gamescom 2025: The Week Cologne Belonged to Resident Evil Requiem and Silksong
gamescom 2025 has closed its doors, and looking back at the week, two games defined it: Capcom's Resident Evil Requiem, which arrived as the favorite and left with an armful of awards, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, which turned a single trailer and a playable demo into the emotional peak of the show. Around them, 357,000 visitors, more than 1,500 exhibitors, and a city festival made the 2025 edition one of the most memorable in years. Here is our look back at what actually mattered in Cologne.
Requiem's coronation week
Few games have owned a gamescom the way Resident Evil Requiem owned this one. The survival-horror sequel offered its first playable demo worldwide, and the hands-on impressions matched the hype, particularly the ability to shift between first and third person, which testers described as merging the intimate dread of Resident Evil 7 and Village with the action-forward feel of the recent remakes. The lines at Capcom's booth were long from the first public day to the last.
The jury agreed with the crowds: Requiem took four gamescom awards, Best Visuals, Best Audio, Most Epic, and Best PlayStation Game, while Capcom's overall lineup with Pragmata and Onimusha: Way of the Sword earned Best Lineup. Coming out of Cologne, Requiem is not just February's biggest release; it is an early Game of the Year contender.
Silksong's long-awaited victory lap
The other story needed no marketing budget at all. After years as gaming's favorite ghost, Hollow Knight: Silksong was declared definitively launching in 2025 during Opening Night Live, and its playable demo on the show floor became the week's pilgrimage site. The community voted its trailer the best of the show, a small award that felt like a collective sigh of relief from everyone who has followed the saga since 2019.
Everything else worth remembering
Opening Night Live delivered its usual avalanche: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 dated for November 14, Dawn of War 4 announced, the LEGO Batman reveal, a Sekiro anime, and Fallout season 2's premiere date. On the show floor, the biggest indie area in gamescom history and 40 country pavilions, including partner country Thailand, gave the week its texture, while The Witcher in Concert and Sabaton brought the event arena to life.
The wholesome corner deserves its own mention: tiny Scandinavian adventure Hela beat blockbusters to win both Most Entertaining and Most Wholesome, and Tiny Bookshop took Games for Impact, reminders that gamescom's heart increasingly beats in Hall 10.2.
The verdict
With 357,000 visitors from 128 countries, record exhibitor numbers, and politics showing up with a doubled games funding promise, gamescom 2025 confirmed its status as the games industry's center of gravity. But numbers aside, this edition will be remembered for something simpler: a horror sequel that lived up to enormous expectations, and a little bug knight that finally, truly, is coming. Cologne delivered. See you in August 2026.
