Geoff Keighley Sets Expectations for Gamescom Opening Night Live Show

Gamescom is set to get underway next week starting on August 23rd with Europe’s biggest gaming even poised to show off much more of games like Mortal Kombat 1 and many more. To kick things off, we’ll see Gamescom start with the Opening Night Live event that’s hosted by Geoff Keighley, the organizer of Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards. But compared to some of the reveals for games that we elsewhere at those other events, Opening Night Live will seemingly be a bit tamer with Keighley setting expectations for the event prior to it. 

For this Opening Night Live, we’ll see it focused more on games that have already been announced, so trailers, reveals for those games, and more news on known titles will be the bulk of the event. That distinction is important here seeing how the other two Keighley-hosted events, Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards, typically boast reveals of brand new games and more that keep people speculating prior to the events that’s to come. The strategy for this year’s Gamescom opener is in line with past Opening Night Live events, but Keighley reminded people of the plans anyway to make sure expectations were clear.

But since we already know that the show’s going to focus on known games, there’s not as much point in hiding what games will make appearances there, so thankfully, we already know of several of those. Some of the games that’ll be present at Opening Night Live, according to Keighley, include Alan Wake 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Sonic Superstars, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Black Myth Wukong, Crimson Desert, Zenless Zone Zero, Lords of the Fallen, Mortal Kombat 1, and the Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC.

As far as some of the bigger companies that’ll be in attendance, Nintendo confirmed previously that it’ll bet returning to Gamescom in 2023 for the first time in years. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a potential candidate for a Nintendo game that might be shown off there, and while some are hoping for a Nintendo Switch 2 announcement, that seems far less likely. Xbox will also be present with some third-party games playable there for those who’ll be attending Gamescom in person.