Next week, gaming’s biggest in-person event will be occurring once again, with Gamescom in Cologne kicking off on Tuesday 25 August with a special Opening Night Live showcase from Geoff Keighley.
So, what does gaming’s greatest showman have planned for us this time? Following an impressive Summer Game Fest showcase back in June won’t be easy, but Geoff seemed calm and confident when he joined a media briefing call with Radio Times and various other outlets.
“We are getting ready for Opening Night Live next week at Gamescom,” Keighley said over a Zoom call, joining the conversation on-site from Koelnmesse in Cologne. We found him in a reflective mood.
“I was counting this morning,” he said. “I think it’s our eighth Opening Night Live, which is crazy. We started this back in 2019, and luckily through the pandemic and everything, we were able to keep it going.
“And we will be in Cologne Tuesday night, live, at 8pm CEST, 2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific, [and 7pm BST] for a two-hour show that I’ll be hosting alongside [Berlin-based host] Sjokz, who’s back again as my co-host.
“We’ll also have a pre-show that Kyle Bosman is hosting 30 minutes before, and, as always, we’ll give you a preview of a lot of the big games that are coming to Gamescom this year from all the Gamescom partners.”
With the formalities out of the way, Geoff was ready to spill a few select beans about what viewers should expect from the show this time around.
He said, “We’ve announced some of the content, so I can go over some of the games that you can expect at the show. Just an hour ago, Asha Sharma, the CEO of Xbox, announced that Gears of War: E Day will be a part of Opening Night Live, so we’re excited to have that there.
“We’ll have Final Fantasy VII Revelation with Naoki Hamaguchi-san, the director of the game, will be joining us live for the first update on that game since we announced it back at Summer Game Fest. We’re honoured to have him there.
“You probably also saw, a few weeks ago, we teased The Witcher 3 has a new expansion, believe it or not, for the game. The game came out back in 2015, 11 years ago, but there is a new expansion that’s announced, Songs of the Past, and we will have the first details and look at that in Opening Night Live, which we’re excited about as well.
“And then a host of other games. If you’ve been following on social media, you’ve probably seen some of the other ones that we’ve been teasing — an announcement from NetEase, Metro 2039 from Plaion and Deep Silver and 4A Games in Ukraine. So lots and lots of great games that are going to be on stage for fans to get a look at, previewing what’s going to be at Gamescom.”
And it’s not just about the trailers, either. Geoff teased, “We also have some other fun things we’ll be doing. We announced the other day that Mewgenics is going to have a live performance of the music of that game for the first time.
“Obviously, Edmund [McMillen] did an amazing job with the game. Came out earlier this year. Sold really well on Steam. But people love the music and the insanity of that game, so we’re working with him and the composers of the game to do an amazing music performance.
“I think it’s going to be unlike anything we’ve ever done in any of our shows, and they’re all flying over from the States to be there with us next week. So you can look forward to that inside of the show. And yeah, it’s going to be a fun ONL.”
Do you want to see all that for yourself? Well, you can! Gamescom: Opening Night Live is taking place on Tuesday 25 August at 7pm BST for viewers in the UK. You can watch it live on YouTube.
The Gamescom event in Cologne will then run through until Sunday 30 August for in-person attendees, promising a sold-out show floor of gaming industry exhibitors. Stay tuned for more coverage from us!
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