Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022: All the big games announced (and where to preorder them)

It’s time for our final game, and it’s a big one: Dead Island 2! A game we never thought would actually come out, the long-awaited sequel to the popular zombie action game is dropping in February. The game will have six playable characters with their own unique personalities and styles, and will drop you into a dystopian Los Angeles crawling with undead. We’re curious how well a zombie game will do in 2023 given how saturated the genre is, but the based on the gameplay trailer, it looks like wildly fun time that will let you get truly creative in how you dispose of zombies.

Highly anticipated horror game The Outlast Trials got a new trailer for Gamescom, and it’s satisfyingly scary. The first-person survival title looks to have no shortage of jump scares, creepy dolls, surgery scenes and just all around creepy environments that look very unnerving to explore. If you’re up for it, you can sign up for a closed beta that starts Halloween weekend.

Dorf Romantik is a cute strategy game that lets you build and manage little worlds, which looks like a nice little break from the chaos of everyday life (and most of the brooding games launching this year)

Online first-person shooter Crossfire X is getting its biggest update yet with Babylon X, which was commemorated in a quick trailer filled with huge firefights and aerial strikes.

Blacktail is a first-person fantasy action game that has you explore a treacherous forest, and it looks like your decisions may impact the story. I’m a sucker for any game with a good bow-and-arrow, so color me intrigued.

And now for something truly different: A car! We’re getting a first look at the Concept Mini car, which lets you connect your game console and even features a Pokemon mode that tricks out the entire heads-up display with some slick Pikachu graphics. We’re not sure abotu how all of these features are actually going to work, but we’re eager to learn more.

I always appreciate the more whimsical games to break up the many grim trailers at these shows, and Park Beyond is exactly that. This vibrant amusement park simulator allows you to build the park of your dreams, complete with crazy rollercoasters and creative themed attractions. If you’re a fan of making your own stuff, this looks like one you can sink tons of hours into.

Legendary game developer (and Keighley’s pal) Hideo Kojima popped onto the show to announce his new podcast Brain Structure, which will launch on September 8th exclusively on Spotify. Expect lots of game industry talk featuring guests from all over the world – including Keighley himself.

Where Winds Meet is an epic-looking action-adventure game that reminds us of Ghost of Tsushima but with flashier, more over-the-top abilities. It looks absolutely stunning, and is definitely one to watch.

It’s time to go to Gotham. The latest Gotham Knights trailer reveals some familiar Batman enemies, that are coming to the co-operative superhero action game, including Harley Quinn and Clayface. Our four playable heroes (Red Hood, Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing) all look awesome in their customizable gear, and the story – set in a world without Batman – looks particularly interesting. We can’t wait to play come this October

Microsoft’s popular strategy game Age of Empires 4 is getting a new expansion, this time letting you do battle with the Ottomans and Malians. You can look forward to the free update on October 25

Scars Above is an upcoming shooter that looks to offer a healthy mix of sci-fi and horror (not to mention a very Stranger Things-esque theme song). We look forward to getting spooked (and learning more) when it drops in 2023.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is being adapted into a multiplayer horror game, which, much like the Friday the 13th title, looks like it will pit clowns versus survivors. We didn’t see this coming, but we’re down

Renowned narrative game studio Telltale Games is back with a new game based on the popular Amazon Prime show The Expanse. We’re getting a new look at the sci-fi title’s zero-gravity gameplay, which looks more in-depth than the point-and-click adventure games we’re used to seeing from the developer. That being said, the real star of the show will likely still be the game’s branching narrative, which you’ll shape based on your decisions during dialogue and gameplay.

High on Life is a new shooter from the mind of Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland, and it’s every bit as goofy, raunchy and irreverent as you’d expect. The new f-bomb-filled trailer features weapons that talk back to you as you use them, which is a silly and fun twist on the many overly serious first-person shooters we’ve played. It looks pretty fun too, with a giant tongue that you can use as a grappling hook and the ability to deflect enemy shots that come your way. Better yet, it’s launching on Xbox Game Pass!

Online role-playing title Genshin Impact is one of the most popular games out there right now, and it’s still getting plenty of updates. We got a world premiere trailer of the game’s 3.0 update, complete with plenty of promising new abilities and gorgeous-looking environment. Developer Hoyoverse also showed off a glimpse at its next title Honkai: Star Rail, which has a similar aesthetic but within a mysterious new sci-fi world.

We’re switching gears to Homeworld 3, the latest installment in the classic PC strategy series. It looks like a really nice mix of classic strategy game design and modern visuals, with a gorgeous sci-fi aesthetic that fills the screen with ships – and what seems like plenty of ways to command them.

Another world premiere trailer, this one for an epic action game called Atlas Fallen. The cinematic trailer is giving some serious Monster Hunter meets Destiny vibes, though we’ll have to see how the final game shakes out.

We got a world premiere of Stranded: Alien Dawn, which appears to be some sort of survival game that casts you on an alien planet. There isn’t much to go off of for now, but we should see more by 2023.

Lies of P is an intriguing steampunk action game that looks to feature some interesting weapons and body modifications. It’s one of the most visually striking games of the show so far, with moody, gothic environments that we can’t wait to explore.

Friends vs Friends is a cartoony, cel-shaded shooter that has the unique twist of using card decks to determine your abilities. It looks unlike any shooter we’ve seen lately, and has an ultra-catchy theme song.

Moonbreaker is a colorful turn-based strategy game developed by the folks behind Subnautica and with a story by renowned author Brandon Sanderson. It looks both comical, colorful and highly customizable, with no shortage of ways to personalize your army of virtual sci-fi miniatures as you head to battle. If you want a game with the strategy of XCOM and the overall vibe of Guardians of the Galaxy, this is one to watch.

Classic adventure game The Curse of Monkey island is finally getting a sequel on September 19, and we got a comical animated trailer to celebrate the news.

Goat Simulator 3 is looking even more delightful and goofy than its predecessor, as its new trailer reveals all of the new ways you can wreak complete havoc as a goat in an expansive open world. This includes runing a yoga class, dressing up as a goat-knight and swimming directly into a giant whale. It’s coming November 17, and you can “pre-udder” it now.

Under the Waves looks like a touching, narrative-driven game set underwater. Look for more of it in 2023.

It’s Sonic Frontiers time! This new trailer gives us a deeper look at the upcoming open-world Sonic game, which looks visually stunning and larger in scope than any game in the series before it. If Breath of the Wild and classic Sonic the Hedgehog had a child, it’d probably look a lot like this game. We can’t wait to play it, and we won’t have to wait long: the game is dropping on November 8.

We’re getting a look at Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion, which was first unveiled earlier today at the Destiny 2 showcase. Expect more of the same epic space shooting, this time in a new cyberpunk-esque city and a grappling hook to swing around it in. Looks fun!

Zombie shooter Dying Light 2 is getting a Bloody Ties expansion that has you take on even more undead foes in a series of moody cyberpunk arenas. It looks pretty distinct from the main game, which has us intrigued

Tales from the Borderlands was a beloved, narrative-driven spin-off of Gearbox’s popular shooter series, and it’s finally getting a sequel. If you’d rather shape a story instead of simply shoot your way through one, this new Tales is looking like an irreverently fun time.

Here’s one of the big ones. We finally got a new trailer for Hogwarts Legacy, an upcoming action role-playing game set in the Harry Potter universe. The game’s cinematic visuals and variety of magic abilities are looking great, and we’re curious to see more ahead of its early 2023 release.

And now for something completely different. Moving Out 2 looks to serve up more colorful co-operative fun, and will likely test friendships as you and a pal aim to carefully move items out of increasingly complex levels.

The Lords of the Fallen is an epic-looking dark fantasy game with swords, magic and no shortage of skeletons. There’s nothing like watching two demonic knights battle it out while “Mother” plays in the background.

We’re getting a new look at upcoming horror game The Callisto Protocol, this time focused on all the nasty ways your enemies can mutate during battle. Fortunately, it looks like you’ll have no shortage of creative ways to dispose of the undead as you explore a creepy abandoned space station.

We just got a tease of the DualSense Edge, which is a new PS5 controller from Sony that will offer a refined design and lots of customization options for competitive gamers. It looks like Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Wireless Controller, and we can’t wait to try it.

Oh hey, a Dune video game! Dune Awakening is an upcoming, massively multiplayer open-world survival game, with a beta coming soon.

And we’re off! It sure is nice to see a live crowd for this kind of show again. Kicking things off is a tease of Everywhere, which looks like a vibrant open world experience that may hide some dark cyberpunk twists. The developers are being a bit vague about what the game actually is, but color us intrigued

We’re less than an hour before showtime. Here’s one final update from Keighley, who gives us an idea of what to expect.

If you want some gaming action to hold you over until Opening Night Live, the Destiny 2 showcase has just kicked off. This show will reveal what’s next for Bungie’s popular online shooter and is bound to come with some big surprises.

We’re about 3 hours from showtime, and host Geoff Keighley has provided a tease of the big venue where Opening Night Live is taking place today.