Gamescom 2023 highlights

Gamescom is a big event in the gaming calendar, with many publishers and developers showing up to the event to show off upcoming games and updates to existing titles. Here are some of the highlights from the event.

‘Diablo 4’ Season 2 trailer 

‘Diablo 4’ was a game that critics and fans praised when it arrived, and with season one being out for a while now, a glimpse of season two was highly anticipated. Officially called the Season of Blood, the season will offer new content on October 17, including a new questline, vampiric powers, and five endgame bosses. 

‘Alan Wake 2’ trailer

‘Alan Wake 2’ releases on October 27, and at Gamescom fans managed to get a look at a new skin-crawling trailer with a mix of live-action and in-game footage. The game follows the titular Alan Wake as he attempts to escape the nightmare realm known as The Dark Place.

‘Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty’ DLC trailer

A new trailer for the upcoming ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ DLC, titled ‘Phantom Liberty’ was shown, teasing new story elements, weapons, the redesigned cyberware perks, and the new district called Dogtown. This new DLC will be released on September 26.

‘Off the Grid’ trailer 

‘District 9’ director Neill Blomkamp made an appearance at Gamescom, to discuss his new dystopian battle royale game called ‘Off the Grid’. 150 players will be able to duke it out in the arena, and it will also have a 60-narrative campaign to help flesh out the world. The trailer showed off some of the traversal and fighting elements in action. Players can move about in cars and with grappling hooks and jetpacks. 

‘Homeworld 3’ reveals co-op rogue-like missions

‘Homeworld 3’ will be released in February 2024, 20 years after the game’s last entry. Game director Lance Mueller and lead writer Martin Cirulis spoke to IGN  at the event and spoke about the new War Games mode adding co-operative roguelike missions, letting players build fleets and fight aliens. 

‘Lies of P’ new weapons reveal 

‘Lies of P’ is an upcoming soulslike game based on the story of Pinocchio. It was available to demo at the event, which let players check out and fight the terrifying King of Puppets and some new weapons that will keep players from dying in their quest to vanquish their foes. The game releases on September 16. 

‘Project Mugen’ reveal

A surprise game that was unveiled at Gamescom was the reveal of ‘Project Mugen’, an anime-inspired fusion of ‘Cyberpunk 2077’, ‘Genshin Impact’, and Insomniac’s ‘Spider-Man’. The traversal looks suspiciously close to the latter, with this free-to-play game letting players explore a vast urban open world. No release date has been provided as of yet. 

‘Starfield’ gameplay

‘Starfield’ is launching imminently, and the game was showcased at Gamescom, letting attendees see the opening first few minutes of the game. Bethesda’s Todd Howard and Microsoft’s Phil Spencer were also on hand to talk about the game, with Phil Spencer saying that in a conversation Todd had called the game “irresponsibly large”. Fans will see what he means when the game releases on September 6.

‘The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria’

IGN showed off a new gameplay trailer for ‘The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria’, a game that will give fans the first look at the Fourth Age. Inspired by the fantasy book series by J.R.R. Tolkien, the game will be released on PS5 and PC on October 24, with an Xbox Series X/S version coming in early 2024.

These are the highlights that have been revealed at Gamescom 2023. The event will return in 2024, from August 21 to 24.