Tag: Gamescom

Leading Publishers Bring Blockbuster PC Games and Technology to NVIDIA RTX Spark

Posted on by faz_business


NVIDIA is bringing the next wave of RTX gaming to the Gamescom conference running this week in Cologne, Germany, with support for new games, anti-cheat technologies and increased visual quality. 

Electronic Arts, Embark and Ubisoft are among the latest game publishers and developers bringing their blockbuster titles to NVIDIA RTX Spark ahead of its launch this fall. They join the publishers that announced RTX Spark support at COMPUTEX in May, including KRAFTON, NetEase, Riot Games and XBOX. 

NVIDIA is working closely with game developers and ecosystem partners to ensure today’s top PC games — including EA’s EA SPORTS F1 25 and Apex Legends, Ubisoft’s Anno 117: Pax Romana and Embark Studios’ ARC Raiders and THE FINALS — run seamlessly on RTX Spark devices.

“We’re excited to bring Anno 117: Pax Romana to a new generation of RTX-powered PCs,” said Stéphane Jankowski, Ubisoft executive producer of Anno 117 : Pax Romana. “Our teams build the game to be seen wide: full districts, long sightlines, thousands of details at once. Seeing RTX Spark hold that level of fidelity from a single chip is genuinely impressive.”

RTX Spark reinvents personal computing, bringing personal AI agents, advanced content creation and high-performance gaming together in a platform engineered from the ground up for the next wave of Windows PCs. For gamers, RTX Spark combines Windows devices with NVIDIA RTX technologies, including DLSS and Reflex. 

Bringing Anti-Cheat to RTX Spark

Supporting modern PC gaming goes beyond running the game itself. Many of today’s biggest online games rely on sophisticated anti-cheat technologies, to enable fair play across the multiple platforms these games run on.  

NVIDIA has been working with EA to bring native EA Javelin Anticheat support to RTX Spark, including for EA’s biggest multiplayer games, such as EA SPORTS F1 25. RTX Spark launches this fall. 

RTX Delivers Next-Generation Gaming

RTX Spark is just one part of NVIDIA’s lineup of gaming announcements at Gamescom, including:

  • DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction is available now, featuring NVIDIA’s latest second-generation transformer model to deliver even higher image quality in ray- and path-traced content. It replaces traditional denoisers with an NVIDIA supercomputer-trained AI network to reconstruct higher-quality pixels in the parts of a ray-traced frame where rays were not sampled.
  • Path tracing comes to CONTROL Resonant and 007 First Light to deliver new levels of visual fidelity. 
  • NVIDIA ACE technologies are coming to Aniimo in early 2027, letting players naturally interact with their creatures.
  • Gears of War: E-Day includes RTX Mega Geometry integration, advancing image quality on GeForce RTX GPUs, alongside ray tracing and DLSS 4.5.
  • RTX Remix keeps remastering PC classics, with a major Painkiller RTX mod update available now and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind RTX coming soon.
  • GeForce NOW gives members more ways to play with new DLSS 4.5 controls, expanded support for Steam Machine and other devices and platforms, plus blockbuster PC games including CONTROL Resonant, Gears of War: E-Day and more coming to the cloud at launch.

Find more on NVIDIA’s announcements at Gamescom in this GeForce article. 

XBOX @ gamescom 2026 – XBOX Wire

Posted on by faz_business


Join XBOX at gamescom 2026 as we celebrate 25 years of play. We’re returning to Cologne, Germany to connect with players from around the world and spotlight many of the incredible games coming soon to XBOX.

The XBOX booth will be packed with new worlds to explore, developers to meet, and experiences that showcase what’s next for XBOX. Our booth will feature 25 upcoming games and 140 gaming stations, giving fans the opportunity to go hands-on before they launch. Be among the first to play and see games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Fable, Minecraft Dungeons II, Gears of War: E-Day, METRO 2039, STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, Alien: Isolation 2, and more.

As XBOX commemorates 25 years of play, gamescom 2026 is our way to celebrate the players and communities who made those many years possible. Attendees can revisit iconic moments, games, and innovations from every generation of XBOX through interactive experiences that honor the memories, friendships, and stories created along the way.

That celebration continues with the return of XBOX FanFest, bringing together members of our global community for exclusive experiences and unforgettable moments.

Can’t join in person? We’ll be streaming live on YouTube and Twitch, connecting fans around the world with developer interviews, special guests, gameplay reveals, new trailers, and more.

The biggest games of the year will be on XBOX, and many of them will be in our booth ready for you to dive into early.

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 takes center stage. Step into the franchise’s signature Core 6v6 Multiplayer on XBOX Series X, where every match showcases the fluid movement and best-in-class ballistics that define Modern Warfare 4. Whether you’re returning after the Early Access Beta or getting your first taste of the action, this is your chance to experience the next chapter of Modern Warfare Multiplayer firsthand.
  • Gears of War: E-Day brings the first public playable hands-on experience with campaign to gamescom, giving players an early look at the brutal origins of the Locust War and the beginning of the brotherhood between Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago ahead of its October 6, 2026, release.
  • Play Minecraft Dungeons II for the first time. Drop your pickaxe and grab a sword (and a friend) because the foes are tougher than ever – but the loot is worth the battle. Can you fight the crisis?
  • For the first time ever, Fable will have a live demo theater presentation by Playground Games, showcasing live gameplay to the public, taking fans on a Hero’s journey that highlights its smooth and responsive combat. Seamlessly combine melee, ranged, and magical abilities to forge a combat style that feels uniquely your own.
  • Play STRANGER THAN HEAVEN for the first time. Face down fate in the 50-year, action-adventure saga’s demo showcasing the innovative combat system that has you independently control the left and right sides of protagonist Makoto Daito across 3 of the 5 immersive Japanese cities & eras found in the full game.
  • Get hands-on with METRO 2039 for the first time at gamescom ahead of its release in February 2027. Explore, scavenge, and survive the post-apocalyptic ruins of Moscow in the next landmark FPS from acclaimed storytellers 4A Games.
  • Halo: Campaign Evolved lets attendees go hands-on with the faithful yet modernized remake of Halo: Combat Evolved’s legendary campaign, featuring updated visuals, refined gameplay, expanded combat options, and the iconic ringworld adventure that started it all.
  • Between new Forza Horizon 6 features and partnership collaborations, there is always something new happening in Japan. Players can test their driving skills in the new Drift Attack feature and get a sneak peek at partnership collaborations dropping over the next few months.
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 brings riveting content and announcements from the world of digital aviation, including the first public playable hands-on experience with the National Championship Air Races, giving players a chance to experience the fastest motorsport on earth.

There’s so much more to play including Alien Deathstorm, Alien: Isolation 2, Armatus, Bad Magpie, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, Crowsworn, Genigods: Nezha, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, STAR WARS Zero Company, Terrible Lizards, Turok: Origins, and Valor Mortis.

gamescom broadcast asset

XBOX will bring the show to you with live broadcasts from the heart of the XBOX booth starting at 4pm CEST on Wednesday, August 26 and Thursday, August 27 featuring interviews, special guests, gameplay reveals, new trailers, and more.

Tune in on YouTube and Twitch. The show will be available in American Sign Language (ASL) and English Language Audio Descriptions (AD). Select content from the show will be available in additional languages.

You’ll be able to find us in Hall 7, booth A-0.61.  

  • Thursday, August 27 – 10am to 8pm CEST
  • Friday, August 28 – 10am to 8pm CEST
  • Saturday, August 29 – 9am to 8 pm CEST
  • Sunday, August 30 – 9am to 8pm CEST 

Our booth will be wheelchair accessible, with XBOX Adaptive Controllers available upon request and select demo stations equipped with adjustable-height desks and monitors. “Here to Help” staff will be on hand to help players with adaptive set ups and our Quiet room and sensory items will be available for players looking for a reduced sensory experience. Additionally, we will provide ASL, BSL and DGS interpreters and English- and German-language Audio Descriptions at our booth from 12-5pm Thursday through Sunday.

FanFest gamescom Asset

XBOX FanFest’s next stop is Cologne, Germany on Wednesday, August 26 from 8pm – 11pm CEST at the XBOX booth. Check our official social channels and the official XBOX FanFest website for news about how to enter the sweepstakes for your chance to win tickets.

Life Is Strange: Double Exposure is more of a puzzle game than I expected

Posted on by faz_business


Life Is Strange: Double Exposure simultaneously serves as a welcoming return and an exciting leap forward, as fan-favorite protagonist Max Caulfield steps back into the spotlight with new friends, a fresh mystery, and reality-bending abilities. I took the game for a spin during Gamescom and the demo revealed, to my surprise, that Double Exposure may be the series’ most mechanically intriguing entry yet.

With the game set a decade after the events of the original Life Is Strange, the now-adult Max has left Arcadia Bay and works as an artist-in-residence at Caledon University in upstate Vermont. She’s formed a new friend circle in Moses, a science enthusiast, and Safi, daughter of the university’s president. Since the cataclysmic events at Arcadia Bay, of which both endings will funnel into this narrative, Max has sworn never to use her time-rewind power again. However, her new peace becomes shattered when Safi is mysteriously murdered, prompting Max to attempt to save her by winding back the clock for the first time in years. For reasons unknown, the lengthy period of inactivity has caused Max’s power to evolve, and she manages to tear through the fabric of time and space to access an alternate timeline where Safi still lives but remains in mortal danger. Thus, Double Exposure becomes a double murder mystery with players utilizing Max’s newfound Shift power to jump between timelines to discover the identity of the killer in one reality while preventing Safi’s murder in the other.

The Gamescom demo takes place shortly after Safi’s murder. I won’t spoil the narrative details, but Max must retrieve Safi’s camera from a classroom while avoiding detection by a snooping detective. While the room is locked in her current timeline, the same may not be true in the alternate reality. Keeping track of which timeline you occupy is easy thanks to an icon in the upper-left corner labeling the reality as “Living” or “Dead,” referencing Safi’s fate in that world. Using Max’s Pulse ability, another new trick that lets her detect and reveal ghostly elements from the other timeline without doing a full swap, I find a glowing weak point between realities where switching timelines becomes possible. Making the jump sees Max pull apart the current reality like she’s opening a pair of curtains to instantaneously cross over to the other side. The snappiness of this transition makes for a cool visual.

Getting my hands on Safi’s camera becomes an involved exercise in exploring the two-story room, finding clues and hitting dead ends that can only be circumvented by switching to the other timeline. Elements such as the room’s layout, the characters’ current activities and moods, and the location of important items differ in each timeline, and the crux of puzzle-solving involves figuring out how gathering information in one world answers a question in the opposite one.

What begins as a simple search for a safe spirals into using an astronomy chart to find a vital constellation referenced by Moses, then activating a projector to overlay a star chart on a classroom mural in such a manner that the orientation of the constellation reveals the hidden location of the safe’s item. Solving this single puzzle requires several timeline shifts to unravel smaller riddles that logically build toward the solution.

Upon solving this puzzle, the detective forces his way into the classroom, triggering a stealth sequence where I need to escape the room undetected. Simply sneaking past him isn’t enough; I need a loud object to create a distraction, and it can only be found in the Living reality. Since the patrolling investigator blocks certain routes in the cluttered, box-ridden room, getting past him requires a few strategic uses of Shift, as he’s not present in the Living timeline.

While Double Exposure seems to test your noodle more than previous entries, it still heavily emphasizes managing character relationships and steering the story through dialogue choices. However, timeline hopping adds some spice to this formula. While a character may be hesitant to reveal a crucial personal secret in one timeline, their counterpart may be more forthcoming, offering information that can give Max the upper hand. Resorting to using knowledge Max technically shouldn’t possess may not go over well, though, adding a thoughtful wrinkle to conversations.

The Double Exposure Gamescom demo sold me on Shift as a fun mechanic, and I’m excited to see how the game further leverages it to tell its tale. Tack on the return of Max and I’m itching to see how this multiversal murder mystery unravels.