'Battlefield 1,' 'Sea of Thieves,' PlayStation VR, 'Destiny' to be among Gamescom's bigger names.
Nintendo's holding back for a new console announcement, PlayStation's expected to make Paris Games Week its main European platform, and Microsoft's opting for a Fan Fest, but there's still plenty to look out for at Gamescom 2016, August 18-21.
"Battlefield 1," named after the World War I period in which it's set, will be livestreaming on Twitch in order to demonstrate its chaotic, building-crumbling multiplayer appeal. A public pre-release beta phase starts August 31 ahead of an October 21 launch.
Techland, the publisher company behind zombie survival hits "Dead Island" and "Dying Light," is expected to announce at least one big new game.
October's card game "Gwent," a spin-off from acclaimed 2015 action adventure "The Witcher 3," enters the same space as "Hearthstone" and "The Elder Scrolls: Legends" and will be present and playable.
Team action title "Overwatch" has proven to be one of 2016's defining multiplayer experiences, and it is showing off its gradually expanding roster of 20-plus characters through animated short films; a fifth, for robot enforcer Bastion, is to drop during Gamescom.
Having focused on March 2017's "Zelda: Breath of the Wind," Nintendo looks to be expanding its showfloor vision to include "Pokémon Sun & Moon," "Yo-Kai Watch 2," "Dragon Quest VII" and "Mario Party: Star Rush," as speculation continues about next year's NX console release.
Microsoft is bringing "Gears of War 4," "Halo Wars 2," "ReCore" and "Sea of Thieves" to GamesCom as part of its Xbox FanFest, with multiplayer pirate jaunt "Sea of Thieves" to benefit from several days of livestreaming via Twitch.
Sci-fi action franchise "Destiny" has its 2016 expansion "Rise of Iron" due September 20 and fans should expect a closer look during Gamescom week, while "Destiny: The Collection" includes the original 2014 game and all four major updates released since.
The expansion should be on display in PlayStation's section of the show floor, where "Titanfall 2," "Gran Turismo Sport," and a clutch of titles for PlayStation VR will also be in evidence, as well as "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare," "Horizon Zero Dawn," "Mafia III" and others.
For Ubisoft, the knights, samurais, and vikings of ahistorical multiplayer action game "For Honor" will be available to try out, as will extreme sports game "Steep" and its own VR offerings "Star Trek Bridge Crew" and "Eagle Flight," while December's "Assassin's Creed" film will also be promoted.
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