Everything Announced During Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024

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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:

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:


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:


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:


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:


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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