Gamescom 2022: The Recap
Overview
Gamescom was a smashing success with teasers, reveals, and deep-dives showing off the roadmap of gaming for 2022/2023. This writeup won't have absolutely everything covered (it'd be a pretty daunting task given the breadth of what was at Gamescom), so I've gone ahead and provided some recap links for additional listening/reading/watching for those particularly inclined.
Major Players - Top Games
Looking for a basic TLDR? I've got you.
- Lies of P and Metal: Hellsinger were the darlings of Gamescom, sweeping accolades and awards. The Last Case of Benedict Fox, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Devil In Me, and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide were also high performers.
- Dead Island 2 has sparked fanfare across the internet from fans of the original, which debuted in 2014.
- Hogwarts Legacy and Dune Awakening had some further updates, lighting up some conversations about the books-turned-films-turned-games.
I'm barely scraping the top of what was actually at this jam-packed convention. Some of the games I'm personally excited about (Moonbreaker, Where Winds Meet, and Atomic Heart) didn't make this writeup because time+priorities. Want to see everything that showed at opening night? The Game Awards has the opening night recap up on YouTube.
Microsoft Xbox Showcase
Xbox has a full roster of games and DLCs set to launch this year and next. The biggest game reveals+updates are listed below. If you want to catch everything Xbox showcased, they have their booth livestream and Gamescom 2022 roundup playlist on YouTube.
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Sea of Thieves
- Lies of P
- Gunfire Reborn
- High On Life
- Planet of Lana
- Grounded
- Pentiment
- Under the Waves
- Minecraft Legends
- Age of Empires IV
Gamescom Future Games Showcase
The Future Games Show was filled to the brim with games that span frightful to delightful. If you want to watch the show, here's the livestream.
- The Gap
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite - Pathogen
- Hypercharge: Unboxed
- The Case of the Golden Idol
- Snaccoon
- Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
- Floodland
- The Last Case of Benedict Fox
- A Little to the Left
- Goat Sims 3
- The Chant
- Ereban: Shadow Legacy
- Wizardy: The Five Ordeals
- Soulstice
- AfterImage
- Deliver Us Mars
- Phantom Hellcat
- Edge of Sanity
- The Great War
- Backfirewall
- SCP: Secret Files
- Teslagrad 2
- The Dark Pictures: The Devil In Me
- EXP: War Trauma
- Rooted
- Hellsweeper VR
- Stray Blade
- Crossfire Legion
- God of Rock
- Lightyear Frontier
- System Shock
- Layers of Fear
- Off the Grid
There was also an entire Virtual Show Floor with demo-ready games. On top of that and the many announcements above, multiple compilation showcases made their way into this night. The Ones to Watch Montage, Team17 Showcase, and the Wired Productions announcement were all bulk announcements with plenty of gems to share with audiences. You can go to the official Future Games Show Steam page for handy links to check out the games they showcased.
Gamescom Winners
Gamescom gives awards to anticipated upcoming games and can be a good barometer for what games will be hot next year. Here's the link to the official Gamescom Award winners and runner-ups for 2022. (Including them in this article makes it difficult to read.)
