The Top 10 Biggest Announcements from Gamescom 2024

Gamescom 2024 has arrived, and with it comes a ton of great announcements for the future of the gaming industry. Ever since E3’s final iteration in 2021 marked the event’s retirement from the annual calendar of gaming fans everywhere, Gamescom has risen as a sort of spiritual successor to it, as it has now taken the crown as the world’s largest gaming event. So, with all eyes on this showcase, it’s expected that developers from across the industry bring their very best to the spotlight – and Gamescom 2024 did not disappoint.

There’s plenty to be excited about at Gamescom 2024, but we’ve managed to narrow down our most anticipated announcements to a top ten. These announcements stood out to us over the weekend, whether they mark an exciting new frontier in the gaming industry, or a much anticipated continuation of beloved franchises. With that being said, let’s begin our list, and get into the top 10 biggest announcements from Gamescom 2024.

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10. Squid Game: Unleashed

Image by Netflix Games

It was only a matter of time before the immensely popular Netflix original series, Squid Game, made its way into the gaming world. This inevitability was only hastened with the company’s recent promotion of their ‘Netflix Games’ service, and as expected, with Gamescom came the news of a Squid Game…game. As you might have guessed, the title will be a battle royale game, where you compete online against fellow players across a series of minigames from the Squid Game universe.

It’s difficult for me to see Squid Game: Unleashed failing to succeed in its intention – the entire premise of the series is practically screaming for a playable adaptation to be brought to life, however contradictory to the message of the show itself it may be. I will say, however, the Squid Game formula has been adapted into the gaming world before, and this trailer for Netflix’s official adaptation seems to be of a lower quality than those fan-made versions. We’ll have to wait for the title’s official release to reach our verdict, but for now, while Squid Game: Unleashed certainly caught our eye, it’ll be fighting an uphill battle to prove its worth in the gaming landscape.

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9. Goat Simulator: Remastered

Image by Coffee Stain

In typical Coffee Stain style, Goat Simulator: Remastered has jokingly branded itself as the ‘remaster that no one asked for’ – and sure, this game might not have been at the very top of my list for remasters I wanted to see made. That doesn’t mean we’re not excited about it though! What really gives me hope for this title is just how much it’s willing to poke fun at itself – the trailer showcased at Gamescom is packed to the brim with self-deprecating humour, mocking the ‘cash grab’ nature of remasters, and the failed attempts of other developers to remaster their own franchises.

As well as updated graphics, however, Goat Simulator: Remastered will also grant players access to all of the original game’s DLC packs, as well as promising to keep the glorious glitches that the title was known for in tact – if we’re lucky, they may even add in some more bugs (and this is just about the only game I can think of where that sentence is applicable). Goat Simulator: Remastered is scheduled to release later this year.

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8. The First Berserker: Khazan

Image by NEXON

Sequels and franchise games are always exciting to hear about at gaming events like these, but it’s also a real pleasure whenever something completely unexpected and new takes the spotlight – and while its gameplay looks like it falls under the Soulslike category that has become somewhat overexposed as of late, The First Berserker: Khazan still looks to be a strong single-player title in the modern gaming landscape – which is exactly what the industry needs.

A stylish RPG which promises hardcore action, The First Berserker is set in the DNF universe from NEXON, so it does have some ties to existing material. However, this upcoming title has managed to plant itself on its own two feet, without relying on that DNF connection to bolster its popularity, and I hope that fans of the Soulslike genre will check it out upon release. The First Berserker: Khazan is set to release in early 2025.

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7. Dying Light: The Beast

Image by Techland

Fans of the Dying Light franchise were also treated to some big news, with the announcement of Dying Light: The Beast, a new entry in the series focusing on Kyle Crane, who escapes from captivity after years of experimentation, to embrace his freedom in a zombie-ridden world. While you’d be forgiven for assuming that The Beast is some sort of DLC expansion, the game is actually a fully fledged title in its own right, though it did begin as a DLC in its conception.

The title promises a thrilling open-world experience, with up to four-player co-op, and excitingly, the game will be free for owners of the Ultimate Edition of Dying Light 2 – great news for fans of the franchise looking to save some money, potentially worrying news for the overall quality of this game. Then again, some great games have managed to launch at low, if any, prices, so let’s hope that The Beast’s game quality does not reflect its free status. A release date has not been announced yet, but we’ll be keeping an eye out for this one!

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6. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Image by MachineGames

Fans have been waiting anxiously for more news on Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game for a while now, and we’re happy to report that at Gamescom, we finally got a release date for the title, as well as a brand new trailer to go along with it. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will release on December 9 2024, and if the new trailer is anything to go by, this game will be a must-buy, not only for Indiana Jones fans, but for adventure game fans in general.

The game is majorly first-person, but also features what looks to be third-person platforming sections, as well as beautifully rendered cutscenes to bring the game’s story to life. The Great Circle mentioned in the title also spans the entire globe, so there’ll be plenty of locations to explore across the world as you move through the game. We’re very excited to get our hands on this game, and with this new Gamescom trailer, we finally know exactly when we can.

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5. Secret Level

Image by Amazon Prime Video

This one is particularly exciting, mainly because of just how different it is, and how much potential it has. Prime Video made an appearance at Gamescom, but not to announce any game – instead, they debuted a trailer for Secret Level, an anthology series, with each episode following an original story set in the worlds of some of the most beloved video games of all time. Not sold just yet? Well, this project comes from the people behind LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS, another stellar anthology series in its own right. If that doesn’t have you on board, I’m not sure what will.

Not only was it great to have some television news thrown into the showcase, and to see it holding its own amidst the wave of gaming news, but seeing the list of games to be adapted in this show was all the more exciting. Featuring stories set in the universes of gaming classics like Mega Man, Dungeons & Dragons, PAC-MAN, and God of War, Secret Level promises to be a thrilling time – and luckily, we don’t have long to wait, as the show will debut on Prime Video on December 10 2024. I don’t even want to begin to think about the legal conversations involved in bringing this all together – but then again, we do live in the Fortnite era, so anything is possible when it comes to licensing agreements.

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4. Croak

Image by WoodRunner Games

Way back at Summer Game Fest (which feels like an eternity ago honestly), the Future Games Show segment ended with a somewhat ominous shot of a cartoon frog sitting in a cup. All we knew then was that this frog was the protagonist of a mysterious new title from WoodRunner Games, a team featuring developers behind the much-beloved, though rage-inducing, Cuphead. Well now, with Gamescom, we’ve gotten a much clearer picture of this upcoming title – and it looks like a blast.

Croak is a magical animated adventure following a frog prince who can use his tongue to traverse all sorts of beautifully drawn environments. From the trailer, it looks like this game will be a precision-platformer which also features boss fights. So, if WoodRunner Games decides to lean into the rage aspect of Cuphead, Croak may find itself at a sort of intersection between Cuphead and Super Meat Boy. While no release date has been announced yet, we do know that Croak looks like it has all the personality you would expect from the minds behind Cuphead – and that’s enough for many-a-gamer for now.

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3. Reanimal

Image by Tarsier Studios

As a horror fan, of course this one caught my eye. While I’m a huge fan of the genre, this grabbed my attention because it comes from the incredible team at Tarsier Studios, the twisted minds behind the Little Nightmares franchise. Though the Little Nightmares series will be continuing without Tarsier (as Little Nightmares II was confirmed to be the team’s final entry in the franchise), I was very excited to see Reanimal announced, a new title which uses that Little Nightmares formula, from the team who made it all happen in the first place.

This is not to say I’m not excited about Little Nightmares III – I’m glad that Supermassive Games have taken up the intellectual rights, and will be continuing the series. However, it just won’t be the same without Tarsier, so it’s great to see the team continuing their horror journey with an original title like this one. From the announcement trailer debuted at Gamescom, Reanimal looks absolutely horrifying, and potentially more intense than Little Nightmares ever dared to be. There’s no release date for this title just yet, but we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more news on this – it looks incredibly promising.

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2. Borderlands 4

Image by Gearbox

Gamescom opened up with this announcement – and what a way to open a show! Borderlands 4 marks a new entry in a beloved gaming franchise, and while the teaser trailer didn’t give us much to speculate on, seeing that iconic mask revealed at the end of the trailer was enough to give Borderlands fans a huge mood boost right at the start of the show – especially after the absolutely abysmal reception to the recent Borderlands movie.

Many fans have pointed out that Borderlands 4 will be a make-or-break for the franchise. The 2022 spin-off title to Borderlands, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, was relatively well-received, but did nothing to revitalize the franchise, and especially considering the recent disaster of Borderlands’ journey into the film world, all eyes will be on this upcoming title to restore the series’ former glory. The game is set to release in 2025 – let’s all cross our fingers.

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1. Mafia: The Old Country

Image by 2K

I’m sure Borderlands 4 was, for many, the most exciting announcement to come out of Gamescom this year, but I just had to give the crown to the announcement of a new game in the Mafia franchise. Though, much like the previous entry on this list, we have very little to talk about based on what was shown, by the time The Old Country release, it’ll have been nearly ten years since Mafia III, the last mainline installment in the series. Luckily, The Old Country seems to be taking the Mafia games back to their roots, with a story set in the underworld of 1900s Sicily, in what promises to be a brutal, gritty crime drama.

We’ll be getting a closer look at Mafia: The Old Country in late 2024, but the game can be wishlisted now on Steam ahead of its 2025 planned release date. The game will also be brought to life by Hangar 13, who did a marvelous job with remaking the original Mafia in 2020, with Mafia: Definitive Edition. If they can keep their high going, this 2025 title will be the one to watch, and personally, the thought of such a success is enough to make this our top announcement from Gamescom 2024.

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Conclusion

There was certainly no shortage of thrills and surprises at Gamescom 2024 and with so many announcements, it was tough to narrow down our list. What was your favourite announcement from the event? Are you most excited for one of the entries on our list, or have we missed anything major that you can’t wait to see? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and get ready to dive into these titles, because the gaming industry has got some big things coming!

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