The world's biggest gaming event is powering up in Cologne, Germany, with hundreds of thousands of players, developers and industry figures expected to attend Gamescom 2026.

Exhibitors have been putting the finishing touches to their stands as the first visitors arrive, ahead of several days showcasing new releases, emerging technology and some of the biggest issues facing the global gaming industry.

For those making the journey to Cologne, however, the games themselves remain the main attraction.

"I look forward to seeing pretty cool indie games in the indie game lounge. It's usually the best part of Gamescom for me," one visitor told CGTN.

Another said the appeal was discovering something unexpected: "I'm just looking forward to going through the halls and seeing what catches me the most and playing that."

Chinese developers will also have a significant presence at this year's event, with Chinese-developed titles nominated across several categories at the Gamescom Awards. The nominations come as studios from China increasingly look beyond their huge domestic market to reach gamers around the world.

But attention in Cologne will not only be focused on what people will be playing next.

Artificial intelligence is expected to be one of the industry's biggest talking points. Developers are exploring how AI could change the way games are created, but the technology is also raising questions about the energy, water and computing resources required to power it.

Lisa Pak, Head of Operations at Playing for the Planet, a United Nations-backed initiative bringing together companies from across the gaming industry, says greater transparency will be essential.

"What's really important here is that we demand transparency from model developers to understand how much energy, water and things like that are being used," Pak told CGTN.

Playing for the Planet was established at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York in 2019. Pak says the alliance has since grown from 19 companies to almost 60, bringing together major industry names including PlayStation, Xbox, Supercell and Tencent Games.

Gamescom itself has also introduced measures aimed at reducing its environmental impact, and Pak believes the scale of the event gives it influence beyond Cologne.

"This is one of the biggest events in the industry, so everybody is going to be here," she said. "When one event makes big steps, the other event really can't stay behind."

With new games, new technology and major questions about where the industry goes next, Cologne will become the centre of the gaming world for the next few days.

Developers will show what they believe the future of gaming looks like. Players will get their first chance to decide whether they agree.