Summer Game Fest
Summer Game Fest is a live video game event organized and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley.[1] The event takes place annually over multiple live streams during the American summer period.[2] It was created in 2020 following the cancellation of the industry's most prominent events, E3 and Gamescom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Summer Game Fest | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | May 1, 2020 |
Most recent | June 8, 2023 |
Next event | June 2024 |
Organized by | Geoff Keighley |
Website | www |
List of events
Event name | Start date | End date |
---|---|---|
Summer Game Fest[3] | May 1, 2020 | August 24, 2020 |
Summer Game Fest 2021[4] | June 10, 2021 | July 22, 2021 |
Summer Game Fest 2022[5] | June 9, 2022 | June 12, 2022 |
Summer Game Fest 2023[6] | June 8, 2023 | |
Summer Game Fest 2024[7] | June 2024 |
History
2020
Games journalist Geoff Keighley had been working with the ESA since before 2000 to support the E3 convention typically held in June of each year, including running the E3 Coliseum, a side event to give developers and their games more exposure than the standard press conferences. Ahead of the planned E3 2020 show, the ESA had announced a number of changes to its approach, aiming the content of the show towards what it described as a "fan, media and influencer festival".[8] This change of approach was criticized by some in the industry, and Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it would not be participating in the event, after missing E3 2019, as the vision offered by the ESA did not match its expectations;[9] Keighley also opted out of the show, noting he did not "feel comfortable participating" due to the changes.[10]
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ESA canceled the physical event for E3 in 2020.[1] Keighley began working with numerous developers and publishers to run a four-month Summer Game Fest from May 1 to August 24, 2020,[3] helping developers and publisher to host live streams and other events in lieu of the cancellation of E3 and Gamescom.[1] Alongside Summer Game Fest, Keighley promoted the third Steam Game Festival, following after The Game Awards 2019 and from the previously canceled 2020 Game Developers Conference, which ran from June 16–22, 2020. Over 900 games had demos available on Steam for players to try, alongside a slate of interviews with developers throughout the period.[11][12] A similar event for Xbox One games occurred from July 21–27, 2020, as part of the Summer Game Fest.[13]
Among games and other announcements made during the Summer Game Fest 2020 included:
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, a remastered version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and its sequel for modern systems.[14]
- Unreal Engine 5, the next iteration of Epic Games' game engine to be released in mid-2021.[15]
- Star Wars: Squadrons, a new game from Motive Studios and Electronic Arts featuring team-play combat using the spacecraft of the Star Wars universe like X-wing fighters and TIE fighters.[16]
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, a sequel to the original trilogy of Crash Bandicoot games on the original PlayStation console, being developed by Toys for Bob and Activision.[17]
- Cuphead releasing for the PlayStation 4.[18]
2021
The second Summer Game Fest took place from June 10 to July 22, 2021.[4] From June 15–21, 2021, ID@Xbox offered a number of demos of upcoming games on the Xbox platform as part of the Summer Game Fest.[19]
The Summer Game Fest opened with an announcement stream of games hosted by Keighley on June 10, 2021. Among titles presented include:[20]
- Among Us
- The Anacrusis
- Back 4 Blood
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
- Death Stranding Director's Cut (PS5)
- Elden Ring
- Escape from Tarkov
- Evil Dead: The Game
- Fall Guys
- Jurassic World Evolution 2
- Lost Ark
- Metal Slug Tactics
- Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin (NS)
- Overwatch 2
- Planet of Lana
- Salt and Sacrifice
- Solar Ash
- Tales of Arise
- Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (PC, PS4, PS5, XBO, XBXS)
- Two Point Campus
- Valorant
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt
The Summer Game Fest included the first Tribeca Games Spotlight on June 11, 2021, featuring games that had been nominated for the inaugural Tribeca Film Festival video game award.[21] These games included:[22]
- The Big Con
- Harold Halibut
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Lost in Random
- NORCO
- Sable
- SIGNALIS
- 12 Minutes
Koch Media presented a showcase on June 11, 2021, as part of the Summer Game Fest.[23] Alongside introducing their new publishing label, Prime Matter, Koch Media's presenting covered the following games:[24]
- The Chant
- Codename Final Form
- Crossfire: Legion
- Dolman
- Echoes of the End
- Encased
- Gungrave G.O.R.E.
- King's Bounty 2
- The Last Oricru
- Painkiller 2
- Payday 3
- Scars Above
Sony participated in the event by holding a State of Play on July 8, 2021. Announcements made during the event include:
- Arcadegeddon
- Deathloop
- Death Stranding: Director's Cut
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles
- F.I.S.T.
- Hunter's Arena: Legends
- Jett: The Far Shore
- Lost Judgment
- Moss: Book II
- Sifu
- Tribes of Midgard
2022
The third Summer Game Fest ran throughout June 2022, with its core programming from June 9–12. Participating publishers with individual showcases included Capcom, Devolver Digital, Epic Games, Netflix, Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox.[5]
2023
The fourth Summer Game Fest was a combined digital and physical event for the first time, held on June 8, 2023, at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles; a physical component was available to the press in 2022.[6]
The following companies were featured:[25]
|
Nintendo was not featured, instead the company had a Nintendo Direct online presentation on June 21.
2024
The fifth Summer Game Fest will be held in June 2024.[7]
References
- Spangler, Todd (May 1, 2020). "Summer Game Fest 2020 Steps in to Fill E3 Void for Video-Game Biz". Variety. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- Summer Game Fest 2021. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via YouTube.
- McWhertor, Michael (May 1, 2020). "Summer Game Fest announced as a season-long E3 replacement". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- Erskine, Donovan (June 7, 2021). "Summer Game Fest 2021 date and time". Shacknews. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- Hood, Vic; Arif, Shabana (August 9, 2022). "Summer Game Fest 2022: all the biggest announcements and reveals". TechRadar. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- Welsh, Oli (June 10, 2022). "The organizers of E3 and Summer Game Fest are gearing up for a head-on clash". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- Valentine, Rebekah (June 13, 2023). "Summer Game Fest, Play Days Set to Return in June of 2024". IGN. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- Ivan, Tom (January 30, 2020). "ESA plans 'to shake things up' for E3 2020". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- Dring, Christopher (January 13, 2020). "PlayStation will not participate in E3 2020". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- Shanley, Patrick (February 12, 2020). "Geoff Keighley to Skip E3 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- Chalk, Andy (April 13, 2020). "The Steam Game Festival is coming back on the day E3 would've started". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- Wales, Matt (June 16, 2020). "Steam's summer Game Festival is now on, features over 900 playable demos". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- Goslin, Austen (July 1, 2020). "Xbox Summer Game Fest will let players try over 60 upcoming games". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- Conduit, Jessica (May 12, 2020). "'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2' HD remaster lands in September". Engadget. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- Valentine, Rebekah (May 13, 2020). "Epic Games announces Unreal Engine 5 with first PS5 footage". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Gartenberg, Chaim (June 15, 2020). "EA announces Star Wars: Squadrons, a new first-person starfighter dogfighting game". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- Yin-Poole, Wesley (June 22, 2020). "Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time officially announced with debut trailer". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- Minotti, Mike (July 28, 2020). "Cuphead launches on PS4". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- Kerr, Chris (June 15, 2021). "Try Sable, Lake, and more during the ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo event". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- MacLeod, Riley (June 10, 2021). "Everything We Saw At The Summer Game Fest Kickoff". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- Beresford, Tribly (May 6, 2021). "Tribeca Festival Unveils Games Lineup Including Annapurna Interactive's 'Twelve Minutes'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- Howard, Jess (June 11, 2021). "'Kena' And 'Twelve Minutes' Highlight The Tribeca Games Spotlight's Artsiest Game Selections". Uproxx. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- Bankhurst, Adam (May 30, 2021). "Saints Row, Dead Island, and TimeSplitters Parent Company Koch Media Announces Pre-E3 Showcase". IGN. Archived from the original on May 30, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- Doke, Shunal (June 11, 2021). "E3 2021 Koch Primetime: Prime Matter, Payday 3, Painkiller 2, and All Games Revealed". IGN. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- Summer Game Fest [@summergamefest] (May 11, 2023). "#SummerGameFest szn is almost here. The video game industry comes together to show you what's next. Look for updates from 40+ partners" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.