Gamescom Is Basically E3 2.0 Now: Here’s Where To Watch (And What To Expect)

What to expect from Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022

Keighley said more than 30 games will have a showing during Opening Night Live. These events always have some surprises from totally out of left field (my fingers are stuck in a crossed position holding out for Kirby Air Ride 2) mixed alongside updates for previously announced games. Ahead of the event, a number of publishers and developers have confirmed showings during the event.

Gamescom’s big headliner is The Callisto Protocol, a sci-fi horror game set to pick up the mantle vacated by Dead Space (fitting, seeing as development on Callisto is helmed by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield). The Callisto Protocol had a big showing during not-E3 season this year, where footage impressed fans of the genre. That’ll be followed by what Keighley called “new” gameplay during Gamescom today. Game’s due December 2, 2022, for consoles and PC.

Sega will also show off more footage of Sonic Frontiers, its forthcoming open-world Sonic game that was widely criticized in a preview period earlier this summer. Sonic has historically a breezy franchise about going as fast as possible, all fast guitar riffs and bright colors. That it’s going the lonely, melancholic route of Zelda: BotW has proved flummoxing, to say the least, though maybe new footage today could change minds.

Warner Bros. will debut another trailer for Gotham Knights. Some people are skeptical about its open-world elements. Others (hi) are intrigued by the muscular-looking combat and the support for co-op. Either way, at this point, Gotham Knights has more or less entered its “just give it to meeeeee” stage.

You can also safely expect to see:

• The first gameplay for Telltale’s The Expanse, a narrative game based on Amazon’s adaptation of James S.A. Corey’s series of sci-fi novels. (The Expanse wrapped up its sixth and supposedly final season earlier this year on a hell of a cliffhanger.)
• Lies of P, the soulslike based on Pinocchio that looks way more badass than it has any right to be.
• Goat Simulator 3, whose trailer at Summer Game Fest made everyone think for a few seconds that a new Dead Island was coming.
• High on Life, a shooter from the makers of, uh, Rick and Morty. Initially planned for release in the fall, developer Squanch Games recently delayed it to December.
• Devolver will show off more of Return to Monkey Island; backlash to the game’s showing earlier this summer spurred a wave of crude, cruel, and needless vitriol upon its creator, Ron Gilbert.

Then there are the surprises. Gearbox teased something about Borderlands. Best bets are a gameplay reveal for the Tales of the Borderlands sequel slated for this year, but it could also be the trailer for the upcoming movie starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett. (Earlier this year, Lionsgate aired behind-closed-doors footage at CinemaCon.) In a moonshot, it’ll be an actual full-fledged expansion for this year’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. The spinoff has received four additional DLC packs since its March launch. Fans say they’ve underdelivered compared to the DLC of previous Borderlands games—especially seeing as they cost around the same price.

The lineup isn’t quite as incandescent as that of Summer Game Fest or The Game Awards (or, during years it’s applicable, an actual E3). But you never know! After all, during last year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, developer Volition debuted its Saints Row remake. That’s going great.