Highlights from Gamescom 2022 Opening Night Live
The Gamescom opening night ceremonies featured more than 30 games from different studios. They included new announcements, trailers of already announced titles, gameplay footage and much more for both completely new IP as well as sequels to existing series.
In this article, we highlight some of the most interesting titles from the event. To see every single announcement and trailer, you can view the full event here on IGNs YouTube channel.
Classic titles making a return
The Gamescom Opening Night Live presented several upcoming titles from classic games series. It was interesting to see these titles given that it has been more than a decade since the previous game in the series was released for some of them. It will be interesting to see how successful these games will be at attracting new players and veterans of previous titles alike.
Return to Monkey Island
With an expected release date on September 19, 2022, Return to Monkey Island is a sequel in the long-running Monkey Island adventure series that follows Guybrush Threepwood, a “mighty pirate” on his adventures as faces zombie pirate LeChuck and other adversaries.
It promises classic point-and-click adventures with a modern art style and marks the return of the original creator Ron Gilbert to the series.
The previous entry, Tales of Monkey Island, was released back in 2009 so it has been 13 years since a new Monkey Island title came out (there have been some remasters of the previous games though).
Sonic Frontiers
There has been a steady stream of Sonic games in the past few years. Sonic Frontiers is the first open-world game in the series. Originally announced in 2021, there was a new trailer and launch date confirmed this time around. The game is expected to release on Nov 8, 2022.
Homeworld 3
The original Homeworld game was made by Relic Entertainment and released back in 1999. Thanks to its success, Homeworld 2 followed in 2003. They were incredibly well-rated real time strategy games that had a major role in pushing the entire genre forward.
The last entry in the series was Homeworld, Deserts of Kharak, released in 2016, was a prequel to the original Homeworld. However, this entry was not set in space, so Homeworld 3 marks a return to the series’ main environment.
Tabletop miniature gaming goes digital
Moonbreaker
While there have been adaptations of miniature gaming in the digital gaming space, these have mostly been different kinds of games such as shooters, RTS, and more that simply adapted the universe and IP of miniature games. Moonbreaker is something different.
Featuring a sci-fi world developed by the wildly successful fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, Moonbreaker is a turn-based tabletop game in a digital environment. It also features an actual miniature painter tool so you can paint your armies just the way you want (not just choose simple color schemes for a few different areas of characters).
Warhammer 40k: Darktide
Warhammer 40k: Darktide is a first-person shooter where you battle hordes of cultists, demons and other foes alone or with friends in co-op mode. It follows the successful Warhammer: Vermintide games that were set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle universe.
Set in the world of the immensely popular sci-fi tabletop game Warhammer 40,000, the game is set for release on Nov 30, 2022.
Callisto Protocol – a spiritual successor to Dead Space
Dead Space was a very successful survival horror game series with the first entry in the series released in 2008. While the original studio was closed down in 2017, there is a new game in the works from Glen Schofield, the co-cretor of the original Dead Space.
While not a direct sequel, Callisto Protocol is a spiritual successor of sorts, and features brutal survival horror set on Callisto, a moon of Jupiter.
Lies of P – A new soulslike in the world of… Pinocchio?
In the category of “games nobody saw coming”, the Lies of P is a soulslike game featuring brutal action combat where you play as an interesting steampunk-esque re-imagining of Pinocchio.
While the concept of the game might sound strange, the gameplay footage looks extremely promising. Developed by Neowiz games, Lies of P is set for release in 2023.
Hogwarts Legacy – a 16+ rated, open-world, action RPG set in the world of Harry Potter
The Harry Potter book series is loved by people of all ages across the world. While there have been several games released in the universe throughout the years, Hogwards Legacy is a darker take on the fantasy world.
Set in the late 1800s and sporting a PEGI rating of 16+, the game follow a wizard character you create as they venture around the world and battle different kinds of magical threats.
Conclusion
These were some of our favorites from the opening night ceremonies. We are looking forward to seeing what else the conference holds as well as meeting numerous customers, partners, and others at the event.
If you are interested in catching up with our team on the ground, reach out to Jiri Kupiainen, Roy Barker and Zera Hwang on LinkedIn.