What to Expect at Gamescom 2023 Opening Night? Geoff Keighley Reveals [Update: Trailer]
Geoff Keighley shared information about the ONL and Gamescom 2023, and the formula for the former event may not appeal to everyone.
Update #2
Geoff Keighley turns up the heat ahead of Opening Night Live. This is served by a trailer for the event, in which the journalist and organizer of The Game Awards presented some of the games we'll get to see tomorrow (the event will last from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. CET).
UPDATE #1 (August 17): Geoff Keighley announced that during gamescom Opening Night Live we will see new gameplay from Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. In doing so, he allayed fears that the DLC would only be presented to journalists and gamers who would troop to the fair in Cologne.
Original news (August 16)
This year's Gamescom trade show is fast approaching. One can assume that it will reveal a lot of interesting things about emerging and previously unknown productions. Gaming journalist Geoff Keighley decided to share details about the event.
Less announcements, more updates
In an interview with VGC Geoff Keighley pointed out that this year's opening event - Opening Night Live - will be dominated by updates on already announced games, which are expected to debut in up to 12 months.
"It's going to be a fantastic event, where we'll learn more about the announced games, such as Alan Wake 2 or Black Myth: Wu Kong. This year ONL will focus less on announcing new launches and more on updates on already announced projects."
Opening Night Live is a show that will take place before Gamescom. Last year it lasted more than two hours. As Keighley said, ONL presents a unique challenge compared to other annual events such as The Game Awards or Summer Game Fest - not only because of the European location, but also because of the connections with partners exhibiting at Gamescom itself.
"First of all, our Los Angeles-based team has to deal with the logistical challenges of hosting a large-scale show in Cologne, Germany. Fortunately, Gamescom and Kolnemesse work well together. Another challenge and opportunity at the same time is that the event is directly connected to the partners and games that will be showcased at Gamescom. We are always trying to find ways to create synergies between what is happening on stage and inside ONL."
Who will attend Gamescom 2023
As announced by leaker and whistleblower Okami Games, which covers news from the gaming world, on his profile on Twitter, games such as the following will be presented at ONL. Alan Wake 2, Assassins Creed: Mirage, Black Myth: Wu Kong, Mortal Kombat 1 or Fort Solis. In turn, at Gamescom itself, it will be possible to learn a little more about Starfield, Forza Motorsport, Stalker 2 and many others. The topics of these games will be covered by Microsoft.
We also know that a playable version of the Specter of Freedom DLC for Cyberpunk 2077 will be presented at the fair.
As for the list of exhibitors coming to Gamescom 2023, we can expect the presence of, among others:
- Amazon Games
- Bandai Namco
- Bethesda Softworks
- Devolver Digital
- Focus Entertainment
- Frontier Developments
- Headup Games
- HoYoverse
- The LEGO Group
- Level Infinite
- Nexon
- Nintendo
- Pearl Abyss
- Plaion
- Raw Fury
- SEGA
- Team17
- Ubisoft
- Xbox
This year's gamescom will feature a record number of exhibitors. In total there will be 1220 of them - as it turns out, they will be representatives of as many as 63 countries. This is 7% more than last year (when there were 1135 from 53 countries).
Finally, let us remind you that ONL will be held on August 22, and the Gamescom 2023 fair will run from August 23 to 27. Coverage of the event will be available on Twitch and YouTube.
