Welcome to Gamescom 2019—among the biggest (and thus loudest, busiest and hottest) consumer trade shows around.
As with all good shows, it's an excuse for developers to polish up the latest builds of their upcoming games for demos, trailers and brief, awkward Q&A sessions with Geoff Keighley. Monday night's Opening Night Live conference already offered a surprising number of brand new announcements for upcoming PC games, and no doubt more are on the way.
We'll update this post with more games as new information emerges from the conference this week.
Kerbal Space Program 2
Developer: Star Theory Games
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? Spring 2020
From Private Division and Star Theory Games, Kerbal Space Program 2 takes the acclaimed rocketry sim and adds interstellar travel, colonies and even multiplayer. The studio also promises many, many improvements, including increased mod support. For more, check out the nine minute 'developer story' video, or read our exclusive interview with Star Theory.
Humankind
Developer: Amplitude Studios
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? Next year
Endless Legend creator Amplitude Studios has announced Humankind, a new historical 4X game about—as the name suggests—the history of humankind. It's clearly positioning itself as a new competitor to the Civilization series.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep
Developer: Bungie
Coming to PC? Yup
When's it out? October 1, 2019
Bungie has released yet more information about this autumn's Destiny 2 expansion. Shadowkeep will see players return to the Moon—albeit a now even spookier Moon full of yet more Hive weirdness. They've also unveiled the subject of the Season of the Undying... it's the Vex.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Developer: TaleWorlds
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? March! 2020! (In Early Access!)
When's Bannerlord? WHEN'S BANNERLORD!? That oft-asked question finally has an answer. TaleWorlds plan to release Mount & Blade II in early access in March 2020.
Disintegration
Developer: V1 Interactive
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? 2020
Founded by Halo creative director Marcus Lehto and SOCOM director Mike Gutmann, V1 Interactive this week gave us a proper look at the recently announced Disintegration. It's a sci-fi shooter with some real-time tactics stirred in.
Watch Dogs: Legion
Developer: Ubisoft
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? March 6, 2020
Ubisoft's London-set hack-'em-up got a new Gamescom trailer that explains its 'play as anyone' promise. Nvidia also released a new trailer showcasing Legion's RTX chops.
Death Stranding
Developer: Kojima Productions
Coming to PC? Probably not, but maybe
When's it out? November 8, 2019
Piss, ladders and Geoff Keighley. It's the new Death Stranding gameplay trailer. Also at Keighley's Opening Night Live conference, Kojima revealed character trailers for Mama, Bridge Baby and Deadman. No comment.
Minecraft (Windows 10 Edition) RTX enhancement
Developer: Mojang
Coming to PC? Definitely
When's it out? "Within the next year"
Nvidia started the week off on a high note with its announcement that Minecraft's Windows 10 edition will be getting official RTX-powered ray tracing support in a future free update. Here's how that's going to look:
Control
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? August 27
There's a new RTX-enhanced trailer for Remedy's Control, which comes out next week. You play as Jesse Fadens, an agent working on becoming the director of the mysterious Bureau of Control. It's a "supernatural third-person action-adventure" that bends reality around psychokinetic abilities, as you can see below.
Synced: Off-Planet
Developer: Tencent Next Studios
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? Unknown
Nvidia also showed off a trailer for Synced: Off-Planet, a triple-A title that's just been announced by Tencent's Next Studios that blends Left 4 Dead-style zombie shooting with some elements from battle royale. It's another one that's getting the RTX treatment.
Vampire: The Masquerade–Bloodlines 2
Developer: Hardsuit Labs
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? March 2020
We also got a new peek at how RTX-powered ray tracing works in Vampire: The Masquerade–Bloodlines 2, which gives you a look at how a vampire-infested Seattle will look when light hits the rain-soaked streets just so.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Developer: Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? October 25
Nvidia also showed a new RTX trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. This one's a bit odd, since the ray traced effects actually seem to make the scenes in the trailer look less dramatic with the more realistically rendered shadows.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Developer: MachineGames, Arkane Studios
Coming to PC? It already has!
When's it out: Ray tracing effects are "coming soon"
Ray tracing is also coming to Wolfenstein: Youngblood, and Nvidia had a trailer showcasing the improvements that's bringing as well. It seems rather appropriate for a game that's about lighting up Nazis.
Marvel's Avengers
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Coming to PC? Sure
When's it out? May 15, 2020
Square-Enix has released the first extended footage of Marvel's Avengers in this 18-minute look at the prologue. There is punching. There is flying. There is questionable banter.
Ghostrunner
Developer: One More Level
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? August 2020
We've also gotten a look at the newly announced Ghostrunner, which looks like a blend of Titanfall 2's parkour and Dishonored's stealthy slashing. It's all set in a dystopian cyberpunk universe in which humanity has been confined to a huge, neon-lit superstructure called the Tower, which is ruled over by an ominous figure known as the Keymaster.
Greedfall
Developer: Spiders Studio
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? September 10, 2019
There's definitely some shades of Dragon Age to upcoming RPG GreedFall—just check out those clothes and hats. Also there's the traditional genre staple of companions, some of whom you can bonk. The trailer above, shown at Gamescom's Inside Xbox event, introduces its cast of characters.
Everspace 2
Developer: Rockfish Games
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? Early access late-2020
This sequel is the follow up to one of our favourite space games on PC. It's a singleplayer space shooter that promises a persistent open world with RPG elements, deep exploration and—of course—loot.
Little Nightmares II
Developer: Tarsier Studios
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? 2020
The child-bothering puzzle-platformer series is back, and as creepy as ever. In Little Nightmares II, protagonist Six will partner up with a new character, Mono, on a journey to the Signal Tower.
Gears 5
Developer: The Coalition
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? September 10, 2019
The latest Gears 5 campaign trailer is full of high-octane action and Trent Reznor. What more could you want? (Unless what you want is subtext and nuance, in which case you're probably outta luck.)
Need for Speed: Heat
Developer: Ghost Games
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? November 8, 2019
The twenty-ninth game in the Need for Speed series is nearly here. It will feature: cars. It will not feature: loot boxes.
The Surge 2
Developer: Deck13
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? September 24, 2019
Here's an overview trailer explaining the core concepts of The Surge 2's Dark-Souls-with-robots campaign. It's got ducking, dodging and limb targeting, if you're into that sort of thing.
