Dexerto’s Gamescom 2024 round-up

Sorry, everyone, but the Koelnmesse doors are shut for another year, and Gamescom 2024 is over.

The biggest gaming event of the year ran from Tuesday, August 20, 2024, to Sunday, August 25, 2024, and (unsurprisingly) we got plenty of exciting gaming announcements and updates during the show.

We were so excited about the event that we decided to mark the occasion with a celebration of all things gaming. We kicked things off with Dexerto’s list of the 100 best games of all time.

But that’s not all we did. One of Dexerto’s best and brightest writers (Well, our Gaming Editor) flew out to Gamescom to get hands-on experience with the hottest titles of 2024, interview developers, and bring you all the news and announcements from the event.

Here’s everything we got up to during the event!

Gamescom

Dexerto’s Gamescom schedule

Monday, August 19

• Dexerto’s 100 best games of all time: The Dexerto team put their heads together and agreed (ok, maybe not agreed so much as they grew tired of arguing) on a definitive list of the 100 best games ever made. Have we made some controversial decisions? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out.
  
• How to watch Gamescom and what to expect: If you couldn’t get out to Cologne for the show but wanted to catch up on the opening night showcase, then this is the article for you.
  
• Silent Hill 2 preview: After making our way through a seemingly impenetrable fog, we were lucky enough to get an early look at the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake. Can it live up to its predecessor’s reputation as the scariest game of all time? You’ll have to read to find out.

Tuesday, August 20 (Gamescom Studio Opening Night)

• Biggest announcements from Gamescom Opening Night 2024: Geoff Keighley and co-host Sjokz (Eefje Depoortere) opened Gamescom with a panel where they showed off a bunch of new trailers and announced a buttload (the technical term) of new titles.
  
  If you want to know more about the games spoken about during the Opening Night presentation, we’ve got all the details below:
  
  – Borderlands 4
  – Directive 8020
  – Path of Exile 2
  – Dune Awakening
  – Dying Light: The Beast
  – Civilization 7
  – Monster Hunter Wilds
  – Black Ops 6
  – Starfield Shattered Space
  – Marvel Rivals
  – Dragon Ball Sparkling Zero
  – Genshin Impact
  – Masters of Albion
  – Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
  – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
  – Mafia The Old Country
  
  We even heard about Secret Level, a 15-episode anthology telling stories set within the world of popular video games, which has our TV and movies team very excited.
  
• After watching the Gamescom Opening Night, our own US Games Editor, Laura Gray, felt compelled to share their thoughts on Geoff’s showcase. Spoilers: they have some notes.
  
• Indiana Jones and The Great Circle preview: Grab your whip and fedora because we’ve braved a booby-trapped developer’s office to bring you a preview of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle.

Wednesday, August 21 (Gamescom Day 1)

Dexerto

• The 50 best RPGs of all time: To celebrate all the Monster Hunter Wilds news, the Dexerto team has put on their wizard thinking caps to bring you a list of the 50 best RPGs ever made.
  
• Gamescom Opening Night live proved who’s really winning the ‘console wars‘: After the exciting Gamescom Opening Night show, our Tech Editor Sayem Ahmed has a take so hot you’ll need thermal paste on your eyes to read it (sorry, I couldn’t think of a good tech gag).
  
• Borderlands 4: Three important trailer details you probably missed: Our own Borderlands expert has been through the new Borderlands 4 trailer and found a few details you definitely missed on the first watch.
  
• Games like Masters of Albion that you can play right now: Did you fall under Peter Molyneux’s spell during the show? If so, you probably want to get your hands on Masters of Albion! Unfortunately, it’s not out yet, but don’t worry — you can play these very similar games right now.

Thursday, August 22 (Gamescom Day 2)

• Every Diablo game ranked: With Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred on the horizon, we’ve taken the time to look back at what may be the most iconic dungeon-crawling series and rank every game in the series.
  
• Diablo Interviews: Thursday was Diablo Day at Dexerto, and our man in Cologne sat down with Rex Dickson (Lead Designer) and Tiffany K. Watt (Production director) to chat about the latest Hellish expansion Vessel of Hatred.
  
• Diablo 4’s Eternal Realms haven’t been forgotten: Diablo day isn’t over, as we sat down with the game’s Designers to reveal their plans to keep working on the Eternal Realms.
  
• Dying Light: The Beast needs to lean into this forgotten feature: Dying Light: The Beast is shaping up to be a brilliant addition to the Dying Light franchise, but, according to our expert, Tyler Constable, that’s only if it leads into one key feature.
  
• Monster Hunter Wilds preview: Our man in Cologne squeezed a quick Monster Hunter Wilds preview into his busy schedule. Check out his first impressions here!

Friday. August 23 (Gamescom Day 3)

Dexerto

• Most iconic videogame weapons: From sharp swords to powerful lasers (and even Pokeballs), Dexerto’s taking some time on Friday to celebrate the most iconic weapons in gaming.
  
• Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred introduces a new class like no other: Our own Patrick Dane got his hands on Vessel of Hatred and has shared some of his thoughts on the game’s latest class.
  
• Gamescom 2024 Award Show: How to watch all nominees & winners: Everyone likes awards, right? Well, if you like awards, you’ll want to check out our breakdown of the Gamescom 2024 Awards show.
  
• Marvel Rivals interviews: Our man in Cologne sat down with Zhiyong Feng, the game’s Lead Combat Designer, and Danny Koo, Marvel Rival’s Executive Producer, to talk about Marvel’s attempts to crack the hero shooter genre.
  
• Splitgate interview: We scored an interview with 1047 Games’ CEO and Splitgate’s creator Ian Proulx and grilled him (ok we had a polite chat) about upcoming meta changes.

Saturday, August 24 (Gamescom Day 4)

Dexerto

• These are the 50 best shooting games: Do you think Space Marine 2 looks fun? Us too, so before we dive into the grim, dark 40th millennium and start slicing through tyranids, why not take a look at Dexerto’s list of the 50 best shooters?
  
• Predicting Diablo 4’s DLC roadmap after Gamescom: Our Diablo expert, Sam Smith, has done his best impression of Nostradamus by bringing us his predictions for the future of the most devilish franchise.

Sunday, August 25 (Gamescom Day 5)

• Most exciting announcements from Gamescom 2024: As Gamescom draws to a close, the Dexerto team takes the opportunity to wax lyrical about the games at Gamescom that got them most excited.

Beyond Gamescom

Oh, you didn’t think we were done, did you? Gamescom might be over, but the Dexerto team isn’t done yet. Our man in Cologne was very busy at the Koelnmesse chatting with developers, playing new games, and riding the World of Warcraft ride (don’t ask), so we’ve got plenty of exciting content to come. Keep this bookmarked so you don’t miss any of the updates.

Looking for more hot takes? Why not check out our lists of the best PlayStation games and the best Xbox games? (Warning takes may be lukewarm at best).