As expected, the world’s biggest gaming exhibition, gamescom, helped to skew pop culture news the way of video games this past week. That said, other media did step up to the plate with several new trailers and announcements.

Gaming

So, yeah, starting with gamescom in Cologne, Germany, and predominantly focusing on the two-hour Opening Night Live presentation that took place last Tuesday, 19 August. You can read a handy summary of pretty much everything that got shown here, although these are our highlights:

The marriage of LEGO games and superheroes is nothing new, but LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight seems to be going above the usual comedic co-op shenanigans where you simply bash everything for studs. Feeling oddly attuned with the Arkham Batman games, in this open-world release, you’ll embark on Bruce Wayne’s epic journey to become the hero of Gotham City. And with that comes references to almost 90 years of Batman media, from comic books, films, and TV series to other games. Could this be the definitive Batman video game?

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is out in 2026 for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.

Things we didn’t have on our 2025 Bingo card: The return of Dawn of War. back in 2004, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War actually brought something fresh to the Real-time Strategy genre. But RTS isn’t quite the mainstream drawcard it once was, and the last Dawn of War released back in 2017. However, Warhammer 40K is a popular game setting right now, so it’s time to battle it out once more for the Emperor.

In Dawn of War IV, which promises the franchise’s largest ever campaign (with 70+ missions), four Warhammer 40,000 factions will clash on the planet Kronus. These include inconic space marines the Blood Ravens, Orks, Necrons, and, for the first time, tech-worshipping and enhanced Adeptus Mechanicus. As before, you can play solo or with/against other players.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV releases on PC in 2026.

Sadly it’s a soulslike, which means incredible difficulty/challenge, which gates off more casual players, but damn, Valor Mortis looks cool. From the makers of Ghostrunner, this first-person action game brings Resident Evil vibes (with a touch of Bioshock) to the Napoleonic wars for a dark, alternate take on history. This developer interview really delves into what players can expect of this unique and enticing world.

Valor Mortis is releasing in 2026 for PC, Xbox Series consoles and PlayStation 5.

Team Cherry used the gamescom period to not only demo their upcoming, HIGHLY ANTICIPATED metroidvania sequel Hollow Knight: Silksong, but also reveal the release date via a Special Announcement trailer. Silksong is out 4 September for all gaming platforms. It also comes to subscription services Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on day one.

As a gaming side note, Sony has slapped its consoles with an approximate $50 increase in the United States, citing Trump’s tariffs. The jump came into effect with one day’s notice, on 21 August.

Film

Two intriguing horror films dropped trailers this past week. The first is Good Boy, which takes the demonic possession subgenre and shows it from a point of view of a much loved and loving pupper. The official synopsis:

A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner Todd, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most.

Good Boy comes to cinemas from 3 October.

Meanwhile, Longlegs and Gretel and Hansel filmmaker Osgood Perkins has revealed his latest artful take on the horror genre, known as Keeper. Keeper reunites Perkins with his The Monkey cast member Tatiana Maslany, while Rossif Sutherland co-stars in this tale of a couple whose anniversary breakaway to a secluded cabin turns sinister when a dark presence reveals itself.

Keeper is in cinemas from 14 November.

A few miscellaneous pieces of movie news:

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – the creators of Clone High, and filmmakers responsible for The LEGO Movie and 22 Jump Street, not to mention being a driving force behind the Spider-Verse movies – have another project in the works. They’re set to produce a new live-action film based on the Archie Comics.

Karen Gillan is joining the Highlander reboot, receiving the rare opportunity to use her native Scottish accent as she plays the wife of immortal title character Connor MacLeod (Henry Cavill). Also in the cast of this long-in-development remake of the beloved 80s fantasy actioner, are Russell Crowe as MacLeod’s mentor Ramirez, and Dave Bautista as the film’s villain, known as The Kurgan. John Wick’s Chad Stahelski is behind the camera.

Television

As promised in the lead-up period, the Opening Night Live show for gamescom 2025 included the world premiere of the Fallout Season 2 trailer. Well, the teaser trailer anyway.

The smash hit Prime Video series, based on the retrofuturistic Bethesda game franchise, returns to TV screens on 17 December this year, with the sophomore outing drawing heavily on the games’ New Vegas story arc. Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins and Kyle MacLachlan are all back, leading the ensemble cast.

And, hey, if you want more on Fallout S2, a seven-image “first look” was also unveiled during the past week.

Netflix showed off a bit this week at Anime NYC, the region’s biggest dedicated anime convention. The streamer used the event to share a teaser trailer for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, and provided a first look at Devil May Cry Season 2. That said, we had eyes only for a special Start of Production clip from Blue Eye Samurai Season 2, which was paired with a poster reveal. We’ll champion Season 1 of this period revenge tale forever, although it’s probably wise to temper your excitement at this point. Apparently “Coming soon” still only means 2026 at the earliest.

Finally, Americans aren’t only getting a PlayStation price increase. They, along with a handful of other global territories (including the UK but excluding South Africa, phew), are receiving an Apple TV+ price bump of 30%. As of 21 August, the streaming service will cost $12.99 per month in the US, up from $9.99, for new subscribers, while existing members will be hit from the end of this month. The last price increase was in 2023.