Gamescom Day 1 live coverage – all the news, interviews, and previews as they happen

From Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to Hollow Knight Silksong, we're on the floor in Germany to go hands-on with all the most exciting upcoming games

News
By Contributions from last updated
Resident Evil Requiem screenshot of Grace Ashcroft, who has white short hair and glasses and wears a black blazer with an FBI badge, sitting at a desk in front of a PC monitor
(Image: © Capcom)

Now that Opening Night Live has come and gone, Gamescom good and proper can begin.

You can check our Everything Announced at Opening Night Live piece for a rundown on all the news, announcements, and trailers as they happened. The highlights, though, were grander looks at Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Resident Evil Requiem, and much more.

We also received some fresh announcements, including a new game in the Black Myth series and news that Final Fantasy 14 and Monster Hunter Wilds are teaming up for a crossover, which looks very similar to the one FF14 did with Monster Hunter Worlds.

Now, though, it's time to dig a little deeper. Some of our dedicated staffers are getting the steps in to preview some of those very games and toss the odd question or two over to some of the developers behind them. We're posting all the highlights here alongside the reaction to what's been announced already, giving you a one-stop shop to keep on top of everything Gamescom 2025, so let's begin.

Refresh

Randy Pitchford talks animatedly about Borderlands 4 in front of a bright red backdrop of the game, taken from our Borderlands 4 video interview

(Image credit: Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Studios)

We had our shirt game truly humbled by Randy Pitchford (and that's saying something), who was ready to tell us all about Borderlands 4. Stay tuned, as we'll have the video interview going up later!

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will carry forward progression from Black Ops 6, similarly to how it was handled between Mordern Warfare 2 and 3. Which does mean all the wild skins will still be present, and means this might not be a true refresh to how online works. After a big blowout last night during Opening Night Live, when we also posted out own Black Ops 7 preview, there's plenty more to come.

The Microsoft's ROG Xbox Ally handheld now has a release date! Arriving on October 16, there's not long to wait at all, though we still want to know more about official prices. This time next year, we may even dare to bring our own to Gamescom so we don't need to break our daily streaks.

Talking about creeping, that's exactly what we did going hands-on with Resident Evil Requiem, even if we ended up shouting at the protagonist. Yet, just like cursing at the clueless characters in a good horror flick, that's all part of the point. The ninth Resi is going back to real horror roots, with our introduction to protagonist Grace Ashford having her very much underpowered as she's hunted through dark halls.

Creeping around Gamescom's shadows, our The Blood of the Dawnwalker preview from the event sees us chatting with the developer's of the ambitious, vampiric RPG. Coming from CD Projekt veterans, we'd expect no less! Combining loads of way to take action for each quest with a day/night cycle that's sort of a resource in and of itself that actually changes how events can play out, The Blood of Dawnwalker is bringing plenty new to the genre. Fangs in advance, Rebel Wolves.

If you're looking for a sense of scope, Dawn of War 4's devs tell us all four of its campaigns are "bigger than the campaign in the first Dawn of War."

"Roughly speaking, for a playthrough it's probably something between 12 and 15 missions," creative director Jan Theyden adds. Due to the campaigns branching, "when you play a campaign once, you cannot play all the missions."

Another one for the genre sickos. Last night also came with the news that Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 4 is finally real. We can back that up somewhat because we've played the new RTS game. Andy says it's so good he's been replaying the same mission for 3 hours, only taking a break to speak to the devs themselves.

One thing we're less keen on, though, is that two Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 classes are behind a $90 Premium Edition. Man.

Despite the somewhat early hours of the day, we have more hands-on content! We've played Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 and are convinced the gloomy RPG is still worth waiting for, thanks to a "brilliant focus on writing, dialogue, and spooky Seattle."

When not playing Hollow Knight, Josh has also been talking to Treyarch about Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The devs are fighting franchise fatigue with a co-op adventure that many hope will "redefine what campaign can be in Call of Duty."

There's more to come from Hollow Knight Silksong, too. Team Cherry is teasing a "special announcement" for tomorrow, and we can only hope it's some sort of release date.

Right off the bat, we've managed to go hands-on with Hollow Knight Silksong. A fine start to anyone's day, I'd imagine. Here's what Josh has to say:

"There's probably a world in which I sign off this Hollow Knight Silksong preview by making the sort of comparison that I really dislike. "Silksong is to Hollow Knight what Bloodborne was to Dark Souls." The words are tumbling onto the keyboard and I can't seem to stop them. What I mean by this unhelpful shorthand is that Silksong is building smartly on exceptionally solid foundations, and it's doing so with a greater focus on aggression, decisive action, and proactive decision-making. I only played 30 minutes of Hollow Knight Silksong, and now I'm desperate for that to transform into 30 hours."

Here we go! Hope you're feeling fresh and well rested, as we've got plenty to get through today.