Gamescom 2026: The Biggest Announcements, Surprises and Games You Need to Know

NewFormat Begins a New Gamescom Series Covering the Games, Reveals and Stories That Defined This Year’s Show

Gamescom 2026 — Cologne, Germany

Gamescom 2026 has already delivered an extraordinary amount of news.

After opening its doors in Cologne, the world’s largest gaming event has become a meeting point for the biggest publishers, independent developers, hardware manufacturers, creators and — most importantly — players.

We’ve already taken a deep dive into the Awesome Indies 2026 presentation, covering the independent games that caught our attention.

Now we’re expanding our coverage.

Welcome to our new series:

Gamescom 2026 — Everything You Missed

Over the coming days, NewFormat will take a closer look at the biggest announcements, the most interesting games, unexpected reveals and the stories developing across Gamescom.

And there is a lot to cover.

🎮 From Indie Games to Global Franchises

Our previous Gamescom series focused on one specific part of the event:

Awesome Indies.

It introduced us to smaller studios and games willing to experiment outside the traditional AAA formula.

But Gamescom is much bigger than one showcase.

This year, the event has brought together an enormous range of games — from independent productions to some of the industry’s most recognisable franchises.

Our new series will therefore cover both sides of the industry.

AAA blockbusters.

Independent experiments.

New IPs.

Returning franchises.

Hardware and technology.

Unexpected announcements.

⚔️ The Witcher Returns

One of the biggest surprises so far has come from CD PROJEKT RED.

During Gamescom Opening Night Live, the studio announced:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered

The legendary RPG is returning with a major modernisation, while existing owners are set to receive the upgrade for free on supported platforms.

But that wasn’t the only Witcher announcement.

CD PROJEKT RED also revealed:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past

A brand-new expansion planned for 2027.

Geralt of Rivia is returning to the Path.

And that immediately makes The Witcher one of the most important stories coming out of Gamescom 2026.

This will be the first major game we’ll explore in detail in our new series.

🧙‍♂️ The Future of The Witcher

The timing of the announcement is particularly interesting.

While Geralt returns in Songs of the Past, the next major chapter of the franchise is moving toward The Witcher 4.

CD PROJEKT RED currently expects the next mainline game in 2028.

That creates an interesting period for fans:

2026 — The Witcher 3 Remastered

↓

2027 — Songs of the Past

↓

2028 — The Witcher 4

Gamescom has therefore unexpectedly become an important event in the transition between two generations of Witcher games.

🧬 Final Fantasy VII Continues

The Witcher wasn’t the only major RPG franchise making headlines.

Final Fantasy VII: Revelation also appeared during Gamescom, continuing Square Enix’s ambitious remake project.

The game is currently scheduled for spring 2027.

For fans who have followed the remake trilogy from its beginning, this represents the next major step toward the conclusion of the story.

🕯️ Silent Hill Returns

Horror has also been an important part of Gamescom 2026.

Silent Hill: Townfall received new attention during the event.

The game continues the franchise’s exploration of psychological horror while introducing its own interpretation of the Silent Hill universe.

The presentation revealed additional information about the game, including its perspective and English voice cast.

For horror fans, it is one of the titles worth watching closely.

🧠 Control Resonant

Remedy Entertainment also brought another major project into the spotlight.

CONTROL Resonant

The next major entry connected to the Control universe has received new information and a confirmed release date:

September 24, 2026

That puts the game surprisingly close to the present.

With Remedy continuing to expand its interconnected universe, CONTROL Resonant will be another major title we’ll examine in a dedicated article.

🚇 Metro 2039

Another returning franchise also received attention:

Metro 2039

The latest entry in the Metro universe was shown with new gameplay material.

The series’ combination of post-apocalyptic survival, atmospheric horror and narrative-driven exploration has made it one of the most recognisable modern European game franchises.

The new game is currently planned for February 2027.

🏹 Tides of Annihilation

One of the more intriguing new projects shown during the event is:

Tides of Annihilation

Rather than relying on an established franchise, the game is building its own identity.

Its presentation immediately attracted attention thanks to its ambitious visual direction and fantasy setting.

It is precisely the kind of new IP that Gamescom can help bring to a much larger audience.

⚔️ Warhammer 40,000

The Warhammer 40,000 universe continues to expand across gaming.

Gamescom has featured another major project from the franchise:

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2

The sequel builds on the old-school first-person shooter formula of the original while expanding the experience with new content and environments.

For fans of retro-inspired shooters and the Warhammer universe, this is one to watch.

🧟 More Horror, More Survival and More Indie Games

The Gamescom programme goes far beyond the biggest announcements.

Across the event we’ve already seen games covering:

• Horror

• Survival

• RPG

• Strategy

• Action

• Adventure

• Racing

• Shooters

• Simulation

• Cozy games

• Experimental indie projects

That diversity is one of the reasons we decided not to limit our coverage to the headline announcements.

Some of the most interesting Gamescom discoveries may come from games that receive only a few minutes of stage time.

🕹️ Future Games Show

Another major part of our upcoming coverage will be the Future Games Show.

The 2026 Gamescom edition featured dozens of games, including world premieres and new gameplay footage.

Among the projects shown were:

Worms: Galactic Tactics

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival

Serious Sam: Shatterverse

SPINE

Star Wars: Galactic Racer

PixelJunk Monsters 3

And many more.

The sheer number of announcements means that some of these games deserve their own dedicated articles.

🏆 The Gamescom Awards

Another major part of our coverage will be the Gamescom Awards 2026.

Awards are particularly interesting because they provide another way to identify the games that stood out during the event.

Instead of focusing exclusively on marketing budgets and huge trailers, the awards can highlight games that impressed through:

Innovation.

Visual design.

Gameplay.

Sound.

Storytelling.

And overall quality.

We’ll be examining the winners and nominees separately.

🎮 Gamescom Is More Than Announcements

One of the biggest things we’ve noticed while following Gamescom 2026 is that the event is much more than a collection of livestreams.

There are developers demonstrating unfinished games.

Players trying titles months before release.

Creators meeting fans.

Cosplayers bringing characters into the real world.

Speedrunners competing on stage.

Hardware manufacturers showcasing new technology.

And independent developers trying to convince players to give their games a chance.

That’s the real Gamescom experience.

💻 Technology Is Part of the Story

Gamescom 2026 has also become an important event for gaming hardware and technology.

New displays, graphics technologies, handheld devices, controllers and gaming platforms are being demonstrated alongside the games themselves.

This will become another part of our coverage.

Because the future of gaming isn’t determined only by software.

The hardware changes what games can become.

🌍 The Global Games Industry in One Place

Gamescom brings together companies and developers from across the world.

European studios.

American publishers.

Japanese developers.

Korean companies.

Chinese studios.

Independent teams from almost every part of the industry.

That international character makes Gamescom particularly interesting in 2026.

The games industry is becoming increasingly global, and Gamescom provides one of the clearest places to see that happening.

📅 What We’re Covering Next

Our Gamescom 2026 — Everything You Missed series will now move through the biggest stories individually.

Our upcoming coverage will include:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered

Why CD PROJEKT RED is returning to one of the most important RPGs of the last decade.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past

Geralt’s new adventure and what it could mean for the future of the franchise.

Final Fantasy VII: Revelation

The next stage of Square Enix’s remake project.

Silent Hill: Townfall

Everything revealed about the next psychological horror experience.

CONTROL Resonant

Remedy’s next step in the Control universe.

Metro 2039

The return of one of gaming’s most atmospheric post-apocalyptic worlds.

Tides of Annihilation

One of the most ambitious new IPs shown at the event.

Path of Exile 2

The road toward Version 1.0.

Future Games Show

The biggest announcements from one of Gamescom’s most important showcases.

And many more.

🔥 Why We’re Doing This

Gamescom moves extremely quickly.

A trailer appears.

Another announcement follows.

Then another.

Within a few hours, yesterday’s biggest reveal can already be buried under ten new stories.

Our goal with this series is different.

Rather than simply listing announcements, we’ll take each major game and ask:

What is it?

Why is it important?

What did Gamescom reveal?

When is it coming?

What makes it different?

And most importantly:

Is it actually worth watching?

🎮 Gamescom 2026 Is Far From Over

The show is still underway.

More announcements can arrive.

More trailers can drop.

More games can surprise us.

And some of the most interesting discoveries may not have happened yet.

That’s why this isn’t a retrospective.

It’s live Gamescom coverage.

🚀 Welcome to the Next Chapter

We’ve finished exploring the independent games of Awesome Indies 2026.

Now we’re opening the door to the rest of Gamescom.

From Geralt’s return to the Path…

to new horror worlds…

to massive RPGs…

to unexpected indie discoveries…

there is still a lot more to see.

Welcome to:

Gamescom 2026 — Everything You Missed

And our first stop is The Witcher.

Następny wpis: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered — już jako pełny, szczegółowy artykuł, a po nim osobno Songs of the Past.