Gamescom 2026: Round Up

We’re back from Gamescom 2026, and once again, it was a brilliant week. 

Cologne became the centre of all things gaming, bringing together hundreds of thousands of fans (368k in fact, with attendance growing from 2025 by 6%), developers, and industry folk to celebrate what’s coming up in the world of interactive entertainment. From massive AAA reveals to indie gems, the halls of the Koelnmesse were buzzing with energy, creativity, passion and copious amounts of coffee. 

If you’ve never been to Cologne, we highly recommend it, it’s such a beautiful city and if you’re into games, it’s a most excellent place to be during the event.

Let’s dive into our (my) top picks, what we’re excited about and our key takeaways from the industry event…

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Opening night

As is tradition, the one and only Geoff Keighley kicked the event off with a showcase that delivered a plethora of trailers, gameplay premiers and launch announcements. The atmosphere was incredible and it's hard not to get caught up in the general excitement of it all!

Our standouts:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Free Remaster & "Songs of the Past"

Our old friends, CD Projekt RED surprised the crowd by announcing a free current-gen update alongside a brand-new story expansion, Songs of the Past, bringing the much loved Geralt back into focus with updated mechanics and new lands to explore.

Final Fantasy VII Revelation

Square Enix gave fans an in-depth look at combat and cinematic storytelling for Revelation. Crucially, the series studio director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed a simultaneous release across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, however no specific date was set. We’re currently looking at 2027 for the reveal. 

Gears of War: E-Day

The Coalition and People Can Fly showcased Gears of War: E-Day’s campaign trailer, featuring grueling, visceral gameplay built on Unreal Engine 5, detailing the origin story of Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago, complete with co-op campaign support. 

The game serves as a prequel to the original 2006 title and marks the sixth main entry in the franchise. Global release is set for October 6, 2026 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. 

Nodus Fall

Created by the company that brought us Genshin Impact, Nodus Fall is a much darker fantasy, set in a world filled with chaos and haunted by ancient hatreds. Nodus Fall is a co-op action game where players take on the role of a "Weaver" and use divine power to conquer mythical beasts. Personally, very excited for this one - no release date just yet, so we'll have to be patient. 

Silent Hill: Townfall 

Developers Screen Burn have brought us a standalone spin-off of the Silent Hill franchise that we know and love. 

Silent Hill: Townfall is set in 1996 (got to love that nostalgia hit) in a fictional, foggy Scottish town called St. Amelia. We follow Simon Ordell as he’s called back to the island to “put things right”. The town is seemingly abandoned but not quite at rest. Release date is set for September 24, on PS and PC.

Crimson Desert Enhanced 

Pearl Abyss revealed Crimson Desert Enhanced, with an improved version of the action-adventure game that was released earlier this year. The trailer explored game updates, additional narrative and background for the journey, expanded voice-over and language support. This is available as a free update for anyone that owns the game base and is playable across all platforms. 

Rayman Legends Retold 

Personally, very invested in this as it’s a game from childhood. 

Ubisoft brings us new realms, content, graphics, and voiced cinematics. Rayman Legends Retold showcases yet another new musical stage that'll be featured in the game, and I hope you’re ready for this… Again, with the 90’s nostalgia, it's the Macarena. Yep.

Apparently we’ll also be seeing another musical stage based on MC Hammer's Can't Touch This. It just gets better. Release date will be October 1st, 2026.

Game of Thrones: War for Westeros 

Calling all Westeros fans… An RTS from developers PlaySide Studios set in George R.R.Martin’s universe has been revealed. 

Originally announced last year at Summer Game Fest, Gamescom 2026 enabled us to see the first gameplay trailers.  Heavily adopting visuals from the HBO series and featuring characters such as “you know nothing” Jon Snow, the game aims to give players the opportunity via tactical gameplay to “re-write” the ending.

Co-op, free-for-all online multiplayer and skirmish settings will be available. No official release date yet, other than “early 2027”. 

Exodus 

Archetype Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast stole the spotlight with their announcement of the release date for their upcoming sci-fi action RPG, Exodus - April 7th, 2027.

‍The Mass Effect-like RPG revealed a new companion, an octopus known as Salt. Salt is an “awakened” octopus who pilots a huge mech suit and is clearly quite a force of nature. The game is confirmed for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam.

Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons

Invoke Studios and once again, Wizards of the Coast revealed the world premier trailer for Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons.  A third-person, single-player, action and adventure game set within a dark fantasy open world, you’ll be following the character Kaatri, a fierce warrior on a quest to find someone long-lost.  Scheduled to launch in 2027 (no specific date as of yet), this will be available via PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. 

1666 Amsterdam 

Originally announced at Summer Game Fest earlier this year, 1666 Amsterdam is now available via Steam and the Epic Game Store. The fantasy project from Patrice Désilets (the creator of Assassin's Creed) blends witchcraft and time travel. Players can fight demonic forces by switching between two protagonists: a witch named Noa, and a cat named Aaron (genuinely, so much time for this).

The current build includes the first two chapters (around 15 hours of gameplay), with further to come next year. As I mentioned earlier in the year, and as you can probably tell, this is very much my cup of tea.

Heroes of Might and Magic III 

Ubisoft did a cheeky surprise revealing of Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake, with the official trailers showcasing the legendary 1999 strategy classic fully rebuilt in 3D and 4K. 

You’ll be able to play the original Restoration of Erathia campaign, alongside two major expansions, Armageddon’s Blade and The Shadow of Death. Not only that, but Ubisoft announced that the game will maintain backward compatibility with thousands of community-made maps that have stacked up over the last 25 years… Love that. 

It’ll be available across PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, but no official release date as of yet, just 2027 as a marker. 

Our team at Gamescom

Opening Night Live is obviously such an amazing part of our trip to Gamescom, but we’re mainly there to meet people, talk shop and see who we can collaborate with. 

For the team, it was a week of meetings with partners, content creators, media brands, and publishers in the business halls. Gamescom continues to be such a great opportunity for teams across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific to connect and collaborate.

Matty Brown, our Account Director said "Another Gamescom done, and what has to be the biggest of my various visits to Cologne. One thing is clear, despite the turbulence in the industry, gaming is bigger than ever and the future is bright. It was great to meet with contacts new and old, discussing the divide and differences in marketing plans between regions."

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Two point were really clear to us:

Native authenticity drives conversion: Across editorial coverage and brand partnerships (particularly within the AA and indie space) audience trust hinges on native integration. Content that feels genuinely tailored to the publication, creator, or game universe consistently outperforms glossy, over-produced advertorials. Authenticity, transparent developer stories, and organic community alignment remain the strongest drivers for player wishlists and long-term retention.

Gaming is leading the charge: It's all about cross-media projects; whether it's Palworld launching their TCG, Street Fighter heading towards the big screen, or A24's upcoming Elden Ring, it's clear that gaming is leading the way in entertainment.

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