Gamescom Opening Night Live was a whirlwind of trailers peppered with a few brief live interviews with developers. You don't need to slog through the full two-hour presentation, although you can (we've included the full show above). We've condensed the opening night into one article featuring the must-see trailers and updates on each game's progress.
Saints Row: Self Made
The show started with Volition announcing the next game in the Saints Row franchise. Subtitled "Self Made," it is not a continuation of the Saints Row narrative but rather a franchise reboot. You can check out our separate coverage for more details. Saints Row: Self Made launches February 25, 2022.
Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite got setback a couple of times due to the pandemic but finally has a release date of December 8, 2021. Unfortunately, it will launch without campaign co-op and Forge modes. In addition, Xbox announced it is releasing a Halo-themed Xbox Series X and Elite 2 controller (below).
The Xbox Elite 2 goes for $200. The console, which comes with a matching controller, sells for $550. As of this writing, preorders are still available at Best Buy and Target. Microsoft and Walmart already exhausted their supply. The Elite 2 was only available through Microsoft and is unfortunately sold out, as well.
Marvel Midnight Suns
Firaxis, the studio behind XCOM, announced it is working on a game set in the Marvel universe called Midnight Suns. Unsurprisingly, it will be a tactical RPG where players will work with a team of four Marvel superheroes. There will also be a customizable hero for the squad. The game is set to launch in March 2022, but Firaxis promised to drop a gameplay trailer on September 1 to give players an idea of how it will play.
Sifu
Sifu is one of the more exciting titles to come about for me. I've been involved in martial arts most of my life, and I loved Jade Empire on the Xbox 360, but I can't stand the more recent attempt at kung fu gameplay, Absolver. So far, what we have seen of Sifu has been impressive, and the latest trailer (above) has me more excited to play than ever. It releases on February 22, 2022, for PlayStation consoles and PC through the Epic Games Store.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
Japanese publisher Dotemu is kicking it old school with TMNT: Shredder's Revenge. The only thing new that the trailer tells us is that April O'Neil will be a playable character. Whether she will be unlocked from the start of the game or will be unlockable later is unclear. Check out our separate coverage for more details.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Sledgehammer released a nine-minute playthrough of its Stalingrad demo to showcase the gameplay of its upcoming Call of Duty: Vanguard. The gameplay appears pretty polished, and the action highlighted in the trailer is pretty riveting. I have always been partial to the WWII CoD entries, and this one looks pretty exciting. I can't wait to play it on next-gen hardware when it releases on November 5.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
The Lego Star Wars game The Skywalker Saga got its second gameplay trailer revealed during the opening night of Gamescom. Lego video games have always been rather cutesy, and this one is no different. That said, it does look fun and has many recognizable characters from the Star Wars universe. The trailer shows several iconic scenes from all nine episodes. The game launches sometime next spring.
Jett: The Far Shore
Jett: The Far Shore has been a long time coming. The gameplay focuses on piloting a jet-like craft over vast landscapes. It does have a narrative, and the above trailer reveals some tidbits of that. More importantly, Jett finally has a solid release date of October 5, 2021, so it won't be long before we can try out this unique-looking adventure game.
Gamescom Opening Night Live also had some indie announcements you might find interesting, as well as a half hour pre-show with tons of other trailers. If you didn't see something here that you may have been anticipating, check out the entire opening night presentation in the masthead of this article.