Game Developers Conference Europe (Gamescom) is just a week away, running August 17 – 21 in Cologne, Germany. It is the world’s largest gaming event, (measured by exhibition space and number of visitors) with 345,000 visitors, more than 6,000 journalists and 700 exhibitors from 88 countries attending the show in 2015. Unlike E3, Gamescom is open to the public, making it the premiere destination for developers and consumers alike.

Current Trends

As with E3, game announcements and demos are expected to include more virtual reality and mobile titles than in previous years. Over 100 (that’s roughly 1/8) exhibitors will present mobile games and tech, rising 20 percent from 2015. Amazon is planning its biggest presence to date, looking to woo Android developers to its app marketplace by hosting the Big Indie Pitch event August 16, Developer Day on August 17 and featuring its very first booth at Gamescom.

Ubisoft will be on hand with VR demos for Eagle Flight and Star Trek Bridge Crew, along with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie. Two of Crytek’s upcoming projects—Robinson: The Journey (for PlayStation VR) and The Climb (for Oculus Rift with Oculus Touch) will be playable in the public portion of the expo. Hewlett-Packard will show its all-new gaming portfolio at this year’s Gamescom, including the Omen X VR PC that comes in a backpack.

Announcements

While most new game and console announcements traditionally occur during E3, Bandai Namco will be announcing a brand-new IP during Gamescom, which has fans speculating. The company also confirmed via press release that attendees will be able to check out an early build of Tekken 7 along with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, a fighting game coming out in October set in the Dragon Ball universe.

GamesCom

While Microsoft made strong announcements during E3, the company has opted not to hold press conferences at Gamescom 2016. It will instead host a “new and more intimate Xbox FanFest experience” to accompany its show floor presence according to general manager for Xbox marketing, Aaron Greenberg. Details of the experience haven’t been revealed yet, but fans attending the show will be able to try out Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, Halo Wars 2, ReCore, Sea of ThievesWe Happy Few, Everspace and Cuphead, among others. Last year, Microsoft used its press briefing to announce Halo Wars 2 and show off trailers for Scalebound, Quantum Break and Crackdown.

Sony will show off its wares, but don’t expect to see the new PlayStation Neo console. Also, for the second year in a row, the company will not be hosting a press conference. It will most likely save new announcements for Paris Games Week in October, as it did in 2015, but Gamescom attendees will still be able to play game demos and try out PlayStation VR.

Rather than hold a press conference, EA will host a “Grand Opening” the day before Gamescom, where it plans to reveal a “trainload” of information about Battlefield 1, while offering hands-on demos for Titanfall 2 and FIFA 17. 

Gamescom combines the fan-focused events of San Diego Comic-Con with the demos of E3 and networking of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) to create the ultimate destination to get fans excited for holiday releases.