San Francisco Frontiers - 'Call of Duty', 'Black Myth' wow Gamescom trade show

A two-hour showcase of upcoming releases, including "Call of Duty: Black Ops 7" slated for November 14, belied an industry that has been weathering a rough patch with tens of thousands of job cuts.

The first-person shooter has enlisted American actor Milo Ventimiglia (known for TV series "Heroes" and "This Is Us") as its protagonist in a near-future conflict against psychedelic backdrops evoking the movie "Inception".

More than 5,300 packed one of the giant halls of western German city Cologne's convention centre Tuesday, a record opening night according to organisers.

The event showed off footage from titles like "Requiem" -- the next instalment in the long-running "Resident Evil" horror series -- and rambunctious space adventure "The Outer Worlds 2".

Set for a 2026 release, a new "Lego Batman" will take fans back to "iconic moments and deep-cut references from decades of Batman TV shows, comics and games" in humourous plastic brick form, director Jonathan Smith told the audience.

And there was a surprise reveal for "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" -- a follow up to Chinese 2024 smash hit "Wukong".

Gaming's influence on the broader culture was also on show, as the stars of hit game-to-TV adaptation "Fallout" introduced the Amazon Prime series' second season with a December 17 release.

- Hands-on testing -

While last year's Gamescom drew 335,000 visitors, organisers hope 2025 can recover to pre-Covid levels of around 370,000 between Wednesday and Sunday.

The show brings together industry professionals and lovers of the medium, with around 1,500 exhibitors laying on large stands -- many offering the opportunity to try out the latest, or even unreleased, titles.

Nintendo is back after staying away last year, surfing on the success of its record-breaking Switch 2 console launch in June.

And Microsoft's Xbox division will be showing off its own portable console, slated for release towards the end of the year.

But Japanese PlayStation maker Sony has elected to stay away in 2025.

Fans' interest on opening night was especially piqued by horror titles, as "Resident Evil" battles for the horror crown with a new episode for the "Silent Hill" saga.

Organisers also spotlighted "Hollow Knight: Silksong" -- the sequel to a beloved indie platformer finally on the doorstep after an eight-year wait.

With budgets far lower than multiple-hundred-million behemoths like "Call of Duty", such games "prove something important: small teams with big ideas can change the industry," the event's master of ceremonies, Canadian TV presenter Geoff Keighley, said Tuesday.

The impact indie games can have on fans was clear from the small clusters and individuals wearing the red beret and striped shirt sported by characters in French indie hit "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33".

"It's a little bit of a community, so when you see each other... you say hi, and everyone is smiling," Cologne-based fan Vera Sperber, 36, told AFP.

The hall's bright lights, lasers and crowd noise were on hold for a moment as Lorien Testard, who crafted the entrancing music for "Expedition 33", gave a live performance with singer Alice Duport-Percier.

- 'Not pretty' -

Exhibitors may be less ecstatic than fans at this year's show as the industry endures an extended rough patch.

"The sector hasn't had an easy time of it in the last two years, there was a lot of consolidation, job cuts, some studios closed, some projects were ended prematurely," Felix Falk, managing director of Germany's GAME industry association that co-organises Gamescom, told AFP.

"That's not unusual for the highly dynamic games industry but it's nevertheless not pretty when it happens," he added.

Tracking website Game Industry Layoffs has tallied almost 30,000 job cuts since early 2023, with more than 4,000 this year alone.

But revenue in the global games market should hold steady at just under $190 billion this year, data firm Newzoo has forecast.

R.Baker--SFF