Hottest News: Gamescom 2024, New Steam Record Breaker and 580 Million Gifts from Epic Games

Gamescom 2024 highlighted several high‑profile titles, including Dune Awakening, Little Nightmares 3, and Reanimal, with teaser trailers for Borderlands 4 and Mafia 4 slated for 2025. The event also showcased a single VR title, Batman: Arkham Shadow on Meta Quest 3, and announced the Prime TV anthology Secret Level, which will repurpose CGI assets from game studios for short‑form storytelling.

Black Myth: Wukong dominated Steam, achieving 2.13 million concurrent players and becoming the second most‑played game on the platform after PUBG. The title sold over 10 million units in its first three days across Steam and PS5, with 88 % of players located in China. Despite lacking a console release and receiving mixed media reviews, the game’s sales momentum remained strong.

Epic Games reported that its store has distributed 580 million free game units since 2018, costing the company more than $100 million. Epic has also spent over $300 million on exclusives between 2018 and 2021, including titles published through its 2020 publishing arm. Recent exclusivity disputes surfaced when Gearbox’s CEO stated that Borderlands 4 would not honor an Epic Store exclusive, citing Steam’s larger user base. Fortnite has recently returned to Android and iOS in the EU after a four‑year delay.

The new PS5/PC hero shooter Concord attracted only 697 concurrent players on Steam, raising questions about Sony’s continued support for the title. In contrast, Sony’s previous full‑priced GaaS title Helldivers II had a more robust player base. The document also lists new releases for August 2024 across platforms, including titles such as Shoulders of Giants: Ultimate, Green Hell, and Kena: Bridge of Spirits.