The View from Gamescom 2024

With previews of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” new launch announcements and new animated content coming out as soon as December, the Gamescom event has once again provided exciting news and announcements for the video game community. 

“Borderlands 4” 

One of the biggest announcements from the Gamescom event so far, the fiery teaser trailer for “Borderland 4” by 2K Games and Gearbox kicked proceedings off accordingly. While not much is known about the new title, we know the Borderlands franchise will be following its move into movies and entertainment with a new video game coming next year. 

Amazon “Secret Level” 

Launched at the show to huge intrigue, a new original anthology series from the creator of “Love, Death and Robots” titled “Secret Level” features animated shorts from the biggest video game franchises. From Dungeons & Dragons, Armored Core, Mega Man, Ghost of Tsushima and Warhammer 40,000, “Secret Level” will feature 15 shorts in total and launch on Dec. 10. 

“Batman: Arkham Shadow” 

Fans were given an early look at Batman’s first true VR experience at Gamescom this week with “Batman: Arkham Shadow.” A continuation of the hugely popular Arkham gaming franchise, this is the first release focused on virtual reality experiences designed exclusively for Meta Quest 3. Placing players on the streets of Gotham as the iconic Dark Knight already seems like a winning formula. “Batman: Arkham Shadow” launches this October.  

“Dune Awakening: Closer Look” 

The much-anticipated Dune adaptation, which invites players into a massively multiplayer online world (MMO), gave fans a closer look at Arakis’s setting, customization options, gameplay and, of course, sandworms. The launch date is windowed for early 2025 on PC. 

“Squid Game: Unleashed” 

After Netflix announced it was doubling down on its gaming efforts, the mobile platform will now get its own “Squid Game” video game in the form of “Squid Game: Unleashed.” This mobile title has no official release date, but its cartoonish graphics and focus on puzzles seem to make it a more family-friendly iteration of the original. 

“Marvel Rivals” 

The combination of Marvel characters and the fast-paced action of “Overwatch”-style multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) gameplay has fans excited for the free-to-play title’s launch, and Gamescom has not disappointed with the reveal of the launch date, coming Dec. 6 on PC, Xbox and PlayStation. 

Date Reveals 

While there may not have been many new reveals for the following titles, the dates for launch for titles such as “Indiana Jones and The Great Circle” (Dec. 9), “Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero” (Oct. 11), “Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred” (Oct. 8), “Kingdom Come Deliverance II” (Feb. 11), “Age of Mythology: Retold” (Sept. 4) and the “Starfield: Shattered Space” update coming Sept. 30. 

Stay tuned for more from the Gamescom halls. License Global is keeping its eyes peeled for updates, announcements and major reveals for the video game and brand licensing community.