Seven Things We Learned From The Gamescom Opening Night
If there is one thing the world’s game studios need right now, it is a little bit of excitement.
It has been a year without any significant new console debuts, as well as strikes and layoffs affecting thousands of workers.
The opening night of Gamescom is frequently an opportunity for a big, flashy night to get fans psyched for the year ahead.
Setting the tone for the coming year, here are the most important takeaways from Europe’s largest gaming event in Germany.
A Borderlands sequel
In a year when games became films and films became games, the convention center in Cologne hosted a night dedicated to the big trailer.
This year, Borderlands has received notice for its film adaptation, which stars Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart.
The film garnered some of the toughest reviews of the year, but it hasn’t stopped plans for a new game in the primary series.
We don’t know much about the game yet, except that it’s planned to release in 2025.
There are no specific platforms mentioned yet, but this one is expected to be available on the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox’s newest system.
Call of Duty brings us back to the Gulf War
We already knew that Black Ops 6 would take place during the First Gulf War of the 1990s.
We’ve now taken a look at one of the single-player campaign objectives, which features high-speed chases and close-quarter gunfights.
This launch is already being closely monitored.
It is the first time a Call of Duty title will be available on Microsoft’s subscription service, Game Pass, on day one.
Anyone who subscribes to that service will receive this game for free, whereas PlayStation owners would have to pay roughly £70 ($90).
Indiana Jones receives a release date
Bethesda, which is now part of Microsoft’s huge collection of companies, hopes to keep hype for its Indiana Jones game alive by announcing a release date.
Titled Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, we discovered that it will be available before the end of the year—at least if you plan to play it on Xbox or PC. Those gamers will be able to get their hands on it starting December 9, just in time for the holiday shopping season.
There have been doubts about whether this game would make it to its competitors’ platforms; however, it has been confirmed that a version for the PlayStation 5 is in production. That will not be ready until spring 2025, however.
One of the night’s more surprising reveals was a co-op combat game called King of Meat.
Not another cookery game, but a novel take on a dungeon crawler in which you can work together with your buddies to survive a twisted reality show competition.
This one is published by Amazon Games and produced by Guildford-based indie firm Glowmade, which was founded by former workers of Fable developer Lionhead Studios.
Speaking of team-based multiplayer games, NetEase Games has set a December 6 release date for its free-to-play shooter, Marvel Rivals.
Many familiar characters, such as Captain America, Black Panther, and Iron Man, will entice new players to join.
We also obtained a new gameplay clip, which reveals that this game will have a lot in common with the popular hero shooter Overwatch.
A unique take on the world of Fable
Does the name Peter Molyneux seem familiar to you?
As one of the key designers of the fantasy epic Fable, we now know that he is working on a new project called Masters of Albion.
If you’re a fan of the Fable series, you’ll recognize Albion as the name of the world in which the games take place. Curiously, this one does not appear to be situated in the same universe as the previous Fable games.
The trailer demonstrated a top-down real-time strategy game with aspects of resource management and questing.
One more item… from the Mafia
To finish the evening, we got a quick look at a new project from Hangar 13 in the Mafia series.
It will be named Mafia: The Old Country, and while no release date or launch window has been announced, additional information is expected in December. It wouldn’t surprise me if that was widely featured at the Game Awards.
