It’s time for Gamescom, friendos. Geoff Keighley is back to host another big video game showcase, and this time it’s the Opening Night Live presentation before Gamescom. The German event is taking place from August 21 to 25 in Cologne, but before fans, press, and developers explore the showfloor, we get to see a big ol’ preview of some upcoming games. If you don’t want to watch the two-hour presentation, we’ve got a roundup of all the big announcements and trailers right here. If you missed the showcase and want to just watch it, you can also do that below:
Borderlands 4
2K Games and Gearbox opened the show with a teaser for Bordlerlands 4. The cinematic trailer shows psycho masks landing on a planetand being picked up by an unknown robotic character. It will launch in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Hopefully it goes better for them than the live-action movie did.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Next up we saw an extensive trailer highlighting Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s campaign, which will feature a photography mechanic on top of some hand-to-hand action sequences, motorcycle car chase segments, and the series’ core gunplay. That homing knife looks pretty sick.
Goat Simulator
The next cinematic trailer is a hodgepodge homage to several different video games, with references to Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto, and other games from different eras. It’s finally revealed to be (SPOILER) a remaster of Goat Simulator, which will launch later this year.
Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 Reload’s Episode Aigis DLC is coming to the remake on September 10, but it’s also getting a special boss fight in the form of Joker, the protagonist of Persona 5.
Dying Light: The Beast
Next up, Techland announced the next game in the Dying Light series, called Dying Light: The Beast. The open-world, parkour-based zombie game will include around “20 hours” of new content.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO
After a brief look at Black Myth: Wukong’s launch trailer, we got another glimpse of Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO showing Goku and friends duking it out. The game launches on October 11.
King of Meat
Online multiplayer gameshow simulator King of Meat made its debut with Geoff Keighley in animated form getting dragged into its deadly game. That was a cute little bit. Those interested can sign up for playtests on the game’s official website.
Lynked: Banner of the Spark
Next was Lynked: Banner of the Spark, the debut game from developer Fuzzybot. The game looks like one part city builder and another part arena beat-em-up. Its early access period will begin on Steam on October 22.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
Life Is Strange developer Don’t Nod made an appearance to showcase the first gameplay of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. Be on the lookout for some early impressions on the narrative adventure game here at Kotaku after the show.
No Room In Hell 2
No Room in Hell 2 is an eight-player co-op game about shooting zombie hordes. The original game came out in 2013, so this one’s been cooking for awhile.
Arc Raiders
Next we got an ominious cinematic teaser for Arc Raiders, a survival shooter launching in 2025. Playtesting starts this fall on Steam.
Infinity Nikki
As a palate cleanser for all the sad gruesome shit, we saw a a musical trailer for Infinity Nikki, which is full of cute-as-fuck critters singing and having a fun time. It looks adorable with all its legally distinct mascots that kinda look like Moogles from Final Fantasy.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 showed up with a cinematic trailer for all those sickos. The game will launch on September 9, but those who pre-order can play four days early.
Predecessor
Predecessor, the moba shooter from folks who worked on the game Paragon, is entering its 1.0 patch era tonight, and so it made a quick appearance to remind folks that they can join the free-to-play game on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Path of Exile 2
We got a new trailer of Path of Exile 2 and confirmation that the RPG will go into Early Access on November 15.
Dune: Awakening
Next we got a glimpse at Dune: Awakening, including a brief look at the character creator, navigating its volatile desert world, and working with other players across the online survival game.
Reanimal
Little Nightmares developer Tarsier Studios revealed its next game, which is still in keeping with the team’s horror aesthetic and vibe. It looks a fair bit more gruesome than those games did, though, which specifically honed in on child-like nightmares and monsters.
Genshin Impact
HoYoverse showed off a new trailer for Genshin Impact and also confirmed the gacha RPG will finally come to Xbox on November 20.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom took the stage to show off a new look at the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds. The trailer showed both some epic fights with larger-than-life monsters and some of the quiet time you’ll find in towns between.
Naraka Bladepoint X Tomb Raider
Lara Croft is getting around in a lot of different games and crossovers, and that includes Naraka Bladepoint, which is having a crossover event featuring the Tomb Raider heroine on August 28.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Next we got a look at Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves showcasing Mai as a playable character. The game will launch on April 24.
Mecha Break
If Armored Core 6 didn’t satiate your need for a mech game, there’s also Mecha Break, a multiplayer mech game coming to PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Monument Valley III
Geoff took the stage once more to unveil Monument Valley III, the latest entry in the world-shifting puzzle series from Ustwo Games. It will be available exclusively on Netflix Games on December 10. The first two games will also come to the platform on September 19 and October 29 respectively.
Civilization VII
After a reveal earlier this year, we finally got to see actual gameplay of Civilization VII. The trailer showcases different eras of warfare and civilizations. It will launch February 11 on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox, and Switch. A deeper gameplay showcase will begin immediately after Opening Night Live.
Starfield
If driving around space hasn’t been entirely ruined for you by the Mass Effect Mako, Starfield is adding the Rev-8 vehicle to its open-world space exploration as a free update available tonight. There’s also a brief glimpse at the Shattered Space DLC launching on September 30.
Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals got two big hero reveals: Captain America and Winter Soldier. Winter Soldier seems to be another gun-based hero, though his robot hand gives him a few extra tricks. Captain America, meanwhile, has his vibranium shield in hand that can be used to defend his team, but also can reflect abilities as powerful as Iron Man’s explosive ultimate. The game will launch on December 6.
Secret Level
Deadpool director Tim Miller tearfully took to the stage to introduce Secret Level, an Amazon TV anthology series he calls a “love letter” to video games. The series is made in collaboration with several video game studios, and features episodes set in different video game worlds, including Pac-Man, God of War, Sifu, and more.
Age of Mythology: Retold
Age of Mythology: Retold got a new trailer showcasing different mythologies in the remastered strategy game. It launches on September 4.
Towerborne
Next up was fantasy beat-em-up Towerborne. Its early access period will begin on Steam on September 10.
Delta Force: Hawk Ops
Shooter Delta Force: Hawk Ops is coming to Steam Next Fest in October, and will enter early access sometime in Q4 2024.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Medieval RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance II got a new trailer showcasing its horseback riding, as well as sword-based hand-to-hand combat. It will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on February 11. A lengthier gameplay premiere will take place tomorrow on August 21.
Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai Star Rail
HoYoverse had two appearances on the Gamescom stage with a trailer showing off a new area in Zenless Zone Zero. This was immediately followed by a new trailer for Honkai Star Rail’s Fate Stay Night collaboration coming in Q3 2025.
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Next was a gameplay trailer for Batman: Arkham Shadow, the upcoming VR game that lets you see the world from Bruce Wayne’s point of view. It will launch in October exclusively on the Meta Quest 3.
Little Nightmares 3
Tarsier may be making other things now (see Reanimal earlier in this roundup) but Little Nightmares is plugging along, and we got a new look at the horror puzzle-platformer series’ upcoming third entry.
Herdling
From the developers behind Far: Changing Tides and the publisher behind Firewatch comes Herdling. The game seems to focus on a character herding animals through a long journey across distant lands. It will launch in 2025.
Masters of Albion
Peter Molyneux made a rare public appearance to show off Masters of Albion. The Fable creator is returning to—you guessed it—the world of Albion. The game’s development was entirely self-funded and includes members of the original Fable and Black & White teams. It ‘s set in Fable’s world, but feels much more like a god game along the lines of Black & White, so it seems like a combination of the strengths the team has demonstrated in the past.
Squid Game: Unleashed
Squid Game continues to be bastardized despite all its anticapitalist views and is getting made into the mobile game Squid Game: Unleashed. It’s coming to the Netflix app “soon.”
Unknown 9 Awakening
Bandai Namco-published action adventure game Unknown 9 Awakening received a new trailer that also showcased DLC packs available alongside pre-order. It will launch on October 18.
Arena Breakout: Infinite
Next we got a look at squad-based shooter Arena Breakout: Infinite. The game is in early access now and will leave it later this year.
The Blizzard minute
Blizzard took the stage to talk about its upcoming projects. Company president Johanna Faries ran through some quick announcements regarding World of Warcraft, including Blizzard’s plans for a Warcraft Direct that will highlight the future of the franchise. Overwatch 2 is getting a Warcraft crossover, which will include a Widowmaker skin based on the fantasy series. Blizzard also brought outa new trailer for Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred spotlighting the NPC mercenary companions being introduced in the expansion.
The First Berserker: Khazan
Next up was an action-packed trailer for The First Berserker: Khazan. The game will launch in early 2025 with a beta test from October 11 to 20.
Ara: History Untold
Ara: History Untold got a trailer, and man, these strategy games are starting to blend together. The game launches on September 24.
Dark and DarkerMobile
Dark and DarkerMobile got a cinematic trailer showing a bunch of ragtag treasure-hunting rogue types doing a grand tour of every fantasy encounter you can imagine. The game is accepting pre-registration now.
Floatopia
NetEase showed off its upcoming life simulation game Floatopia, which looks real cute and cozy…until someone gets struck by lightning. That was kinda fucked up. Pre-registration is open on the game’s website.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Oh, god, for a second I thought Troy Baker was simply not trying to sound like Harrison Ford while playing Indiana Jones, but it was actually him speaking as himself. But yeah, we got a new look at MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which still looks pretty damn good. It launches on PC and Xbox on December 9 as a timed exclusive before the PS5 version launches soon after in spring 2025.
Mafia: The Old Country
Wrapping up the show was a teaser for Mafia: The Old Country. Developer Hangar 13 is going back to the origins of the mafia in Italy. The team will show more of the game in December.
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