Gamescom 2024 has officially kicked off with the sixth Opening Night Live showcase, hosted by Geoff Keighley and Eefje “sjokz” Depoortere. Taking place in front of around 5000 people in Germany, the event gave a look into what developers around the world are working on for the months ahead.
Ahead of the main show in Cologne, Kyle Bosman was on hand to host a half-hour pre-show, chock full of announcements and reveal trailers covering a wide range of games:
- Dave The Diver will have crossover content from Balastro, Potion Craft and Mxmtoon later this year,
- Sniper Elite: Resistance is currently in development for a 2025 launch,
- Be Gone Beast will be coming to Early Access in 2025,
- Roadcraft is a building sim set in the aftermath of a natural disaster coming in 2025,
- Nikoderiko: The Magical World is a whimsical and colourful platforming adventure coming this October,
- A new cinematic trailer for Enotira: The Last Song was unveiled ahead of the game’s September 19 release,
- A new teaser trailer for Cairn showcasing the game’s climbing mechanics,
- We Harvest Shadows is a first-person horror set on an abandoned farm created by a single developer,
- A.I.L.A is a first-person techno-horror coming to PC in 2025,
- The first gameplay for Revenge of the Savage Planet, the sequel to Journey to the Savage Planet will be revealed during the Xbox Livestream,
- InZOI is a new life sim coming soon, with a character creation studio available to download on Steam now,
- Tribe Nine is a fast-paced futuristic action RPG from the creators of the Danganronpa series,
- The next instalment in The Dark Pictures Anthology will be a space-faring horror starring Lashana Lynch named Directive 8020,
- The first look at gameplay was revealed for Fatal Fury’s Terry Bogard ahead of his arrival to the roster of Street Fighter 6 next month.
Onto the main show and not only did this year mark one of the biggest in-person audiences for an Opening Night Live, it was also the first time the show was available to watch with full sign language interpretation.
Borderlands 4 is Official
The first announcement in the main show was that Gearbox is officially in development for Borderlands 4. While no story details were revealed, the teaser trailer confirmed that the game would be coming to Xbox, PlayStation, and PC in 2025.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Next up was a new look at gameplay from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Set to release in October, the team from Raven Software showcased a mission from the game’s single-player campaign – “Most Wanted” – which will be set in the early 1990’s and feature the return of Frank Woods and Russell Adler to the franchise.
It wouldn’t be an Opening Night Live without a stacked trailer showcase and the first batch did not disappoint:
- A remaster for the original Goat Simulator was confirmed in truly comedic fashion, and will include all DLC,
- A new trailer for Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis revealed a new boss battle challenge featuring Joker,
- Kyle Crane will return to the world of Dying Light as the playable protagonist for the third entry – Dying Light: The Beast,
- Black Myth: Wukong marked their global release with a new trailer,
- Bandai Namco released a new trailer for Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero ahead of the October 11 release,
- King of Meat is a new co-op combat caper from Amazongames and Glowmade set in a dungeon combat gameshow.
Lynked: Banner of the Spark
Up next was a first look at Lynked: Banner of the Spark, the first title from Fuzzybot. Set in the year 3000, players will be able to build a new world for themselves and their robotic friends, while doing battle with the robotic forces looking to end organic life once and for all.
Lynked: Banner of the Spark will be coming to Early Access on October 22, 2024.
Lost Record: Bloom & Rage
The next project from Don’t Nod – the creator of Life is Strange – showcased a new trailer and announced the release dates. Set in both the summer of 1995 and the present day, Lost Record: Bloom & Rage follows a group of friends as they reunite in mysterious circumstances.
The story will be released in two parts – known as “Tapes” – with part one coming on February 18, 2025, followed by part two on March 18, 2025.
The second stack of trailers gave a glimpse at what is coming soon for players to enjoy:
- A new trailer for No More Room In Hell 2 showcased the game’s eight-player co-op gameplay
- A playtest for ARC Raiders will be coming in Autumn and signups are available now,
- Nikki and Momo are back for Infinity Nikki, which will be the first in the Nikki Up2U series to be released on both mobile and console,
- A new trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was launched ahead of the game’s September release,
- Predecessor is a free-to-play online multiplayer battle arena that is available now,
- Path of Exile 2 will be coming to Early Access on PC and console on November 15
Dune: Awakening
After years of development, there was finally a look at gameplay from Dune Awakening, the upcoming survival MMO. Set in a parallel world where Dune protagonist Paul Atreides was never born, players will start their time on Arrakis as a prisoner, fighting to survive and either working alone or with friends and allies to build their own Guilds and strongholds.
Dune Awakening is currently in development for an early 2025 release on PC, with a console release to follow.
Reanimal
Along with a new trailer for Little Nightmares 3, Tarsier Studios also unveiled their new project – Reanimal. This new horror adventure follows a brother and sister as they try to escape the island that used to be their home after it is overrun by monsters, while also trying to save their friends.
Monster Hunter
Although the release of Monster Hunter Wilds isn’t until 2025, the team were on hand at ONL, with Capcom’s Ryozo Tsijimoto – and translator Mana Takahashi – presenting a brand new trailer for the game, giving players a glimpse of some of the game’s locations and monsters they will discover on their travels.
Another group of trailers was up next with some interesting news to share:
- A Naraka: Bladepoint x Tomb Raider event is coming on August 28,
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves got a new trailer featuring series stalwart Mai Shiranui and will be launching on April 25, 2025,
- Mecha Break’s latest trailer confirmed a 2025 release window and showcased some of the game’s frantic 6v6 combat,
- The next update to Starfield will add the REV-8 vehicle to the game ahead of the launch of the first paid DLC, Shattered Space, on September 30,
- Towerborne is coming to Early Access on September 10,
- Age of Mythology: Retold will be on Game Pass from launch on September 4.
Monument Valley
Up next was news on the future of Monument Valley. A third instalment will be coming exclusively to Netflix Games on December 10. Ahead of this, the original Monument Valley will be coming to Netflix Games on September 19, followed by Monument Valley 2 on October 29.
Civilisation VII
Fans of the Civilisation series were treated to a look at the new gameplay for the upcoming seventh release in the series. Set for release on February 11, 2025 on console, PC, Mac and Linux the game will feature new visuals, mechanics and progression systems.
It was also confirmed during a post-ONL Civilisation broadcast that actress Gwendoline Christie will serve as the game’s new narrator, taking over from Sean Bean.
Marvel Rivals
With the launch of Marvel Rivals just a couple of months away, the free-to-play shooter’s developer NetEase Games revealed two more characters who will be playable at launch – Captain America (Steve Rogers) and The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) – on December 6, 2024
Gamescom Goes Green
Away from the games, Gamescom is also keen to give back to the planet, via both the Gamescom Goes Green initiative – which encourages exhibitors to reuse materials, avoid single-use assets and strive to be more environmentally friendly with their work – and the Gamescom Forest – a partnership project with Treemer where players can contribute to the planting of a climate resilient mixed forest near Bayreuth in Eastern Germany.
During Opening Night Live, there was an appearance from Lisa Pak from Playing For The Planet to present the Gamescom Sustainability Award, which this year was awarded to Tencent Games.
Secret Level
Another game-adjacent announcement came courtesy of Tim Miller and the team at Blur Studio (Love, Death and Robots) with their series Secret Level, which will be coming to Amazon Prime this December.
Featuring 15 episodes, this new anthology series will bring new stories featuring a whole host of franchises, including God of War, Sifu, Dungeons & Dragons, Mega Man, Spelunky and more.
The final batch of trailers included some highly anticipated releases bringing new details to players:
- A new trailer for Kingdom Come Deliverance II showcased the game’s take on medieval Bavaria and teased more of the game’s story,
- Genshin Impact will be launching on Xbox in November
- Zenless Zone Zero’s latest trailer gave fans a look at the new area of New Eridu
- Honkai Star Rail will have a crossover event with Fate/Stay Night in 2025,
- Roger Craig Smith will be leading the voice cast of Batman: Arkham Shadow, a Meta Quest 3 exclusive coming this October,
- Herdling is an exploration adventure coming in 2025,
- Squid Game Unleashed, based on the hit Netflix series, will be coming to the Netflix app “soon”,
- The Witcher’s Anya Chalotra takes centre stage as Haroona in Unknown 9: Awakening coming on October 18,
- A full release for Arena Breakout: Infinite will be coming later this year, according to developer Morefun Studios
- The First Berserker: Khazan will be holding a closed beta test in October,
- Turn-based strategy epic Ara: History Untold will be available on Game Pass at launch on September 24,
- Registration is now open for Dark and Darker Mobile,
- Floatopia is a cosy life sim in a world full of superpowers and floating islands coming in 2025
Masters of Albion
Next up was Peter Molyneux with his new project – Masters of Albion. Currently in development, this new god game centres around the player village of Oak Ridge, which can be fully customised as players progress and grow their community around them. This will come in very handy as nightfall brings with it the creatures that haunt the lands – any of whom could turn their gaze on your home.
Blizzard and World of Warcraft
Joining Geoff Keighley on stage was Johanna Faries of Blizzard with more information on what’s coming soon for players.
First was the announcement that World of Warcraft: The War Within will be holding an early access beta at the end of August, with a Warcraft Direct also on the horizon. There will also be multiple in-game events to mark Warcraft’s upcoming 30th Anniversary starting in October.
There was also a new trailer for the next major update for Diablo IV, which is coming in October. Among the new details in the trailer for Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred was a look at the mercenaries that players can enlist for help on their quests through the new maps and modes.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
The penultimate trailer was a fresh look at the world of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. Narrated by Troy Baker – who will be the voice of Dr Jones in-game – the world premiere trailer explained how this game will take in locations around the world and will feature all the action, drama and perplexing ancient puzzles that are among the hallmarks of this iconic franchise.
There was also confirmation of the game’s release schedule: December 9, 2024 for Xbox and PC, with a PlayStation 5 release planned for Spring 2025.
Mafia Returns To Their Roots
It wouldn’t be an Opening Night Live without one final surprise – which came in the form of the reveal trailer for Mafia: The Old Country. Set in the early 1900s and taking players to Sicily, this will present players with a new and rich story in the Mafia universe.
While there was little in the way of detail, developers Hanger 13 announced that more information about Mafia: The Old Country would be coming this December.
Watch the show in full below.
Words by Megan Roxburgh
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