It's that time again — the Xbox Gamescom 2021 stream has arrived, detailing all of the cool new games coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S in the coming months.
Dying Light 2 Reveals Stunning New Trailer
The Xbox Gamescom 2021 livestream opened up Dying Light 2 Lead Game Designer Tymon Smektała and Animation Director Dawid Lubryka talking about their upcoming game and introducing a brand-new trailer.
This brand-new Dying Light 2 trailer showed us some familiar locations from previous trailers while mixing in a bit of new footage. We got to see a few new characters throughout — and one group, in particular, was highlighted by the pair of developers.
Some of the game's bandits were wearing "medieval-like armor," and that's particularly appropriate for the plot of the game — in a sense, it highlights how the world has devolved into a sort of modern dark ages.
Design aside, Techland let slip that the overall number of parkour moves in the game has been doubled. There's going to be a fair amount more variety in your ability to move around the city. It's a necessary improvement, too; Techland has aimed for a stronger emphasis on verticality and taller buildings in general.
Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update 6 Details
Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann took to the stage along with a host to talk about what's next for Microsoft Flight Simulator. We began with a brief mention of the upcoming Top Gun crossover content, although Neumann was, unfortunately, unable to show us anything just yet as the next movie doesn't launch until November 2021.
Neumann then moved on to show off some of the new goodies coming in World Update 6. One of the more appropriate items he highlighted was very relevant to Gamescom — Switzerland, Austria, and around 100 Points of Interest are making their debut in World Update 6 with an impressive level of detail.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is also getting a new feature called "Local Legends" in World Update 6 that will highlight legendary planes that may not necessarily be known around the world. The first plane to get this special treatment will be the Junkers Ju 52; the developers even went as far as to talk with a descendent of the original designer and a pilot who actually flew the plane when it was still in service. 40 museums around the world will be collaborating with the developers to bring more historical aircraft to the game in the future.
VTOL aircraft from Volocopter will be arriving later in the year. These are essentially "air taxis" from a company that is headquartered in Southern Germany. It might seem a bit unbelievable, but this concept is picking up steam and Volocopter has already held demonstration flights around the world.
The final item of interest is perfect for speed freaks: the Reno Air Race is coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is based on the real-world motorsport of airborne racing, featuring planes that can travel much faster than you might expect. You can expect it to arrive in Fall 2021.
More Humble Games Come to Xbox Game Pass
Humble Bundle has announced that ten titles published under its Humble Games division will be coming to Xbox Game Pass. Each of these games will be available on day one — here's what you can look forward to:
- Archvale
- Bushiden
- Chinatown Detective Agency
- Dodgeball Academia
- Flynn: Son of Crimson
- Midnight Fight Express
- Next Space Rebels
- Signalis
- Unpacking
- Unsighted
Age of Empires 4 Details In-Game Documentaries
World's Edge Creative Director Adam Isgreen was up next with a different host, ready and raring to tell us more details about the hotly-anticipated real-time strategy game Age of Empires 4.
Isgreen revealed that the units in the game will have special videos lasting several minutes apiece. These are more than tutorials, though — these videos use real-world footage to demonstrate these iconic weapons of war and the people who used them. You're going to have a blast watching these mini-documentaries for the units in the game, especially if you are one of the people who enjoyed reading about the history of the game's units in previous Age of Empires games.
The focus of these mini-documentaries will extend beyond the individual units. One such example is flaming arrows — World's Edge consulted with experts to create media presentations to answer some interesting questions about medieval warfare. If you've ever wondered how they kept flaming arrows from going out while flying through the air, you'll find your answer in Age of Empires 4.
Xbox Cloud Gaming Will Let You Play Xbox Series X|S Games on Xbox One
Xbox Cloud gaming is already available on PCs and mobile devices with your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership and this deal is about to get a whole lot better — you'll soon be able to play games via the cloud on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The biggest feature of all, however, is that this will let your Xbox One console play Xbox Series X|S games by making use of the cloud.
"Games are large and you want to keep the ones you know you love on your hard drive. Xbox Cloud Gaming is about being able to discover the new ones right away," Xbox Experiences Senior Program Manager Jake Rosenberg explained in a promotional video. "It's super exciting that for our Game Pass Ultimate members, they will get to experience Xbox Cloud Gaming on whatever console they have.
Several senior Xbox developers working on the project went on to explain that the process of using Xbox Cloud Gaming will largely be similar as if you had purchased a game digitally, save for one exception — you won't have to spend quite as long downloading the entire game before you can play it. This service will be targeting 1080p resolution at 60FPS.
Xbox Cloud Gaming will be coming to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in Holiday 2021. As with most live services, you should keep in mind that the availability of the service and the game catalog will vary by region. Microsoft also cautions that "occasional wait times may occur" while using the service in a disclaimer.
Wasteland 3 DLC Details 'The Cult of the Holy Detonation' DLC
The Xbox Gamescom 2021 stream continued with a new trailer for the next Wasteland 3 DLC, kicking things off by showing us some units from a new group you'll have to deal with in the post-apocalyptic hellscape: The Cult of the Holy Detonation, which also gives its name to this DLC.
This terrifying cult appears to idolize the destruction caused by the nuclear fallout around the world; we get to see a few interior scenes of levels that look like an odd mix of industrial locations and churches. At one point, an older-style nuclear bomb is held aloft by chains and surrounded by candles as if it were an object of reverence.
This cult-like aesthetic extends to the design of enemies, too — although they're certainly well-armed, their armor and weapons feature decorative pieces akin to halos in real-world iconography. These creatures certainly wouldn't be out of place in the Warhammer universe, that's for sure.
Following a trailer, Wasteland 3 Game Director David Rogers came on stage along with Parris Lilly to talk about some of the things we could expect to see. The "Holy Detonation" is a pre-war science experiment within Cheyenne Mountain that two cults worship as a deity.
Naturally, you and your team of Rangers are dropped right into the middle of the action. You'll decide the fate of the two cults, Cheyenne Mountain, and the Holy Detonation experiment itself.
Parris Lilly then asked how this next Wasteland 3 DLC is going to top The Battle of Steeltown and David Rogers had a rather interesting answer. Essentially, this whole DLC has been designed as a "Wasteland-style dungeon crawl" featuring mystery, exploration, and "some of the raddest boss battles we have ever been able to build in a Wasteland game."
You can look forward to the Wasteland 3 Cult of the Holy Detonation DLC release date of October 5, 2021. This date will also feature the debut of the Wasteland 3 Colorado Collection, a collection that promises to provide the "full Wasteland experience" by including the base game, The Battle of Steeltown DLC, and the Cult of Holy Detonation DLC in one package for $59.99 or your regional equivalent. The expansion pass will also still be available to owners of the base game for $19.99.
Sea of Thieves Borderlands Crossover Revealed with 'Making Mayhem' Event
Next up for the Xbox Gamescom 2021 event was Sea of Thieves and it had a rather interesting surprise — a Borderlands crossover through the introduction of the "Mayhem Ship Set."
Sea of Thieves Executive Producer Joe Neate appeared remotely via video to talk a bit about this crossover. Best of all, you'll be able to get to work on earning this ship right now: simply head to Larinna at any of the Outposts within the world to get started.
The Sea of Thieves Making Mayhem event begins today and lasts until September 7, 2021.
Cool New Content Coming in Free State of Decay 2 Update Next Month
Undead Labs Director of Communications Wonder Russel joined Kate Yeager on the Xbox Gamescom 2021 stage to talk about State of Decay 2: Homecoming and detail some of the things we can expect to see in the near future.
Following a short trailer, Wonder Russel talked about the "Trumbull Valley" map. This will be the fifth core open-world map added to the game. It's fully remastered and it adds a bit of new content, too — two new territories that were completely inaccessible in Heartland have now opened up.
Russel also revealed that there are items on the Trumbull Valley map that can only be found there and nowhere else in the game. These items include 12 new hats and outfits, 10 new weapons, 6 new bases, and 2 new achievements. Additionally, the game's 12th Bounty Pack will be available at Bounty Brokers.
You'll be able to enjoy the next State of Decay 2 update when it arrives on September 1, 2021.
Point Blank Games Finally Shows Off Stray Blade
Stray Blade was first announced all the way back at Gamescom 2019. Now, Game Director Leonad Kausch of Point Blank Games is finally ready to show us a lot more about this world.
We then jumped right into a pre-recorded demonstration of a pre-alpha build of Stray Blade. Players will engage in intense melee combat that requires precise slashes and split-second decisions.
Your choices in battle will affect your life, but your choices of who to fight will affect the dynamic world. For example, clearing out an encampment of enemies could result in them being replaced with an entirely different group of enemies representing another faction.
You'll be able to play Stray Blade when it arrives sometime in 2022.
Crusader Kings 3 is Coming to Next-Gen Consoles
Next up was a somewhat surprising announcement (if you missed the Taiwan rating board leak): A Crusader Kings 3 console release is on the way.
Crusader Kings 3 (and the franchise in general) is a somewhat more niche strategy experience. It's a boatload of fun — and fortunately, it's a turn-based experience that makes the move to consoles easy. Paradox Interactive has announced that the game will be making its way to Xbox and Xbox Game Pass for consoles — and yes, it's coming to PlayStation, too.
Tim Schaefer and Lisette Titre-Montgomery Talk Psychonauts 2, Reveal Launch Trailer
Double Fine Studio Head Tim Schafer and Double Fine Art Director Lisette Titre-Montgomery were up next. The pair had a live interview during the Xbox Gamescom 2021 presentation with Kate Yeager, opening up with an explanation of the general gameplay following a short trailer.
Schafer emphasized that Psychonauts 2 will feature a lot of voice actors and developers who worked on the original game. Naturally, this is a somewhat bigger production and some new people have joined the team as well, one of whom is Titre-Montgomery.
While the first Psychonauts game was all about Raz's training, this sequel focuses on him actually beginning his work with the secret agency investigating people's minds. Many old characters will return alongside a group of quirky interns that have just begun working with the government.
You can play Psychonauts 2 when it launches on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, and Xbox when it launches on August 25, 2021.
Forza Horizon 5 Reveals Cover, Custom Controller, and 8 Minutes of Intense Racing
The Xbox Gamescom 2021 presentation continued with a colorful new peripheral on the way: the Forza Horizon 5 Limited Edition Controller is coming and you can pre-order it right now for $74.99 or your regional equivalent.
Following the controller's reveal, we moved into a discussion of the game with a couple of its developers. This part of the presentation kicked off with a quick primer of Forza Horizon gameplay and a recap of previous technical details. We then got a look at the cover of the game featuring the Mercedes AMG 1 and the 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands.
The choice of these two cars is certainly deliberate — they're meant to represent the two very different kinds of racing you'll see in the game. There will, of course, be plenty of high-speed racing on the tarmac for street racing fans, but that's just half of the Forza Horizon formula — you'll be doing a fair amount of offroading in Mexico, too.
We then moved on to a gameplay demonstration of these various types of racing, giving us nearly ten minutes of new content to check out. Among the reveals was a special version of the Porsche 911 racing on a muddy dirt road — a far cry from the tracks you would expect to see this sports car driving on.
The Forza Horizon 5 presentation served as the conclusion of the Xbox Gamescom 2021 streaming event. You'll be able to play Forza Horizon 5 when it arrives on November 9, 2021.
