A Big Week for Game Previews
Gamescom Opening Night Live and GTA 6 give players plenty to talk about
Gamescom Opening Night Live took place last week, providing updates on dozens of new and upcoming games. However, those updates might be overshadowed by the biggest game of 2026 finally showing off game play. Check out all the latest gaming news. Let’s go.
Gamescom Opening Night Live
As has become tradition, Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 provided updates and premiere videos for upcoming games. You can see trailers for everything announced, but here are a few of our favorites.
Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons
A new Dungeons & Dragons game that is scheduled to arrive next year.
Stage Tour
For those who miss Rock Band, a new similar musical game is slated for December 10. And yes, you can purchase new plastic guitars and equipment.
No Law
From the makers of The Ascent comes a new cyberpunk first-person shooter. No Law is scheduled to release in 2027.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Songs of the Past
Along with a remastered version of The Witcher 3 (which will be a free upgrade for those who already own the game), the 11-year old game is also getting a new expansion. The remaster arrives September 29, while Songs of the Past is slated for 2027.
Some other notable trailers include Gears of War: E-Day, a Heroes of Might and Magic III remake, Lego Skylines, Gravhounds, Silent Hill: Townfall, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Tactics and a new Final Fantasy VII Revelation trailer.
Grand Theft Auto 6 finally shows game play
Months before its release, Rockstar finally showed off more of their highly-anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6). The 27-minute trailer originally streamed on Netflix before coming to YouTube six hours later. The brief exclusivity reportedly more than doubled Netflix’s traffic.
The in-depth preview showed more of the main protagonists Lucia and Jason while showing off game play and side missions. The video also shows how you’ll be able to switch between the two characters. The video segments were captured on the PlayStation 5 and were praised for their reality.
Publications including Video Game Chronicle, Game Informer, IGN and Kotaku created detailed breakdowns of the trailer. Meanwhile, we compiled some additional headlines about the game:
- Rockstar says GTA 6 will not have any microtransactions or generative AI at launch.
- The map in GTA 6 is twice the size of the one in GTA 5 and three times bigger than Red Dead Redemption 2.
- Rockstar is discussing with Florida officials the possibility of turning Miami (the real city their fictional city is based on) into a real-life Vice City as part of a marketing campaign.
- Rockstar executives say it will likely take about 80 hours to complete the game’s campaign.
- Every non-player character in GTA 6 has over 10 times as many unique animations as characters in GTA 5.
- GTA 6 will have more RPG elements, with activities like eating and exercising impacting the protagonists.
- The leaker who was showing off details from GTA 6 reportedly cashed out with over $200,000.
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Xbox’s digital transformation
Xbox officially announced a plan where game owners can convert physical discs into digital games.
Players will receive a digital entitlement to physical games they own by launching the game in the console. That game will then be playable without inserting the disc, as long as the player is logged into their Xbox account. Supported titles will also be available on Xbox Play Anywhere, which allows users to play their games on PC. From Microsoft’s press release:
Most XBOX One and XBOX Series X disc-based games support this new feature. Players can claim a digital entitlement by inserting a supported disc into an XBOX One or XBOX Series X console and launching the game. Once the entitlement is claimed, you can experience the benefits of digital, including XBOX Play Anywhere and XBOX Cloud Gaming where supported, while your physical disc continues to work exactly as it always has.
We’re starting with thousands of titles, and we’ll continue to add more over time. While not every title will be available at launch, this is an important step toward a future where players can have greater confidence that the games they buy remain with them for years to come.
Microsoft notes that there is “one revocable license per game disc.” So, if you sell or give your disc to someone else, you will lose access to the game.
Side Quests (more stories worth reading)
🐈⬛ We played the board game Cat Earth, and found it to be a purrfectly fun game. Check out our full review.
🎞️ EA confirmed that a leaked trailer for a previously unseen Ironman game is real.
🤖 Nvidia’s controversial DLSS 5 AI filter leaked, and players are experimenting with it on every game.
🫰 The Trump administration is considering a new round of tariffs on gaming hardware.
👍🏼 Meanwhile, indie game and hardware maker Panic is refunding tariffs to players who bought the Playdate.
📖 Xbox released an 18-minute gameplay video for their upcoming game Fable.
📊 A new report says console revenue would be flat in 2026 if not for the release of Grand Theft Auto 6.
🎴 A Pokémon collector recovered over $4,000 worth of stolen cards in a “vigilante” sting operation.
🤖 The writers of The Talos Principle 3 said AI is “just a plagiarism machine that makes people lose their jobs.”
🫱🏽🫲🏾 Geralt from The Witcher will show up in Diablo 4, as The Witcher 3 Remastered launches on Battle.net.
⚖️ A class-action lawsuit was filed against Twitch over Amazon’s AI training.
😢 Numerous exhibitors at Gamescon had their computers and other equipment stolen overnight.
🎥 A Kickstarter for a new The Guild movie made over $6.8 million, breaking the platform record previously held by Veronica Mars.
Jason Dean
New Releases this week:
8/31: Breathedge 2 (PC)
9/1: Crimson Moon (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
9/2: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
9/3: The Blood of Dawnwalker (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
9/3: SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
9/4: NBA 2K27 (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
9/4: Onimusha: Way of the Sword (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
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