If you are planning Cologne week or watching from the couch, Xbox just published the practical map for gamescom 2026. The booth is built around the brand's 25th anniversary, with a big playable slate and two days of live broadcasts from the floor. The full rundown is on Xbox Wire.
Xbox Marketing puts the scale in one line:
Our booth will feature 25 upcoming games and 140 gaming stations, giving fans the opportunity to go hands-on before they launch.
Headline playables called out by name include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Minecraft Dungeons II, Gears of War: E-Day, METRO 2039, STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, and Alien: Isolation 2, with a longer secondary list behind them.
Hands-on that actually changes the calendar
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is the booth centerpiece: Core 6v6 Multiplayer on Series X, aimed at both Early Access Beta veterans and first-timers.
Gears of War: E-Day is the date that matters for single-player fans. Xbox says gamescom is the first public campaign hands-on, covering Locust War origins and the Marcus/Dom start, ahead of the game's October 6, 2026 release.
Minecraft Dungeons II gets a first public play session. Fable gets something rarer: Playground Games' first live demo theater presentation of public gameplay, focused on mixing melee, ranged, and magic combat. STRANGER THAN HEAVEN debuts a demo with its left/right dual-control combat across three of the five Japanese cities and eras. METRO 2039 is first hands-on ahead of a February 2027 launch. Halo: Campaign Evolved, Forza Horizon 6 (including Drift Attack plus upcoming partnership peeks), and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 National Championship Air Races also get floor time.
The "also playable" stack Xbox names: Alien Deathstorm, Alien: Isolation 2, Bad Magpie, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, Crowsworn, Genigods: Nezha, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, STAR WARS Zero Company, Terrible Lizards, Turok: Origins, and Valor Mortis.
Watch from home: stream times
Xbox will broadcast live from the booth starting at 4pm CEST on Wednesday, August 26 and Thursday, August 27. That is 10am ET / 7am PT each day. Expect interviews, guests, gameplay reveals, and new trailers on YouTube and Twitch. Xbox Wire says the show includes ASL and English audio descriptions, with select content in additional languages.
Booth map and hours
Find Xbox in Hall 7, booth A-0.61.
| Day | Hours (CEST) |
|---|---|
| Thu Aug 27 | 10am to 8pm |
| Fri Aug 28 | 10am to 8pm |
| Sat Aug 29 | 9am to 8pm |
| Sun Aug 30 | 9am to 8pm |
Accessibility notes from Xbox: wheelchair access, Adaptive Controllers on request, some adjustable-height demo stations, "Here to Help" staff, a quiet room and sensory items, plus ASL, BSL, and DGS interpreters and English/German audio descriptions at the booth from 12-5pm Thursday through Sunday.
FanFest
Xbox FanFest hits the Cologne booth Wednesday, August 26 from 8pm to 11pm CEST. Ticket entry runs through Xbox socials and the official FanFest site, per Xbox Wire. Treat that as a sweepstakes, not a guaranteed badge.
What to do next
Floor players: prioritize Gears campaign and MW4 6v6 lines early on Thursday. Remote players: set reminders for Aug 26-27 at 4pm CEST on the official Xbox YouTube or Twitch channels. Follow the Xbox hub and the gaming feed when the streams drop new trailers.