Gamescom 2017 is the biggest gaming event in Europe for major news and announcements – and the biggest anywhere in terms of public attendance – and 2017 was no exception, with a massive number of new trailers, release date confirmations, and even a few brand-new game announcements.
With big news from the likes of Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Star Wars: Battlefront, Age of Empires, and more, it’s hard to keep track of it all – so we’ve rounded up the biggest news right here, dividing it up as best as we can by company. Meanwhile, if you want to find out our favourite games from the show, check out Tech Advisor’s official Gamescom Awards winners.
Biggest Gamescom news
Microsoft
Easily the biggest news of the show came from Microsoft, which revealed the limited edition Project Scorpio Edition of the upcoming Xbox One X – and then immediately opened pre-orders (which then almost immediately sold out).
That’s not all though. The Xbox live stream also brought us a Minecraft-themed Xbox One S, the news that over 100 games will support enhanced Xbox One X features, an announcement that Sea of Thieves will support cross-play between PC and Xbox, word that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will be an Xbox One console exclusive, and new trailers for both Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Amazingly, Microsoft wasn’t even done yet. The next day it hosted an Age of Empires live stream which brought three more big announcements: a 19 October release date for Age of Empires: Definitive Edition; news that Age of Empires 2 and 3 were getting the same 4K remaster treatment; and the shock announcement of Age of Empires 4.
PlayStation
Sony never normally makes a big fuss of Gamescom, and that didn’t change this year. While it had a presence on the show floor, it didn’t host a press conference or live stream, and made no major announcements.
Detroit: Become Human, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Gran Turismo Sport were all playable, and the only real announcement was a Gran Turismo themed PS4.
Ubisoft
As has been the case in previous years, Ubisoft headed to Gamescom 2017 with a large roster of games available to play, many of which are AAA-rated.
Fans were able to play Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Far Cry 5, The Crew 2, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, and South Park: The Fractured But Whole review There were also two new trailers for Assassin’s Creed (one cinematic and one gameplay), and the announcement of one new game: Anno 1800.
Nintendo
Like Sony, Nintendo doesn’t normally make a huge effort at Gamescom when it comes to announcements, instead focusing this year on giving fans the chance to play upcoming games like Super Mario Odyssey, Metroid: Samus Returns and Pokken Tournament DX.
Still, there were a few decent announcements. The company showed off a new world from Mario Odyssey, the Luncheon Kingdom; revealed a new Metroid trailer; showed off a SNES-inspired 3DS XL, and launched pre-orders for Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
EA
In addition to hosting EA Live during Gamescom 2017, Electronic Arts had a huge stand in the conference with plenty of upcoming games available for the public to play.
EA showed off the new Starfighter Assault mode in Star Wars Battlefront 2, announced a Cats and Dogs expansion for The Sims 4, showed off a new FIFA 18 trailer, revealed more from indie darling Fe (now coming to the Switch), and showed off a new competitive mode for Battlefield 1 called Incursions.
Activision
Much like at E3 2017, Activision concentrated on only two games at Gamescom 2017 – but boy, are those games popular. The company revealed the new Headquarters feature for Call of Duty: WW2, and showed off the launch trailer for Destiny 2, while both games were playable on the show floor.
On the Blizzard side of things, there were also a host of updates to the company’s ongoing games – most notably major changes to multiple characters in Overwatch.
Bethesda
Bethesda’s biggest news was all about its three upcoming VR titles, with release dates announced for each of them: November 17 for Skyrim VR, December 1 for Doom VFR, and December 12 for Fallout 4 VR.
Square Enix
Last but not least, Square Enix had a few minor announcements, and one major one: Final Fantasy XV is coming to PC. And, uh, getting some Assassin’s Creed DLC. No, we’re not sure why either.
Author: Dominic Preston, Deputy Editor
Tech Advisor's Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he's a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.