15th August video games round-up: Battlefield 6 beta continues, Dawn of War - Definitive Edition is out, and early shouts for Game of the Year
All the news and events in the world of video games today.
Update: That was the world of video games today on 14th August. A full transcript of everything that occurred today is available below if you wish to digest it all at your leisure.
It's 15th August, and we're back with another daily live report. We'll be running down all the day's news and events, checking in with what you are up to, and providing some hopefully entertaining commentary on the world of video games.
Today we've got loads of great articles going live on the site, but we'll also discuss the Battlefield 6 beta, Dawn of War - Definitive Edition, and I'm keen to hear your early shouts for Game of the Year.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Morning, everyone! Hope you all had great evenings and are looking forward to another day of video games with us today. Later on I'll be looking at what games you reckon are in for a shout as Game of the Year, so get thinking.
Neo Berlin 2087 - Gamescom 2025 Gameplay Trailer
Futuristic shooter is coming to PS5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC.
Elysium Game Studio has released a brand-new gameplay trailer for its third- and first-person action RPG, Neo Berlin 2087.
As the name suggests, this is a futuristic world, and the trailer looks pretty impressive.
From the trailer blurb: "Dive into the dystopian cyberpunk world of Neo Berlin 2087 – a unique third- and first-person action RPG crafted for fans of immersive single-player experiences. Uncover a deep, narrative-driven story through never-before-seen gameplay, new levels, cinematic cutscenes, and intense combat. Meet new characters Bryan and Phoenix in this action-packed Gamescom 2025 reveal."
It's certainly action-packed, I'll give it that.
A bit more info on that Neo Berlin 2087 game in the full story here: Neo Berlin 2087 - Gamescom 2025 Gameplay Trailer shows off impressive visuals
Preview: Sword of the Sea's joyous movement
First up on the features-reviews-previews-other-fancy-things slate for this weirdly busy Friday: here's a preview from yours truly for Sword of the Sea, the next game from Abzû and The Pathless developer Giant Squid.
We found out the other day it's coming to PS Plus on launch - next week! - which frankly makes that sub an absolute steal for anyone with a PlayStation at the moment. This game is a joy. Mindful, fluid, playful. Proper simple-pleasures-done-perfectly stuff. Read on for some more waffly thoughts of mine and much more interesting comments from studio head Matt Nava, who was also Art Director on another sandy PlayStation game called Journey, which you might've heard of.
Baleeted says:My GOTY so far is Clair Obscur but I have got DK Banaza on the way and am looking forward to see how Borderlands 4, Ghost of Yotei and Metroid Prime 4 turn out.
Rogueywon says: I've found this a pretty thin year for new releases that appeal to me. Clair Obscur would probably be sat in my GOTY spot for the moment...
mattevansc3 says: Expedition 33 easily for GOTY. Act 3 drops off in the same way that a lot of games do, it opens up the world and its player choice to carry on with the story or do side quests.
Roddy McCance says: Game Of The Year for me is Clair Obscur Expedition 33, certainly so far, granted I've no Switch yet (hoping Santa is kind) and the rest of the year is fairly stacked, but I think Clair Obscur just had everything in terms of design, playability, music, and there's a few niggles in there too but I'd say it's fairly undeniable as a singular vision. I also think this year there were loads of great ideas, worldbuilding and narratives where the gameplay just didn't quite live up to the design , thinking Atomfall, South Of Midnight and even Mafia Old Country but I'm really glad those kind of things exist still. Blue Prince, Death Stranding 2 and Split Fiction and a few more you'd imagine will be in the conversation.
I reckon, if you lot reflect the pulse of the gaming world at large, that Clair Obscur is in for a good shout for Game of the Year.
Today's blast from the past: Dolphins, Alternate Universes, and Ghosts
There's a few games that celebrate milestone anniversaries today - and so if you want to feel old through the medium of video games, we've got you covered...
- Ecco Jr. is 30 years old today. This is a sort of fascinating little title - SEGA taking a Mega Drive a game that had a more grown-up audience and building a more fluffy kid-focused spin-off. There's no enemies, for a start, and you don't have to worry about oxygen, so you can explore the ocean at will. An interesting little curio. For some reading, check out Bertie's old chat with the man who created the original Ecco - which unlike Junior, is brutally difficult..
- Chrono Cross first released in the West - North America only, of course - on this day 25 years ago. Some good reading on this one is our review of the recent remaster, and if you want to get your lore goblin on I wrote an article elsewhere a while back summarizing and explaining exactly how Chrono Cross is connected to Chrono Trigger - because nothing is simple when time travel and alternate universes are involved..
- Geist is 20 today - a GameCube exclusive, Nintendo-published action-adventure about ghosts and possession. It started out as a first-person shooter but morphed into something a little less conventional during its development. It was developed by n-Space, the now-defunct US developer most-known for TV and film tie-ins. It's one of those rare M-rated Nintendo games! Eurogamer gave it a 6/10, back in the ancient days when we did scores out of ten.
heydevwhatsnew says: Will there be a live coverage for gamescom opening night live as well?
Yep, we'll be running a live report throughout the show that evening.
Emergency Call 112 - The Firefighting Simulation 3 revealed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles
If you simply can't get enough authentic firefighting video games, publisher Aerosoft has got some great news: Emergency Call 112 - The Firefighting Simulation 3 is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles, and is in development at crenetic.
Any sim fans reading? Can't say I'm big into games that ask you to role-play other people's jobs, unless that job is managing a football team.
Not everyone is on the Clair Obscur bandwagon for Game of the Year. It even made mrjingles75 feel unwell!
mrjingles75 says: Clair Obscur 33? Made me wanna vomit.Got to that village level with the brush head people and was done.
Others of you weren't so deeply against it on a guttural level, with the likes of DK Bananza and Blue Prince getting call outs.
Rahmus says: I can't look beyond Despelote for GOTY. Yes, it's not a big RPG or anything like that, but it changed the way I think not just about games but childhood and the memories formed during it. It might be an overused term but it is truly transportive.
neddie says: My game of the year so far is a tie up between Tempest Rising and Donkey Kong, but there are still a couple of contenders due for release (Terminator 2D, Anno 117 Pax Romana and Metroid Prime 4). I'm also getting more fond of Ninja Gaiden Ragebound the more I play.
Killerbee says: My GOTY shout is for Blue Prince. I was utterly consumed by it and loved peeling back the layers of its incredibly deep puzzle. I still have pages of notes and a phone full of photos I’ve taken of the screen. The play of laying out rooms never got tired and it kept surprising me at every turn. If there was one complaint, it’s that some of the puzzles that come after getting to room 46 were pretty abstruse and it perhaps needed a little more direction to bridge the gap between the first, very clear objective of room 46 and the rest of the game. Especially as the “rest of the game” is actually “most of the game”. Still, I absolutely loved it.
Eight minutes of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds music
Sonic the Hedgehog isn't loved by everyone, but most people can agree that the music in his games is generally top-tier stuff. We expect the soundtrack to the upcoming Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will be stellar, and Sega has released a brand new video that highlights six of the tunes in the game.
Sounds pretty great to me. Any Sonic heads in the chat today? There's no shame in it.
Danzig85 says:Got back into Death Stranding 2 and it’s picking back up again in chapter 9. It’s probably this or DK Bonanza for my GOTY so far.
Speaking of Bonanza, did anyone watch a show called Directors Commentary? It starred Rob Brydon as Peter de Lane, a fictional director, who would talk over real shows as if he directed them. One of the shows was Bonanza!
A bit of culture for you all, there.
Eurogamer readers remember dial-up internet
Bertie has been on the blower to moan about how I have muscled in on his live blogging. He's now working from the shed at the bottom of the garden, but before I sent him there he did make a good point about the lovely comments on our Dial-up memories article.
So, not because Bertie asked me to do so, please do check out those comments. Some, I dare say, might even make your day a little bit nicer.
Battlefield 6 beta impressions
Do we have any Battlefield fans here? Doesn't strike me as a big Eurogamer reader favourite, but the beta is live now and we've been playing it.
Sherif, usually found over on VG247, is a big fan, and he had this to say after playing the beta.
"My biggest issues with the Battlefield 6 beta are ironically both the result of the same mantra guiding them: in order to make the Battlefield formula more accessible to the millions of players who aren’t interested in learning it, DICE and EA must cut down on as much of the friction as possible."
Today's article from the Eurogamer archive
Time for a delve into the Eurogamer archive as lunch approaches. (In truth I've already eaten a cheese and pickle roll. I better not encourage sharing what you had for lunch as it's not good and proper behaviour.)
Today's blast from the past is a stone-cold classic from Mr Donlan himself. If you haven't read this yet, give yourself a break and a bit of a treat.
MarcusJ says: Drawing attention to something as minor as the 20th anniversary of Geist makes this live stuff all worthwhile! Brilliant. Geist… I remember the magazines (well, the Nintendo ones at least) of the day trying to build a bit of a head of steam around this one, and then my EB received a single lonely copy, which sat for several days before anyone so much as looked at it. Also, with “polter” vexingly absent from just in front of the title, I don’t believe a single punter ever pronounced the name correctly. I’ve got a copy around here somewhere - come to think of it, it’s probably the same copy I’m referring to above. Perhaps I’ll dig it out for an anniversary playthrough…
Alex plans to post about these regularly, so I'm glad you appreciated it. Not sure about Geist myself. Sounded good on paper, but quite disappointing to play.
Over on Bluesky I've noticed a bit of a wave of excitement from people posting the first five games they bought on Steam. I lost my original Steam account in a tragic accident (business deal), so I won't post mine other than to say I made a Steam account for Half-Life 2 back in 2004.
Has anyone got any initial purchases that stand the test of time?
New Ghost of Yōtei gameplay footage
Ghost of Yōtei for PlayStation 5 edges closer and closer to its October release date, but if you are finding the wait hard to take then this short but sweet gameplay trailer might ease your suffering.
While this gameplay snippet is only a mere glimpse at just 30 seconds, it does show off the combat you'll be treated to in the full game. As the lead character Atsu dispatches foes on a bridge, you'll see how she can utilise sand to startle and disable foes, and also send enemies to their deaths by pushing them off the edge of high platforms.
Key to this gameplay clip is the Yari spear, one of the many weapons you'll be able to use in the game. As well as being lethal in its own right, the Yari spear can also be used as a way for Atsu to propel herself forwards into enemies.
What were your first Steam purchases?
Rogueywon says: Looking at my first five Steam games via the "product activations and licences" tab gives: Half Life Platinum Pack (Sep 2003), Counter-Strike Condition Zero (May 2004), Half Life 2 (Nov 2004), The Orange Box (Oct 2007) and Commander Keen Complete Pack (Jun 2008). Looking further up the list, you can see I barely used Steam until 2009, then I switched to using it constantly.
2much says: My first 5 steam purchases were: 1. Left 4 Dead 2. Super Meat Boy 3. Amnesia: The Dark Descent 4. Grand Theft Auto Complete Pack 5. The Binding of Isaac Something that really stands out to me though and makes me realise how not a PC gamer I am is that those are 5 of 13 total purchases I've made on Steam, another of the 13 was a gift for my dad
Dwayneh says: My first few things on Steam are listed as complimentary. I assume that means I exchanged a key from a retail box for them, but not entirely sure. Anyway:- HL2 (Retail Edition) HL Platinum pack Rag Doll Kung Fu HL Episode 1 Sin Episode 1 My first purchase wasn't actually until 2008 - 4 years later (Team Fortress 2). So I guess I wasn't using Steam much in the early days.
I reckon 2much edges it at the moment in terms of all round quality and variety.
Stellar Blade's success on PC proves South Korea is set to become a major force in global gaming
Ed's been looking into the success of Stellar Blade on PC and what that might mean for the future of South Korean game development globally.
"The PC release of Stellar Blade has proven exceptionally popular, with developer Shift Up revealing impressive sales earlier this week in its latest financial report. But it's not only a huge win for the studio and publisher Sony, it's also exemplary of a booming games industry in South Korea seeking global expansion."
Mustoe says: I think my first Steam purchase was Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War back in 2004, although it was the disc version that launched via Steam.
Nice little point to mention that Dawn of War - Definitive Edition is out now. Has anyone played it? We're hoping to get some thoughts on it live this weekend if you're into Space Marines and Orks.
Bongo Cat's back in the news and with good reason
He can't keep me out for long! I've snuck back in. Shh. But how are you all doing - warm, isn't it? But that's not why I'm here! Focus, Bertie.
I'm here to tell you I've been writing about Bongo Cat again, but with good reason. The Steam idle typing sensation has transformed with a - wait for it - "meowtiplayer" update, which adds support for more than 100 people to Bongo Cat together, which is frankly ridiculous but great fun.
But that's not all. Bongo Cat has also achieved the impossible and eradicated its significant bot problem, meaning the concurrent figures you see for the game now are, apparently, accurate. If only Banana's were the same.
And still that's not all. Take a read.
It would be silly not to do another Baldur's Gate. But who will make it and what kind of game will it be?
This is great - I'm back again! And it's still warm, isn't it?
I've been writing about Baldur's Gate 3, or rather, I've been writing about the unenviable task one studio will have trying to follow that game. Because Wizards of the Coast, the owner of Dungeons & Dragons, absolutely intends to follow it up. It would be outrageously silly not to. But who will make it? Larian's out of the picture. So who does Wizards have that it can call on?
More the point, perhaps, what kind of game will it be? I don't think it's a given that it'll be just like Baldur's Gate 3. It might make more sense to do something different. Come speculate with me - there are a lot more thoughts in the piece.
Incidentally, that character in the screenshot is my partner's. Cool, isn't she?
13 minutes of Crimson Desert gameplay
Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss' visually impressive action game, will be at Gamescom in Cologne next week, but if you aren't going you can see how it's shaping up in this new gameplay trailer.
This looks pretty nice, but it also has a kind of last-gen post-processing overly stylised sheen to it that I'm not sure I'm a big fan of.
spookyxelectric says: I don't have Bananza yet, though that's the next Switch 2 game I buy, naturally. Though I think I need an SD Express card first... That said, as fun as I'm sure it is, I think it's got a tough battle for it to top Mario Kart World as my personal game of the year. MKW has quickly become my favorite racing game of all time. You take Forza Horizon's open world, and blend it with incredible track design and fast, frantic arcade racing and you get the perfect game for me.
Ooh, a late in the day shout for Mario Kart World as a potential Game of the Year candidate. I must admit, when I think of the games I played this year, I tend to forget about Mario Kart World. The whole release period was a bit of a blur coming alongside Summer Game Fest.
That's your lot for the daily live report today. We'll be back on Monday for anyone who wants to check out the day's news and events with us.
A big thank you to everyone who checked out a live report this week. Making changes on a big established site is very hard, and we're aware there are some problems that we want to fix, but my hope is that the reasons for the changes will become clearer in the weeks to come.