Gamescom 2026 brings trailers, plus, hands-on with Gears of War: E-Day's wide-ranging campaign

Hi there! I've got a double feature for you today, with some thoughts on the Opening Night Live at Gamescom 2026 presentation lineup, as well as hands-on impressions of Gears of War: E-Day's campaign.

Additionally, if you missed it, be sure to check out my thoughts on Blood Dungeon and conversation with developer Messhof.

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A few highlights out of Gamescom

Once more, Opening Night Live at Gamescom returned, again hosted by Geoff Keighley of Summer Game Fest and the Game Awards. For my tastes, Summer Game Fest 2026 had a significantly stronger lineup, but there were still a handful of games I found appealing.

An early highlight came in the form of Rainbow Six Tactics, a new game from Ubisoft Paris, a team that previously worked on the Mario + Rabbids tactics games. As the name suggest, Rainbox Six Tactics pulls in operators from Rainbox Six Siege, letting players put together a team to go on missions around the globe. It's set to launch in 2027, and I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on it.

There was also an onslaught of trailers for games I'm already interested in, including Control Resonant, Gears of War: E-Day, Metro 2039, Silent Hill: Townfall, and There Are No Ghosts at the Grand.

Wizards of the Coast showed up in a big way, with Invoke Studios revealing gameplay for Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons, as well as a new look at Archetype's Exodus. This long-gestating science-fiction role-playing game finally has a release date, and is slated to launch on April 7, 2027. I'm very curious to see how it turns out.

A new no-brainer collab was also announced, with Paradox Interactive teaming up with LEGO for LEGO Skylines, a city-building game like Cities Skylines but with everything made entirely from LEGO bricks. It's a great idea, provided the game launches in better shape than Cities Skylines 2.

Square Enix showed up to present more gameplay for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. It looks awesome, and as previously announced, it's launching simultaneously on all platforms in Spring 2027.

Of course, the biggest thing for me was the show closer, where CD Projekt RED showed a first look at the Songs of the Past expansion, which is coming at some point in 2027.

The team didn't stop there however, with the announcement of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered. It's launching on Sept. 29, bringing new visual and gameplay mechanic improvements, features like Xbox Play Anywhere, and much more.

Interestingly, it'll also be available on Battle.net, marking the first-ever third-party game launch (from outside of the Xbox ecosystem) on Blizzard's platform.

Gears of War: E-Day unleashes war across a full city

Last week, I had the chance to take part in a digital preview for The Coalition and Xbox Game Studios' Gears of War: E-Day. While I previously previewed the Horde and Versus multiplayer suites, this time around, I was checking out the campaign.

I had access to two missions for this preview, both taking place at the start of Act 2, so a bit of a ways in but well before the game's halfway point. Co-op play is a staple of Gears of War, and the full game will support four-player co-op, but unfortunately, this preview was single-player only, so I couldn't team up with anyone else.

By this time, the main characters of the game — series mainstays Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, as well as newcomers Lucas Rayes and Mags Carter — have managed to survive the initial wave of obliteration as the Locust Horde emerged from the Earth, and have been officially re-inducted into the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) army as Bravo Squad.

Notably, you can select any character to play. I went with Marcus Fenix (as I expect most players would) but if you wanted to, you could experience the game as Dominic, Lucas, or Mags, despite going through as a single-player experience.

The first mission plays out as a Gears veteran would expect, with new Locust types trickling in as Bravo Squad is assigned to take control of a key bridge in the city of Kalona. New additions with the low cover system and jumping enhance the otherwise familiar experience, adding options for flanking when I'm pinned down by a lumbering Boomer.

When I am inevitably downed by a stray grenade, the rest of Bravo Squad is fairly competent, rescuing me quickly. It still isn't a full replacement for the co-op experience, but it's certainly playable without frustration.

Narratively, the team is an interesting place. This is a prequel, and it's clear Marcus and the rest aren't worn down quite yet. They still laugh, they make jokes, they pull on fond memories. There's a confident resolve juxtaposed with the utter horror and unfamiliarity that's been unleashed as the Locust spread across the surface.

It's hard to make an inference off of just a little over an hour of gameplay, but I hope this is a consistent theme. It's genuinely interesting to see these iconic Gears not yet weary and worn down by everything, and it's certainly a needed reprieve compared to the carnage seen in the streets.

It's in the second mission of Act 2 where Gears of War: E-Day truly expands and shows its hand, with some new ideas that cleverly blend concepts from Gears 5 into a more (literally) grounded setting.

Here, the city opens up, and just like in Horde Siege, I'm given a map to navigate across to my main objective. It's not quite open world, but it's a significantly larger level, and there's plenty to explore off the beaten path.

Going down the side streets uncovers a family in desperate need of help. Saving them unlocks new weapon parts, and going back to a special special supply cache, I'm able to tweak and alter my gear, throwing a bayonet blade on the Gnasher shotgun, or changing out what weapons I'm carrying.

It's worth noting that the game looks fantastic, with stellar lighting and particle effects. I particularly love the way cover crumbles and degrades, with concrete blocks realistically worn down by automatic fire, adding a desperation every time I leap into cover.

Progressing further, the preview culminates in an intense sniper duel outside of and into a ruined train station. It's a great encounter, pulling the squad back into a smaller space after giving space to roam.

Overall, I quite enjoyed what I played of Gears of War: E-Day, and I'm looking forward to playing the full campaign. Gears of War, as a series, is inextricable from co-op for me, and that's how I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the story unfold.

Gears of War: E-Day seems to be striking the right balance, focusing on linear fights and tightly-designed firefights, while still innovating and drawing on the wilder ideas introduced in prior entries.

Assorted news

Outside of the Gamescom blast, there's a few fun new tidbits, especially for fans of physical media and the latest gaming hardware.

• AdHoc Studio's hit narrative-driven superhero game Dispatch is getting a physical release, with a $50 standard edition and a $60 steelbook version for Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2. This physical release includes the full game and patches on the disc, and is expected to ship around Q4 2026. Anyone that loved the soundtrack can also look forward to a vinyl soundtrack release via Lost in Cult.
• Konami revealed the English voice cast for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, which is launching this October. Notably, Graham McTavish is reprising his role as Dracula from the excellent Netflix animated series.
• The ROG XBOX Ally X20 is now available for preorder. At a whopping $1,300, it packs in some upgrades over the Xbox Ally X that launched last year, with an OLED screen and TMR sticks.