Xbox and Blizard detail Gamescom 2024 plans with hands-on demos, live shows, free prizes, and more on Avowed, Starfield, and Indiana Jones

Xbox is returning to Cologne for another year of Gamescom, and we now know what to expect.

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What you need to know

What you need to know

It was basically a given thatXboxwould have a huge presence atGamescom 2024, as the major publisher is rarely missed at the biggest video games conventions and shows (and, also,Xbox already confirmed it’d be at Gamescom). Now, we know exactly what to expect from Xbox in Cologne, Germany this year, with the company joining forces with its new subsidiary Activision Blizzard for the first time to offer players at the show and abroad a ton of fun experiences.

Xbox’sGamescompresence later this year will boast over 50 new and upcoming Xbox and Windows PC games, split between Xbox’s first-party studios and third-party partners. There will be plenty of hands-on demos, theater shows (that are also livestreamed worldwide), opportunities for fans to win assorted prizes, all the Xbox andActivision Blizzardmerch you could ask for, and much more. It’s looking to be a big year for Xbox, with accessibility being a priority to allow as many people as possible to experience it.

So, we already knew that Xbox was planning its ‘biggest booth ever’ for Gamescom 2024, but we finally know what that actually looks like. The Xbox and Activision Blizzard booth will let attendees and fans go hands-on with a ton of games, including (but certainly not limited to)Age of Mythology: Retold,Ara: History Untold,Towerborne,Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred,Fallout 76: Milepost Zero, andThe Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road.

Don’t forget the third-party studios, as many of Xbox’s partners are also excited to let attendees go hands-on with their games, includingStar Wars Outlaws,Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2,S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Atomfall, and a ton of variousID@Xboxtitles. There will be dozens of games to play, but Xbox is showing off even more beyond the hands-on demos for thebest upcoming Xbox games.

•Best Xbox/PC headsets•Best Windows laptops•Best laptops w/ num pads•Best Xbox storage•Best sim racing PCs•Best ROG Ally accessories•Best gaming laptops

Xbox will also be hosting exclusive presentations in a dedicated theater (which will also be livestreamed globally) with new information and previews of Obsidian Entertainment’s fantasy RPGAvowed, Bethesda Softworks’Starfield: Shattered Space expansion, and MachineGames' Nazi-punchingIndiana Jones and the Great Circle. Blizzard will have its own showings, with an interactive experience forWorld of Warcraft: The War Within, a tournament forDiablo Immortal, and even a life-sized D.VA fromOverwatch 2(shown alongside a new all-electric Porsche, for some reason).

One great bit of news from all these announcements is the fact that Xbox is focusing onaccessibilityat Gamescom 2024. Each booth will be wheelchair accessible,Xbox Adaptive Controllerswill be available for each demo if requested, ASL and DGS sign language interpreters and audio description guides will be on site, Xbox will provide accessory aids and a “quiet room” for anyone who needs them, and Xbox’s “Here to Help” staff will be readily available to answer questions and provide guidance.

That still isn’t everything, though. The next few sections will be dedicated to Xbox’s fan-centric events at Gamescom 2024, when you can expect Xbox to go live worldwide, and what you need to know about Gamescom itself.

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For the Xbox fans @ Gamescom 2024

Aside from the demos and live shows, Xbox will have various areas set aside for fans with unique events, experiences, and opportunities. Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect:

Three days of Xbox and Bethesda livestreams

You don’t have to go to Gamescom directly to learn more about the Xbox’s upcoming games lineup, as both Xbox and Bethesda will be hosting daily livestreams. You’ll be able to find the streams onXbox’s Twitch,Xbox’s Facebook, andXbox’s YouTube. The livestreams will be English, but will also be available to stream in German, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Czech, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Mexican Spanish and Turkish,and ASL and English Audio Descriptions.

Xbox and Bethesda both will be streaming on Aug. 21, 22, and 23 for Gamescom, with Xbox’s daily stream starting at6:00 a.m. PT / 9:00 a.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. BST / 3:00 p.m. CEST, with each day being focused on a different collection of upcoming Xbox games. Bethesda will have its own daily stream starting at5:00 a.m. PT / 8:00 a.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. BST / 2:00 p.m. CEST.

You can read more about all of this on theXbox @Gamescom 2024 site.

What is Gamescom 2024 and when does it start?

Gamescom is one of the oldest (still-running) video games conventions, bringing together gamers, fans, and companies from around the world for an annual event in Cologne, Germany. Since 2009, Gamescom has been a huge source of new games announcements and reveals, the opportunity for hands-on demos and previews, and more. Xbox has historically had a huge presence at Gamescom, and it’ll be bigger than ever this year.

If you want to attend Gamescom or live around Cologne, Germany, Gamescom 2024 officially kicks off onAug. 20, 2024with an opening ceremony, with the main event taking place acrossAug. 21-25, 2024. Even if you can’t attend yourself, plenty of Gamescom 2024 will be streamed worldwide via various streaming services, especially direct from companies like Xbox.

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.