The Opening Night Live this year has been pretty grueling, with approx two hours of trailers and “world premieres” that Geoff Keighley showed us. Although the prime time of Gamescom is over, there is a particular moment of the show that has stuck in the mind of the audience: a short message from the astronaut of the European Space Agency, Samantha Cristoforettiwho applauded and praised the many games set in space that will be released over the next few months.
Samantha Cristoforetti: the video message for Gamescom 2022
Cristoforetti, which currently flies to 27,000 kilometers per hour (about 17,000 mph) and a 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) above our heads on the International Space Station, praised the video game industry for its commitment to space.
While floating in zero gravity he stated that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is thrilled that the developers highlight “Love for space exploration”, with various games such as No Man’s Sky, Stellaris, The Outer Worlds and others. Cristoforetti stated:
“I come to you to pay my compliments to the gaming industry. We have seen how many space games you have created recently. The missions you send out to your players aren’t just a lot of fun. They create curiosity, interest and love for space exploration in players around the world. While we await the return to the Moon and Mars with our ambitious Teranova program, humanity’s spaceflight capabilities will be partly due (sic) to the gaming industry ”.
Although it is easy to point to the most recent games, including Elite Dangerous e Outer WildsAs partially responsible for the popularity of space as a playing field for this interactive medium, there are many more games on the way that will send us into space.
Among the Gamescom announcements we find the horror adventure The Callisto Protocol and the GDR Star Ocean The Divine Force. We cannot then forget Dune: Spice Wars, Star Trek: Resurgence and the remake di Dead Space. Finally we have Starfield by Bethesda, the most anticipated – and biggest – space exploration game with at least 1000 planets.
“Who knows? Perhaps you too will be among us here at ESA. Virtually exploring space isn’t just fun. It has a real world impact that brings us all closer to the stars. So, on behalf of all ESA members, good. Keep on creating. Keep innovating. And keep playing ”, concluded Cristoforetti. Relax Samantha, we’ll do it.