The comic book and movie industry has San Diego Comic Con, Star Wars has Celebration, and Disney has D23, but the gaming industry has a whole slew of Summer-time conventions. Though E3 may be on its last legs, Geoff Keighley's Summer Games Fest is rising to take its place, and the big three publishers, Nintendo, Xbox, and Sony, aren't afraid of hosting their own showcases on their own time. The gaming convention scene is starting to look a little different, but Gamescom remains a constant.
Taking place from August 23 to 28, Gamescom is in Germany this year, bringing over 500 developers to the convention floor. While in-person attendees can get some exclusive sneak peeks at upcoming games, and even try a few out before they release, those at home are still treated to some brand-new trailers and reveals, with Geoff Keighley's Gamescom Opening Night Live kicking things off on August 23, at 11am PT. Though the event is maintaining a level of secrecy, the team has hinted at a few appearances, with some of the most anticipated horror games of the year confirmed to be showing off some new footage.
Horror Fans Need to Watch Gamescom Opening Night Live
For horror fans, Gamescom Opening Night Live is an absolute must-watch. As of the time of writing, three big horror games are confirmed to be making an appearance during the show, one of which fans haven't seen for quite some time. The first horror game confirmed to be in attendance is Techland's Dying Light 2, a game that released all the way back in February.
Despite being out on the market for over six months, Dying Light 2 still has a lot to offer its player-base. Since its release, Dying Light 2 has been updated multiple times, each bringing some major new additions to the game such as a Photo Mode, new missions, weapons, cosmetics, and even a whole New Game Plus mode. Recently, Techland has implemented the first step of its five-year DLC roadmap for Dying Light 2, adding a fresh currency and reward system to the game, along with additional mission types. At Gamescom, Techland is set to show off Dying Light 2's long-awaited, previously-delayed paid story DLC, titled "Bloody Ties." Teased a few days ago, it seems as though this story DLC will revolve around a brand new gladiatorial arena-like area just outside the main game's Villedor setting.
One of the most anticipated games of the year, and one of the most anticipated horror games of all time, The Callisto Protocol is also set to make an appearance during Gamescom Opening Night Live. Though fans were treated to trailers just a few months ago, during both the PlayStation State of Play and Summer Games Fest, hype is reaching a fever-pitch and fans are desperate for any scraps of information or new footage from the game ahead of its December 2 release. It hasn't been confirmed exactly what The Callisto Protocol is set to show, but it will apparently be another gameplay trailer, hopefully showing even more of the game's Sci-Fi, Dead Space-esque body horror.
The final horror game currently confirmed for Gamescom Opening Night Live is The Outlast Trials. Serving as a prequel to the last two mainline Outlast games, The Outlast Trials was actually first announced during Gamescom 2021, so seeing it return this year is pretty neat. It's currently unknown whether this new look at Outlast Trials will be of gameplay or just a cinematic, but whatever it is, fans should certainly tune in to Gamescom Opening Night Live to watch it unfold in real-time.