Summary

• Gamescom 2024's opening night featured a wide variety of announcements and reveals.
• Mafia: The Old Country, set in turn-of-the-century Sicily, got a barebones teaser at Gamescom
• Civilization 7 showcased its gameplay, with a release date set for February 2025.

August 20, 2024, marked the opening night of this year's edition of Gamescom, the world's largest video game trade fair. As with similar events, the majority of Opening Night Live's runtime is devoted to the reveal of new games, updated trailers, and release date announcements for titles.

And this year was no exception. Tens of updates, world premieres, and other announcements graced the first two hours of Gamescom 2024. Here are some of the biggest reveals from opening night.

10 Borderlands 4 Was Officially Revealed

Due Out In 2025

The first trailer shown during Gamescom's main show was a brand-new teaser for Borderlands 4, the next installment in the long-running series of the irreverent looter-shooter. Little was revealed about Borderlands 4 - players were simply treated to reveals of some early imagery, including a moon cutting through a crystalline field in space, after which a series of meteorites plunge from the sky. A bionic hand picks up a Psycho mask and holds it aloft in front of a fire, and the trailer cuts to the title logo.

This follows the poor reception of the Borderlands movie, which was released to lackluster box office numbers and near-universally negative reviews. Hopefully, the Borderlands sequel will leave some of its stagnating tropes behind, injecting some life into the franchise. For now, it's difficult to tell what Borderlands 4 will look like from this barebones teaser.

9 Mafia: The Old Country Was Revealed

Due Out In 2025

The first Mafia game in nearly a decade, Mafia: The Old Country was revealed in a world premiere at Gamescom. Like the Borderlands trailer, this one's also pretty barebones: it consists of a series of shots of a semi-cluttered room, displaying artifacts like a double-barrel shotgun, a prayer card to Saint Rosalia, and a bottle of wine. It then focuses on a suited figure who steps out on a balcony, looking out at a hazy view of Sicily as the title card appears.

The Old Country is apparently set in turn-of-the-century Sicily, during the earliest days of the mafia. Developers promise it'll be a return to the roots for the Mafia series, although just what that means is hard to tell from this early peek. Mafia: The Old Country is scheduled for release sometime in 2025, so there's plenty of time for a more extensive gameplay trailer.

8 Civilization 7 Provided A First Look At Gameplay

Plus A Release Date

The classic strategy game series Civilization is also getting its seventh installment next year, as confirmed by a Gamescom trailer. This will be the first Civ game in almost a decade, and it builds on the legacy of everything that came before it. The trailer is full of Civ's greatest hits: World War 2 tanks bombard the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal rubs elbows with the Colosseum, and someone drops a nuke on a tiny, walled city. It’s hard to tell what's different from Civ 6 just yet, but the real changes will probably be more nuanced, and may only be apparent after the game is released.

And that day is coming soon. The Gamescom trailer for Civ 7 confirms that the game will be released on February 11, 2025, and is currently available for pre-order. Players who pre-order will receive an additional playable leader, Tecumseh of the Shawnee.

Also revealed at Gamescom was Civ 7's narrator, Gwendoline Christie.

7 Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Got Its First Gameplay Trailer

Due Out In 2025

The first Kingdom Come: Deliverance took the medieval RPG genre by storm, disrupting a long tradition of fantasy-focused games by weaving a painstakingly accurate tale against the backdrop of 15th-century Bohemia. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 intends to continue in that tradition, and revealed a first look at its gameplay during Gamescom ONL. The sequel continues the story of blacksmith Henry of Skalitz, who becomes embroiled in a civil war against Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's gameplay trailer consisted of two minutes of footage, showing Henry riding his horse through vast fields, city streets, and dank stables. It also included more than a little bit of combat, with Henry clashing swords, daggers, and bows with all manner of foes. However, its primary new feature is the addition of ranged weapons - namely crossbows and early firearms - some of which can also be used on horseback. It's due out in February 2025, with a concrete release date to follow.

6 Marvel Rivals Revealed Its Release Date

Plus A Doctor Doom Cameo

Marvel Rivals also had a presence at Gamescom in a trailer that revealed its release date of December 6, 2024. This is a player-versus-player shooter game in which twelve players each select a hero from throughout Marvel history. 25 playable characters have thus far been confirmed for Marvel Rivals, including Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, Magneto, Venom, and Scarlet Witch. Different heroes have different, unique synergies with one another, that make certain combinations of characters more powerful than others.

Three different, Overwatch-inspired game modes are included: Convoy, Domination, and Convergence. The end of the Gamescom trailer for Marvel Rivals also teased Doctor Doom's presence in the game. The story revolves around a time paradox in which Doctor Doom meets his heroic self from another universe, but it's unknown whether he'll actually be a playable character. Either way, Marvel Rivals will be released on December 6 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S consoles.

5 Starfield Revealed A Free Land Vehicle Update

Plus A Shattered Space Release Date

Starfield also revealed the release date for its long-awaited Shattered Space DLC, now expected to come out on September 30, 2024. Shattered Space takes players to a new region of the galaxy, prominently featuring Va'ruun'kai, the founding site of the House Va'ruun religion. Players will learn more about House Va'ruun's founder, and perhaps the Great Serpent itself, as they explore this isolated region of outer space.

Besides that, Starfield also got a free update, featuring the long-awaited addition of a land vehicle: the REV-8. This is aimed at addressing one of the biggest criticisms with the game, which holds that Starfield's barren planets are too big and empty to make exploration enjoyable. The armed, nitro-boosted REV-8 will make getting around much more enjoyable. Players will also have a sense of ownership over their vehicles with a wealth of customization options. The REV-8 update is available now, and free for all existing players.

4 Batman: Arkham Shadow Revealed VR Gameplay

Plus A Release Window

VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow also revealed some gameplay during Gamescom ONL. This will be the next installment in the long-running Arkham series, an action-adventure franchise centered on the Caped Crusader’s escapades across Gotham. Arkham Shadow will mark the second VR game in the series, after Batman: Arkham VR in 2016, and will be exclusive to the Meta Quest 3. Its Gamescom trailer showed off some of its action gameplay, with Batman performing impressive movement abilities using grappling hooks, scanning for enemies with infrared goggles, and beating down thugs with powerful punches. The infrared goggles also appear to play a role in certain puzzles, with Batman using them to sense certain clues and fingerprints to help him track enemies and locate the Rat King.

The new trailer for Batman: Arkham Shadow also revealed its release window of October 2024. Further details, including a more final release date, are expected to be announced closer to launch.

3 Monster Hunter Wilds Got A New Extended Trailer

Gameplay & Story

The Monster Hunter Wilds also debuted a trailer showcasing both its gameplay and its story at this year's Gamescom. The trailer features a look at some of its new and returning beasts, including Lala Barina, a spider that can sprout red flowers from its thorax, an unnamed giant boar with thick skin, and a lightning-powered dragon, introduced as the region's apex predator Rey Dau. The trailer also provided a look at two of the game's new regions: a desert outpost full of merchant stalls and gourmand Palicos, and the Scarlet Forest, a dark region of long-dead trees.

The story appears to center on the coming of Rey Dau, who will likely be the game's final (or near-final) boss. Besides the new monsters and story details, Monster Hunter Wilds also revealed a mechanic by which monsters can turn sand into glass with powerful lightning strikes. Monster Hunter Wilds is expected to be released in 2025 - no updates on its release date this time.

2 Dune: Awakening Got A Gameplay Trailer

Plus An Early 2025 Release Window

It seems like Dune: Awakening has been in the works forever, but it finally got a gameplay trailer and release window - early 2025 - during the opening night of Gamescom. The extended, five-minute trailer takes players through the core gameplay loop, a Rust-esque drop onto a barren planet, where players can befriend or betray any others they come across. It features ornithopter flight, hunter-seeker stealth action, and naturally, thrilling sandworm combat. Players will build permanent bases in the desert as they gather resources, setting up new amenities and crafting stations as they find new ways to survive.

Dune: Awakening is finally confirmed to be coming out in early 2025, three years after its initial reveal in 2022. Players can likely expect further details closer to launch - perhaps at this year's Game Awards.

1 Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Got A Release Date

Plus A PS5 Release Confirmation

Bethesda's action-adventure game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also got an official release date of December 9, 2024. The game will follow the iconic, whip-slinging archeologist on a globe-trotting adventure, running from of the Axis Powers of World War 2 as he seeks history-altering artifacts that bring him closer to the heart of a worldwide conspiracy. The game was first announced back in January, but details were scarce. Specifics on the gameplay and plot have been filled in between Summer Game Fest and Gamescom.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is also now confirmed to be coming to PS5 consoles, albeit with a later release date of April 2025. It was previously believed to be an Xbox and PC exclusive, but this appears to be part of a wider strategy by both Microsoft and Sony to take their games multi-platform. This moment of post-console war unity, accentuated by a major announcement for one of the most anticipated games of 2024, was a highlight of this year's Gamescom.