Gamescom, one of the biggest events in the gaming calendar, kicked off on Tuesday night (August 20) with an opening ceremony bursting with new titles.
There’s plenty to look forward to this year and next, including a new Borderlands (the less said about the movie, the better), Dune Awakening, Indiana Jones, and a brand new Mafia game.
PlayStation and Nintendo skipped the show, but Xbox had a massive presence on the night. Still, most of the games are destined for the PS5 (and some for the Switch, too), so it felt like they were there in spirit.
Enough chat, let’s dig into the new games and their action-packed trailers.
Borderlands 4 is official
In the five years since Borderlands 3 came out, developer Gearbox released a spinoff (the comedic fantasy Tiny Tina’s Wonderland) and a disastrous film adaptation starring Cate Blanchett and, um, Kevin Hart. But, now fans of the loony looter-shooter are about to get another main course in Borderlands 4.
We saw a brief cinematic teaser sans gameplay showing an anonymous Vault Hunter (the game’s treasure-hunting prospectors) scooping up a Psycho mask.
The clip also featured the planet Pandora, where the games are primarily set, floating through a crystal rift in outer space, before being pelted with meteors. Is it in danger? We’ll find out in 2025 when the game lands on PC, PS5 and Xbox (it’s not an Epic Games Store exclusive this time).
Stratfield: Shattered Space is coming very soon
Fallout maker Bethesda’s space-faring epic Starfield was one of the most hyped games of last year. However, the endless loading screens and seemingly infinite dialogue were not for everyone. Since then, the game has received several meaty updates, including one last night that brought a new vehicle: a cool off-roader with speed boosters.
Bethesda also revealed the release date for Starfield’s first story expansion, Shattered Space, which is the first of many DLCs expanding upon the game’s story. It will take players to the menacing home planet of the mysterious faction known as House Va’ruun on September 30. If you bought the Premium Edition of the game, you’ll get it free of charge as soon as it drops.
Dune: Awakening is out in 2025
Leaving Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides far behind, Dune: Awakening will tell a new story rooted in Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi world. This is a Dune game built for contemporary players, with an open-world setting, stealth combat and hacking, dogfights in firefly-style Ornithopters, and base-building galore. Everything a Dune fan ever dreamed of and more.
You’ll play as a customisable prisoner turned spice hunter who must survive the harsh desert planet of Arrakis (and its massive worms). Rising through the ranks, you’ll eventually be able to pledge allegiance to one of the great houses of Dune. The game hits PC at some point in 2025, with PlayStation and Xbox versions to follow.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is a stealthy VR game
The Arkham series did for Batman video games what Christopher Nolan did for Batman movies: turned them into prestige entertainment. Soon, the franchise will get the VR treatment in Arkham Shadow, a new title for the Meta Quest 3 set between the events of Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum.
The first gameplay trailer showed the world through the Dark Knight’s eyes, including his probing Detective Vision. Baddies were punched, bat-shaped throwing stars (sorry, Batarangs) chucked, and smoke bombs dropped.
Expect plenty of silent takedowns and grappling hook-powered take-offs when the game lands in October. It looks like a blast, as long as you don’t get VR motion sickness.
Marvel Rivals will take on Overwatch in December
The world’s biggest superheroes and supervillains will do battle on destructible maps when Marvel Rivals lands on December 6. Two teams of six will fight for supremacy, teaming up with squad mates to unleash powerful attacks in this Overwatch wannabe.
The latest trailer focused on Avengers leader Captain America’s rivalry with his erstwhile BFF Bucky Barnes, while evil scientist Dr Doom played the all-seeing chess master. Marvel Rivals will be available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on December 6.
Black Ops 6 promises a thrilling campaign
Does anyone even play Call of Duty’s single-player campaigns any more? Well, Activision is out to prove that the next story in the blockbuster espionage saga known as Black Ops will be worth your time. Showcasing an entire level’s worth of gameplay, the publisher has got us eager to take a swing at the new mission.
Set amid the backdrop of the first Gulf War, the six-minute clip featured all the hallmarks of classic nineties action movies (the type you’d expect to see Harrison Ford in). There was a crooked US senator, sextortion, a bruising kitchen fight straight out of John Wick, and the type of Bond-style gadgetry Black Ops is known for. At one point, an old point-and-click camera was upgraded to hack into a biometric eye scanner.
The series’ enigmatic anti-hero Russell Adler even popped up in the middle, before a bullet-strewn fight with an armoured hulk showed off the new “omnimovement” system. With the cops surrounding the building, the sequence ended with a dirtbike chase through its halls and out on to the streets of Washington DC. The campaign could be one for the ages if it’s anywhere near as fast-paced as the trailer.
As we previously learned, Black Ops 6 is out on October 25, with the early access multiplayer beta kicking off on August 30.
Monument Valley 3 is a Netflix exclusive
Not content with pumping out original shows you can’t watch anywhere else, Netflix is now in the business of exclusive games, too. The next entry in the gorgeous puzzler Monument Valley will be locked to the streaming service, meaning subscribers can play it at no extra cost and without ads.
It looks more of the same: a surreal journey through a series of impossible structures that players can manipulate to reveal hidden paths. But, when the results are this beautiful, who can complain? It’s out later this year with Squid Game: Unleashed (continuing Netflix’s tradition of turning its shows into mobile games). Oh, Monument Valley 1 and 2 are also coming to Netflix soon.
Indiana Jones is heading to the PS5
It won’t just be Xbox players knocking out Nazis on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the next game from Wolfenstein studio MachineGames and Bethesda’s Todd Howard. The first-person adventure is also heading to PS5 next spring, a few months after it lands on Microsoft’s console and Game Pass on December 9.
When it arrives, you’ll play Indy in a globe-trotting mystery across snake-filled tombs and lush jungles — just like in the movies. You can crack your classic whip and revolver combo when the going gets tough.
Want to get a head start? By pre-ordering either the Premium Edition or Collector's Edition you can play up to three days early.
Mafia: The Old Country goes even further back in time
Hangar 13’s Mafia games have quietly sold more than 34 million copies in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto. Next, the crime series for fans of tommy guns and trilbies is doing a Godfather 2 by returning to the syndicate’s Sicilian roots.
Set in the 1900s, Mafia: The Old Country explores the origins of organised crime on the sun-soaked Italian island. Hangar 13 is keeping the details tucked under its fedora for now. However, fans can expect more of the series’ realism, rich storytelling and a “deep, linear narrative” that explores the brutal underworld of the era. Want to give the series a try? You can play Mafia: The Definitive Edition on Game Pass right now.
Civilization VII is a more accessible empire-builder
Following in the footsteps of Leonard Nimoy and Sean Bean, Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie will judge your evolving empires in Civilization VII as the new game’s narrator. After a six-year wait, the new entry’s campaign appears much more manageable for newcomers and returning players.
It’s split into three ages (Antiquity, Exploration and Modern), with each ending in a global crisis. Players must grapple with volcanoes, dust storms and hurricanes — among other destructive hazards.
Meanwhile, resources must be manually assigned to cities or towns and offer specific local benefits, making trade more strategic. Along with all these factoids, the new gameplay trailer also revealed a more grounded art style, blending realism with stylised elements.
Civilization VII is set to launch on February 11, 2025, on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and the Nintendo Switch. Early access will commence on February 6 for players who purchase the Deluxe or Founders editions.
Gamescom 2024: The best of the rest
With the opening night blockbusters in the rearview, attendees got to sample a bunch of upcoming games on the show floor. Here are the biggest titles from the rest of Gamescom that should be on your radar.
Monster Hunter Wilds expands the franchise’s reach
Nobody does monster hunting better than Capcom’s long-running series, though plenty have tried. Combining the best bits from Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter: Rise, the next entry promises to be more of a crowd-pleaser.
You can now beckon computer-controlled allies when online players are MIA so that you’re never alone (unless you like going solo). Combat also sounds more fluid, with the ability to create wounds that turn into weak spots by slashing away at specific areas on the game’s ferocious beasts. Speaking of which, this game’s creatures span massive bears (Doshagumas), sandworms (Balaharas), lizard-frog hybrids (Chupacabras), and a lightning dragon apex monster (Rey Dau).
Other features include weather effects, herds of giant beasts (that interact with each other and the environment), and plenty of friendly felines that can be put to work as chefs at your massive camp. It may not be a true open-world game, but Wilds is turning out to be the most streamlined installment yet.
Starship Troopers: Extermination has Helldivers 2 in its sights
Starship Troopers is busting out of early access on PC and heading to PS5 and Xbox Series consoles on October 11. When it lands, players can expect a co-op bug-blaster on an even bigger scale than Helldivers 2.
You’ll be shooting arachnids full of holes in first-person mode across 25 objective-based missions. Functioning as military drills, these assignments are designed to prepare newcomers for the 16-player mode.
The first target will be the icy new planet of Boreas, where mutated insects and drones await. Maybe, we’ll even see that new Tanker Bug we keep hearing about.
Infinity Nikki is off to a flying start
Infinity Nikki, an open-world RPG starring a pink-haired fashionista, brought a much needed dose of colour to a Gamescom event dominated by grim shooters and dark fantasy titans. Nikki may be a bigger hit in her native Japan, thanks to a series of successful games, but she’s poised for her global breakout with her next adventure.
Like a cross between the Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing, the game looks like a cute jaunt through a magical kingdom filled with puzzles and monsters, with pit stops for selfies and outfit changes along the way.
According to developer Papergames, 12 million people have pre-registered for the new game, suggesting it could be a massive hit. It looks like the counter-programming paid off.
[Redacted] is a comic book prison break
[Redacted] takes the survival horror concept of The Callisto Protocol and shoots it full of steroids. Like a punk rock 2000AD comic, the game features cell-shaded graphics and plenty of ooze-filled beasties.
Once again, your goal is to break out of the Black Iron penal colony on Jupiter’s moon Callisto only, instead of cowering towards the exit, you'll blast your way through the prison’s mutant and human inhabitants, including an evil lunch lady. But, this is a roguelike with a twist: when you die, your corpse reanimates as an enemy with all your belongings (including your arsenal of meta weapons). [Redacted] hits PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on, appropriately enough, Halloween (October 31).
Want to catch up on The Callisto Protocol first? It’s currently free on the Epic Games Store.
Dying Light: The Beast lets you drive a pick-up truck
Guns are a sure-fire way to attract the crazed zombies of Dying Light, who are somnambulant during the day and on the hunt at night. But, for some reason, the next instalment in the series is chock full of pistols and shotguns. You can still parkour, but your glider has been replaced by a pickup trick, judging by the trailer. This time, the action is set in a more contained tourist hotspot, which has been overrun by the sore-festered undead. Don’t worry, you’re doing them a favour by slicing off their heads. Developer Techland describes Dying Light: The Beast as a standalone story. That could mean it won’t get as many updates as its predecessors.
Is Phantom Blade Zero the next Black Myth: Wukong?
Thanks to the success of Ghost of Tsushima and Rise of the Ronin, sword-wielding warriors are all the rage in gaming right now. If you haven’t had your fill of sharp, pointy objects, Phantom Blade Zero is set to be even deadlier than its predecessors.
PlayStation just released a walkthrough of the game’s demo, currently playable at Gamescom, and it features beautifully realised combat. In an early encounter, the game’s Raiden-style protagonist lets off a bow enshrouded in red mist, before dropping down from his perch to slice up more baddies. The blocks, parries and kicks were as smooth as butter, while the attacks landed like a sucker punch from a tornado. Sparks flew, but not the romantic kind. Fans of Black Myth: Wukong and Elden Ring will surely lap this up when it arrives later this year.
