Gamescom 2021 is here, and Opening Night Live (ONL) brought with it a number of world premieres. The premieres spanned a range of genres from shooters to strategy games, and included both AAA and indie games. Many of the world premieres gave fans a new look at previously announced titles, while others were fresh reveals that had not been announced before Gamescom.
The event officially kicked off yesterday with a Microsoft showcase that confirmed a dozen new titles coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one, as well as a number of other announcements and looks at upcoming titles. Then, Gamescom ONL had a pre-show with seven world premieres of its own before the main show, hosted by Geoff Keighley, delivered a deluge of new trailers and reveals. Here were all the world premieres at Gamescom ONL 2021.
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Saints Row
Fans of Saints Row have been waiting for news on the fifth entry in the series for a few years. Recently, rumors began circulating that the next game would be a soft reboot of the franchise, and a new trailer for Saints Row at Gamescom revealed that to be true. The new game received both a cinematic trailer that introduced fans to the game's characters, followed by a brief look at the new title's gameplay.
Marvel Midnight Suns
Marvel Midnight Suns was one of the bigger surprises of the show. The game is a team-up between historic strategy developer Firaxis and Marvel. Marvel Midnight Suns is a superhero turn-based strategy game that features some of Marvel's biggest superheroes. The show only included a cinematic trailer, but it featured heroes like Wolverine, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, and Blade all teaming up with a brand-new hero developed just for the game.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty: Vanguard made an appearance during ONL with an exclusive first look at the game's explosive World War 2-themed campaign. This introduced fans to the character Polina Petrova, played by Laura Bailey, who is a female sniper in the soviet army. The showcased mission followed Petrova during an attack on Stalingrad that was filled with tense moments, and explosive set pieces like fans would expect from a Call of Duty campaign.
Halo Infinite
While Halo Infinite's omission from Xbox's showcase was odd for fans expecting news on the shooter, it did make an appearance during ONL. A trailer was shown off, followed by the reveal of a special 20-year anniversary edition of the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 and Xbox Series X – both of which are available for pre-order. The biggest announcement regarding the game, however, was its release date of December 8, 2021.
Cult Of The Lamb
Cult of the Lamb was also revealed with a trailer showcasing its dark but adorable hijinks that sees players lead their very own animal cult to worship a horrifying eldritch creature. The game is currently in development from Massive Monster Games, and published by Devolver Digital.
Midnight Fight Express
Midnight Fight Express was present during Xbox's showcase, as it will be releasing day one on Xbox Game Pass, but ONL gave players their first real look at the game. It is an urban brawler developed by one man that allows players to brawl with intricate motion-capture animations.
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is an arcade beat 'em up that fans of the iconic original arcade games have been looking forward to for some time. At Gamescom ONL, some new gameplay was shown alongside revealing that reporter April O'Neil will be a new playable character at launch.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is bringing the series back in a big way with loads of new characters like Yakuza's Kazuma Kiryu jumping into Super Monkey Ball for the first time. At the show, Morgana from Persona 5 was confirmed to also be coming to the game, which is reminiscent of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Joker DLC announcement at another Geoff Keighley-led event years ago.
Splitgate
The portal-infused arena shooter Splitgate got some stage time during the livestream. There was not much included in its section of the show, but it did reveal Splitgate's Season 0 that launched alongside the event.
Riders Republic
Riders Republic also got a trailer that showed off some of the sports players will be able to pursue in the game, as well as showcasing its bright graphical style and wacky over-the-top action.
UFL
FIFA will be getting some new competition soon, as UFL was revealed during the show with a snappy trailer showcasing a free-to-play game that is hoping to be a big name in the soccer gaming scene.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Viewers finally got another new LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga trailer at ONL that showed off some of the game's cutscenes and provided a hint at some of the new mechanics coming to the series. It looks as though The Skywalker Saga will be bringing a lot of style, and this trailer is a good way for players to see what they should expect from LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
Synced: Off-Planet
Another new game revealed was Synced: Off-Planet, a new multiplayer shooter that is inspired by zombie hordes and the dark zone from The Division series.
The Outlast Trials
The Outlast Trials got a trailer that showed off some of its environments, as well as gave players a peek at some of the co-op multiplayer horror game's new mechanics and scares. The Outlast Trials is a creative twist for the popular horror series, and it will be interesting to see what shape it takes upon release in 2022.
DokeV
South Korean open-world MMO DokeV debuted with an extra-long trailer that showed off the game's gorgeous graphics and some action-packed creature collecting.
Jurassic World Evolution 2
Jurassic World Evolution 2 offered players a look into the increased customizability that they will have while designing and running their very own Jurassic World park in the game, which is a sequel to another popular title set to release this November.
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Far Cry 6
While it seems like everything that can be said about Ubisoft's Far Cry 6 has already throughout its numerous trailers, the game still appeared at ONL 2021. The latest trailer focused on Far Cry 6's protagonist Dani Rojas as well as its antagonist Anton Castillo, revealing that apparently his claim to fame is developing a cancer treatment using tobacco grown in-part using slave labor.
Bloodhunt
The vampire battle royale Bloodhunt received a new trailer that gave players a look at many of the different characters they will be able to choose from. Much like other games in the genre, which character players choose will give them unique perks and abilities. Early Access will open on September 7, 2021.
Park Beyond
Bandai Namco's wacky amusement park builder Park Beyond got a full trailer showcasing some of the game's rides and characters that help run the park. The game looks like it should be a hit with fans of park building simulators when it releases next year.
Jett: The Far Shore
PlayStation's science-fiction exploration game Jett: The Far Shore, which was delayed last year, showed off the game's great locations and visuals. A new trailer at ONL also offered players some more hints of want to expect from the game's narrative.
Horizon: Forbidden West
Horizon: Forbidden West was briefly featured during the show. The segment announced that Horizon Zero Dawn is receiving a PlayStation 5 update that includes 60 FPS support, while it also confirmed that Horizon Forbidden West is delayed into 2022 – though with a confirmed February 18 release date.
New World
Amazon's New World MMO got a brief mention during the show following Horizon, with a new cinematic trailer as well as the announcement of an open beta on PC that launches September 9.
Marvel Future Revolution
Even though the event started with Marvel's Midnight Sun, the popular brand saw a second headlining title at Gamescom ONL. The mobile brawler Marvel Future Revolution also leans into multiverse shenanigans seen with other ongoing properties like What If…?, and this world premiere trailer shows the game is available now.
Tales of Luminaria
While many Tales fans are looking forward to Tales of Arise, Gamescom also revealed Tales of Luminaria, a new game coming to mobile devices "soon." The series' 25th anniversary was also celebrated via a musical number and a discussion of the Tales of Arise demo.
Fall Guys
The battle royale-adjacent jelly bean simulator Fall Guys was a smash hit in its first year, and the game's newest jungle-themed season was shown off during Gamescom ONL 2021. The season is coming alongside a crossover with Disney's The Jungle Book, including three skins based on the popular film.
Replaced
Rather than a whole huge showcase of its own, Replaced saw a follow-up to its appearance at June's Xbox Games Showcase. The main focus was its trailer song "Void," which apparently received so much attention from fans that the developer made it available to stream.
Valheim
Popular Viking-themed survival game Valheim also made an appearance with an animated cinematic trailer for its Hearth and Home update. The update has been anticipated for quite some time and will bring a lot of changes to Valheim when it launches on September 16.
CrossfireX
Multiplayer shooter CrossfireX showed trailer filled with multiplayer action, highlighting some of the maps that players can expect to shoot their way through during matches. However, the trailer did not announce a new release date after CrossfireX was delayed last year.
Genshin Impact
Though many likely clung to the announcement of Horizon Forbidden West's release date earlier in the show, another world premiere featured footage of the Aloy crossover in miHoYo's Genshin Impact showing her stuff. It was a good reminder for fans that Aloy will be available on September 1
Sifu
Martial arts brawler Sifu was given time to shine later in the show, with Geoff Keighley singing the game's praises after saying that he got a chance to test it out himself before the event. Keighley did not say much about the game but did say that it felt as good to play, which was followed by a new stylish gameplay trailer. To cap it off, this trailer gave Sifu its official release date after a prior delay.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut
Finally, the show wrapped up with an extensive look at some of the new features coming to Death Stranding: Director's Cut. The Gamescom preview confirmed the new version will include missions, weapons, equipment to help players navigate the world, a time-trial racing mode, and plenty of objects for players to build across the game's world.