff Keighley has confirmed the show will run for roughly two hours, however, there’s also a 30-minute pre-show hosted by Kyle Boseman, that will run directly before the main one.

If you want to catch everything, you'll actually want to tune in at 10:30 a.m. PT/1:30 p.m. ET.

How to Watch Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023

The two main ways of watching Opening Night Live are on YouTube or Twitch, and you can use either Gamescom or The Game Award’s channels to do so. We’ve embedded the YouTube video above for ease of access.

What to Expect From Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023

ONL will give a first look at Alan’s gameplay in Alan Wake 2.

Remedy Entertainment

Geoff Keighley has been careful to temper expectations on Twitter, saying that the show is primarily focused on already-announced titles and stating “Like ONL in past years, this is not a show with surprise announcements or one more things.”

Still, there are a number of games that we already know are set to appear, including a brand-new trailer for Mortal Kombat 1, a look at Sonic Superstars multiplayer, and new gameplay from Alan Wake 2, which the official Twitter account notes will be the first time we’re seeing gameplay of Alan himself. A trailer for Zack Snyder’s new sci-fi film, Rebel Moon, is also set to debut. Here’s the full list of what we know will appear.

  • Alan Wake 2
  • Assassin’s Creed Mirage
  • Black Myth: Wukong
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
  • Crimson Desert
  • Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
  • Delta Force
  • Fort Solis
  • Lords of the Fallen
  • Mortal Kombat 1
  • Nightingale
  • Sonic Superstars
  • Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon
  • Zenless Zone Zero

Even though the show will focus on “announced” games, that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be any new reveals at all. For example, last year Dead Island 2 was re-revealed at ONL, with a release date of February 2023. It’s possible we could see something in a similar vein. But don’t expect anything massive like new first-party games from Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo.

One potential surprise we could see is something for Déath Stranding 2, which counts as an already-announced game. Geoff Keighley regularly puts a spotlight on Kojima’s projects, and on August 21, Kojima posted a photo on a plane on Twitter, showing he’s traveling. At the same time, two days before that Kojima uploaded a series of photos on Instagram, showing Norman Reedus hanging out with none other than Keanu Reeves. This has led many to speculate that Reeves might have been cast in the sequel.

Opening Night Live will kick off Gamescom on August 22.

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