Credit: Xbox
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Xbox Gamescom Day 2 Had Dinosaurs, Giant Cops And A Lot Of Dates
August 28, 2026·8 min read
Xbox's first Gamescom broadcast gave us a mix of extended gameplay, developer interviews and new announcements. Day 2 kept that variety, but put even more emphasis on extended gameplay and developer demonstrations.
We saw how Turok: Origins handles longer combat encounters, with around eight minutes of gameplay through a rain-soaked swamp filled with dinosaurs. RGG Studio closed the show by breaking down Stranger Than Heaven's unusual combat controls across three different decades.
We also got new release dates, Game Pass additions, a first look at one of Dark Arisen's stranger bosses and considerably more explanation of what PUBG: DED.NET actually is.
These were the parts of Xbox's second Gamescom broadcast that gave us something new to work with.
We have seen plenty of Turok: Origins trailers by now, but eight minutes of uninterrupted gameplay finally gave us a better sense of how its first and third-person combat actually works in practice.
The demonstration took place in a rain-soaked swamp, with the Turok warriors pushing through groups of dinosaurs and other enemies using firearms, close-range attacks and some suitably violent executions.
We saw how you can switch between first and third person on the fly, which is a notable change for a series so closely associated with first-person combat. Third-person gives you a wider view of larger encounters, while first-person feels closer to classic Turok.
The swamp also opened combat up into larger spaces than classic Turok. Enemies approached from different parts of the environment, finishers briefly pulled the action in close and the camera could be changed depending on how we wanted to handle the encounter.
Origins taking Turok in a different direction was never much of a surprise, but eight minutes of fighting gave us a much better look at just how far Saber has moved.
Stranger Than Heaven closed the broadcast, by jumping between three different periods of Makoto Daito's life.
Producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto walked us through three fights from different points in Makoto Daito's life, starting in Kokura in 1915, moving to Kure in 1929 and ending in Osaka in 1943.
Stranger Than Heaven does away with the familiar face-button attack setup used by many action games. Makoto's left and right sides are controlled independently through the shoulder buttons and triggers. You can throw attacks from either side, combine them into sequences and respond to incoming strikes with blocks, dodges and timed parries.
The 1915 fight kept things simple with fists, but weapons became more important as Makoto got older. By 1929 he was using a crowbar that left him exposed when he missed, while the 1943 sequence put him in a much more dangerous knife-versus-sword fight built around blocks, parries and smaller openings.
Stranger Than Heaven launches January 15, 2027 and will be available through Game Pass on day one.
The Fallen Dragon shown during the broadcast stays farther away than many of the creatures we fought in Dragon's Dogma 2. Instead of rushing the Arisen and relying on fire, it summons ghouls and supports them with magic while the player deals with the creatures in front of it.
The party eventually manages to decapitate it, but the Fallen Dragon simply regenerates its head and keeps fighting. Figuring out how to kill it permanently forms part of the wider Dark Arisen story, and the developers also pointed out that the creature has no heart.
Capcom also reiterated that several improvements are coming to Dragon's Dogma 2 owners regardless of whether they buy Dark Arisen. Weapon skill slots are increasing from four to six as part of a free update.
Dark Arisen launches on October 9.
Releasing an animal does not have to be the last time you see it in Planet Zoo 2.
Wildlife Reserves let players move animals out of their zoos and into large natural environments that can still be designed, researched and observed. Instead of watching a released animal disappear from the zoo, we can travel into the reserve and continue following it there.
Gamescom also gave us our first proper look at the Research Vehicle used to explore those areas. Players can drive through a reserve while locating and studying animals, or leave the vehicle and continue exploring on foot.
Militsioner used Day 2 to confirm its Xbox plans, with the game now coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2027 alongside Game Pass and Xbox Play Anywhere support.
The new trailer returned to the Colossal Policeman who has defined the game since its earliest footage, showing some of the different ways players can deal with him. You can anger, flatter, disappoint or deceive him, while collecting flowers even opens the possibility of trying to romance him.
We also saw more of the town underneath him, where stealing, breaking into buildings and helping residents can all affect how people respond to you. None of that is a new direction for Militsioner, but Day 2 gave the long-running project a much clearer path to Xbox.
Infinity Ward used its Day 2 appearance to show what players can expect from Modern Warfare 4's second open beta, starting with a first look at Zodiac, the new Warzone Resurgence map developed with Beenox.
Multiplayer also has another Core 6v6 map called Lithium, alongside two new modes. Hijack revolves around carrying a data spike to a communications tower, with the carrier still able to use the spike as a weapon, while Combat Outpost brings Ground War's vehicles and larger maps into matches built around capturing and reinforcing positions.
The developers also addressed feedback from the earlier beta, specifically the spawn system. Infinity Ward said spawn logic is still being adjusted and will continue receiving changes beyond launch.
The second open beta begins August 28.
Microsoft used its Flight Simulator 2024 segment to announce the National Championship Air Races for October 13, combining the Reno and Roswell Air Races across five classes: Unlimited, T-6, Biplane, Jet and the new STOL class with one-on-one drag races.
The developers also showed the new wear-and-tear system that will affect those races, while City Update 16 launched during Gamescom with improvements to nine Italian urban areas across locations including Sardinia and Sicily.
Local Legend 25 arrived alongside it with the Heinkel He 70 Blitz, and Microsoft finished the segment by teasing new Lufthansa liveries tied to the airline's 100th anniversary.
Beyond the longer demonstrations, Day 2 also delivered a steady stream of release dates, Game Pass confirmations and smaller announcements:
Day 2 produced ten separate Game Pass-related updates in total, alongside a much clearer release calendar for the months ahead.
Compared with Day 1, Xbox's second stream felt less concerned with big platform announcements and more interested in sitting with individual games for longer.
Turok: Origins benefited most from that. Eight minutes of uninterrupted gameplay made it much easier to see how Saber is handling the switch between first and third person, while Stranger Than Heaven's combat made considerably more sense once RGG Studio showed it across three different stages of Makoto's life.
Militsioner was probably one of the most memorable games of the day, if only because there are not many games where trying to romance the giant policeman watching your town is presented as a legitimate option.
Day 1 gave us things like Disc-to-Digital and the deeper technical look at Gears of War: E-Day. Day 2 was more about filling in the blanks around games we already knew about.
For a second three-hour stream, that was probably the best direction to take.
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