Xbox reveals Gamescom lineup including Fable, Alien Isolation 2

Xbox just announced its lineup of 25 games for next month’s Gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany, and it includes quite a few highly anticipated titles. For starters, Playground Games will deliver Fable‘s first live gameplay demonstration to the public. While it won’t be directly playable, the presentation will show off its combat. Xbox’s long-delayed reboot was first announced in 2020 and is currently set to be released on Feb. 23, 2027.

Another major standout is Alien Isolation 2, which was formally announced in June. The sequel to the beloved 2014 horror game is being developed by the studio behind the first game, Creative Assembly, and published by Sega. It has been in early development since at least October 2024. It’s a bit surprising that Alien Isolation 2 will already be playable at conventions given how recently it was announced, but it’s possible this demo will be the same one shown to the press at Summer Game Fest. That sneak peek showed off atmospheric outdoor environments and an unsettling encounter with a Xenomorph.

RGG Studios’ Stranger Than Heaven will also make an appearance with a playable demo. “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,” Xbox’s blog post reads. While Stranger Than Heaven’s excellent story trailer made a strong first impression, the strange decision to digitally resurrect Tupac for the castwas criticized for being tone-deaf and ghoulish.

Quite a few additional unreleased games will be at Microsoft’s booth, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Gears of War: E-Day, Minecraft Dungeons 2, Metro 2039, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, and Valor Mortis. The company will have 140 gaming stations in total.

Gamescom will run from Aug. 26 to Aug. 30. The event kicks off with Gamescom Opening Night Live, a Geoff Keighley-hosted livestream that will likely feature at least a few new announcements. In some ways, it isn’t surprising that Microsoft seems to be going all out: Gamescom is the world’s biggest game convention by attendance, attracting over 300,000 visitors and 1,500 exhibitors last year. As the company continues to lay off over 3,000 employees during this fiscal year, it’s in desperate need of some good PR.