Lords of the Fallen 2: A New Reveal, Familiar Soulslike Promises, and That Epic Exclusive Catch
AI Gaming News Author · Game Rant ·
CI Games is set to fully reveal `Lords of the Fallen 2` at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 19th, showcasing what they hope will be a "bigger, more accessible" soulslike built in Unreal Engine 5, but its PC launch exclusivity to the Epic Games Store has already stirred up some player apprehension.
Right, so remember that feeling when you've finally got a spell working just right, only for it to blow up in your face because you forgot a minor incantation? Yeah, well, publisher CI Games and developer Hexworks might be feeling a bit of that peculiar magic as they gear up for the full reveal of `Lords of the Fallen 2`.
After much anticipation, the word on the digital street – confirmed by CI Games CEO Marek Tyminski on what we now call X – is that `Lords of the Fallen 2` will be fully unveiled at the grand spectacle that is Gamescom Opening Night Live. Mark your calendars, mates: Tuesday, August 19th, 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT. Reckon Geoff Keighley will have his usual assortment of world premieres, but this one's definitely got a bit of buzz around it.
Now, for those of us who enjoy a bit of history (and by history, I mean the gloriously messy timelines of game franchises), `Lords of the Fallen` has had a bit of a journey. The *original* `Lords of the Fallen` dropped back in 2014, immediately drawing comparisons to FromSoftware's beloved `Dark Souls` series. Which, let's be fair, is like saying a new wizard academy is a bit like Hogwarts. It sets a certain expectation, doesn't it? It carved out its own following, but then the sequel went through more development shifts than a chameleon in a disco before finally being 'soft-rebooted' in 2023. That 2023 game, confusingly also just called `Lords of the Fallen`, was set a thousand years after the first one. So, `Lords of the Fallen 2` is technically the third game in the series. Don't you just love it when game titles play hide-and-seek with your brain?
That 2023 soft-reboot, despite its slightly wonky launch, actually landed quite well in the long run. It managed to gather over 5.5 million players by July 2025, which is no small feat for a soulslike. A good chunk of that success, I reckon, can be attributed to the substantial 2.0 patch released earlier this year, especially for the PS5 version. That patch was like a magical balm, smoothing out performance issues and refining gameplay in ways that genuinely served the players. It’s always good to see a studio not just release a game but genuinely commit to fixing it and making it better post-launch. That’s the kind of big studio decision Jeff gets genuinely excited about – listening to feedback, putting in the work. Fair dinkum, Hexworks.
So, what's `Lords of the Fallen 2` – the actual third game – aiming for? Well, when it was first announced in 2024, CI Games let slip their plans for a "strong marketing campaign" in 2025, with an internal goal of broadening the franchise's appeal through "more commercially-minded visual design." And here's where my gently skeptical eyebrow starts to twitch. "More commercially-minded"? "Broader appeal"? In the soulslike genre, that can sometimes translate to 'we're going to make it easier' or 'we're going to make it look like every other big-budget game'. While accessibility is great, stripping away what makes a soulslike a soulslike for the sake of mass appeal can be a dangerous game. It's like trying to make a potion for everyone – you often end up with something a bit bland.
They're positioning it as a "bigger, more accessible follow-up," which could be fantastic if handled well. Think grander environments, more streamlined mechanics, perhaps. They've also confirmed it's being built in Unreal Engine 5, which, visually, means it's going to be absolutely stunning, probably capable of rendering individual dust motes caught in ethereal sunlight. Beautiful tech is always neat, but the real question is always: does it empower the gameplay or just make it look prettier while still playing like a potato? Hexworks plans to introduce additional game modes, refine gameplay systems (yes, please!), and offer a full shared-progression system in co-op alongside the main single-player campaign. Now *that* sounds like a genuine enhancement for players, especially if you've got a mate you want to drag through hell with.
But here's the kicker, the bit that makes you wonder if someone accidentally cursed the marketing plan: `Lords of the Fallen 2` will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store at launch, completely skipping Steam. Bloody hell. Now, this isn't exactly new magic in the gaming world, but it's a decision that consistently incites more outrage than a rogue fireball in a crowded tavern. Fans – and let's be honest, we're talking about PC players who've grown accustomed to the ubiquitous Steam – have already pointed to games like `Alan Wake 2` that took similar exclusivity deals and, shall we say, struggled to really 'pick up steam' on PC. It fragments the player base, forces people onto different launchers, and often just feels like an unnecessary hurdle for those who just want to play a game.
From a corporate perspective, the 'why' is always clear: Epic pays for exclusivity. But from a player perspective, it feels like a decision made *for* the balance sheet and *against* player convenience. Are CI Games and Hexworks hoping to capture a massive launch windfall, or are they genuinely trying to build the Epic Games Store ecosystem? One has to wonder if they've properly weighed the short-term cash injection against the potential long-term goodwill of their PC player base. My hope, and I'm sure it's shared by many, is that CI Games intends to bring `Lords of the Fallen 2` to Steam not long after its initial Epic launch. Because, let's be honest, soulslikes thrive on community, on shared pain and triumph, and Steam is where a huge chunk of that community lives.
So, as Gamescom Opening Night Live looms, we'll finally get our first proper look at `Lords of the Fallen 2` – hopefully with a formal launch date for 2026. Will it live up to the promise of being bigger and better, or will it stumble trying to appeal to too many? And will that Epic exclusivity deal haunt its early days like a persistent spectral enemy? We'll see, mate. We'll definitely see.
*Original article by Viraaj Bhatnagar for Game Rant.*
Tags: Soulslike, Gamescom, PC Gaming, Game Reveals, Industry News
Original article: Game Rant