Geoff Keighley kickstarted Gamescom 2023 with his annual Opening Night Live event, which brought us new gameplay trailers and announcements for games releasing this year and beyond.
Catch all of the biggest game announcements and reveals in our recap below.
Biggest announcements from Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023
Starfield Live-Action Trailer
Bethesda’s Todd Howard came on stage at the Gamescom Opening Night Live to drop a new live-action trailer for Xbox’s upcoming sci-fi RPG, Starfield. Starfield is the first new IP from Bethesda in nearly 25 years, and it releases on September 6 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Game Pass.
Zack Synder Rebel Moon First Trailer
Zack Synder’s Rebel Moon received its first full trailer at the event, featuring an extensive look at the upcoming new (potential) sci-fi universe from the famous director. Rebel Moon – Part 1: Child of Fire will release on Netflix on December 22, and Part 2: Scargiver will arrive on April 19, 2024.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 First Level Trailer
While the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was expectedly stellar (and full of silenced pistol kills), the big twist was that the game will send players to Verdansk, which some will recognize as the original setting for Warzone.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 releases on November 10, 2023 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage Trailer in Arabic
Ubisoft rolled out a new trailer for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, showcasing more of its ninth-century Baghdad setting. And in a surprising and bold move, the trailer was entirely in Arabic to reflect the game’s setting. The game releases on October 5, 2023 for PC, PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 and Phantom Liberty Announcement
CD Projekt Red not only revealed a brand new trailer for Cyberpunk 2077’s upcoming DLC, Phantom Liberty, but also announced that all of the version 2.0 updates from the DLC will also be available for the base for free for all players – regardless if they purchase the DLC or not.
Phantom Liberty is scheduled to release on September 26 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Diablo 4 Season 2 Title Revealed
Blizzard took to the stage to celebrate the immense success of Diablo 4 and to announce the official title of Season 2, called Season of Blood. The new season will release on October 17, 2023, where players can adventure with a new vampire hunter companion named Erys, voiced by Eternals’ Gemma Chan. The new season will also bring a new questline, Vampiric Powers, five additional endgame bosses, more efficient inventory management of gems (finally!), and much more.
Mortal Kombat 1 Reveals Two New Fighters
Ed Boon got up on stage to drop another fatality with a new Mortal Kombat 1 trailer, which revealed that Sindel and General Shao will be joining the ever-growing roster of characters. Motaro and Shujinkop will also be added as Kameo characters. The game releases on September 14, 2023 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Alan Wake 2 Invites You to The Dark Place
Alan Wake 2’s new trailer showcased what the game calls “the dark place”, a dream reality that spawns from the mind of the main protagonist, Alan Wake. Sam Lake, the writer and director behind Alan Wake 2, also revealed that the game will seamlessly integrate live-action footage with gameplay to give the dreamlike nature some depth and extra spookiness. We have no idea how that will be done, but we are curious to find out. Alan Wake 2 releases on October 17, 2023, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Mufaddal Fakhruddin has been writing about games and technology for the past 15 years. He has lost count as to how many reviews he has written over the years, but he is sure headphone reviews make up at least 70% of that.