2023 Summer Game Fest: All the Titles Revealed

Our coverage of Summer Game Fest 2023 is almost complete after covering numerous stories. Due to the cancellation of E3 earlier this year, SGF was a more modest event. The festivities kicked off with Sony’s PlayStation Showcase livestream on May 24th, which was jam-packed with exciting announcements such as Bungie’s Marathon, Haven’s Fairgame$, a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, additional details on Final Fantasy XVI and Spider-Man 2, and a release date for Alan Wake II. Additionally, the Project Q handheld streaming device was unveiled.

Then came Summer Game Fest with the opening event on Thursday, June 8th. We got a gameplay reveal for Mortal Kombat 1, a new (delayed to 2024) release date for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and a handful of smaller reveals like Sand Land and Sonic Superstars. There were plenty of sequels and free-to-play MMO trailers, but it was generally a low-key affair with fewer big names than we’ve come to expect from the team behind The Game Awards.

The Day of the Devs and Devolver streams immediately following the Summer Game Fest live show were a little more successful: interesting games from smaller studios like Baby Steps, Beastieball, Cocoon, Hauntii, Helskate, Simpler Times, and Viewfinder.

It wasn’t until Sunday’s Xbox event that we got an event full of the AAA announcements you’d expect from E3. As usual, Microsoft had a busy show that included new announcements and some release dates (or windows) for well-known games. Featured games included Avowed, Fable, South of Midnight, Persona 3 Reload, Forza Motorsport, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Clockwork Revolution. We also finally got the Xbox Series S with 1TB of built-in storage.

On Monday we saw a couple of smaller shows. First up was Ubisoft, which included Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, a trio of Assassin’s Creed games, a new Crew game, and a recent Prince of Persia title. Later that day, it was Capcom’s turn and they showed off Exoprimal again, offering a tantalizing look at Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, which looks like a unique third-person action game. Finally, since it’s 2023, the company’s nearly forgotten AAA sci-fi game, Pragmata, was endlessly delayed. It’s a game that was announced for the PlayStation 5 back in June 2020 — before we even knew what the PS5 looked like — and this is the second delay for the game since it was originally expected in 2022.

We’ll share more in the coming weeks, and we’ll update this post with links as they become available. For now, enjoy our analysis, previews and all the other big announcements from SGF 2023.

Analysis

Summer Game Fest 2023 and the stagnant state of the industry

I posted this story on the state of AAA gaming on the eve of Summer Game Fest. After a week full of game announcements, I feel exactly the same way. — Jessica Conditt, Senior Editor

Generative AI can help bring tomorrow’s NPCs to life

This senior editor (and ReturnByte AI expert) Andrew Tarantola looks at the history of NPCs, from if-then programming to finite machines, decision and behavior trees, GOAPs, and modern AI in games like The Last of Us, then looks to the future to see how generative AI can affect the future of gaming.

Ubisoft needs a reboot

At some point during the last console generation, Ubisoft lost its soul. It was a partial process of erosion that began in 2015, eventually leading to a complete identity collapse somewhere between the studio’s unironic introduction of in-game NFTs and the sixth delay of Skull & Bones. With 40 years of AAA hits and weird licensing deals, Ubisoft used to be a pillar of European innovation – but in 2023, it’s selling live service tedium, mobile ports with microtransactions and unreliable release dates. What is Ubisoft anymore? – Jessica Conditt

Starfield Direct has me excited for Bethesda’s ambitious new RPG

Senior video producer Brandon Quintana shot this video right after Microsoft’s Starfield Direct on Sunday, outlining why he’s excited about Bethesda’s ambitious new RPG after taking a closer look at the game.

Why the Oxenfree II team became Netflix’s first game studio

At the beginning of 2021, Night School was on the partnership market. It was acquired by Netflix and became the company’s first game studio. Now, Night School is preparing to release its first game for the streaming giant. But that’s not the end of Netflix’s goals.

Game previews

‘Alan Wake II’ stands out from the crowd of sequels

I’m nervous about Saga’s fate in Alan Wake II – and that only makes me more excited for the game as a whole. This is primarily a linear, narrative experience, and it looks terrifying. —Jessica Conditt

“Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon” features fast-paced battles with customizable mechs

Armored Core, one of the longest running mech fighting series of all time, hasn’t been seen in over ten years. Now developer FromSoftware, high on the glory of Elden Ring and Dark Souls, is returning to the mex with what it says is a remastered, reimagined take on robot combat. It’s time for a mech gaming boom. – Mat Smith, UK Office Manager

You should get excited about Cocoon

Cocoon is a game that makes perfect sense when you play it. That would be a remarkable feat if it weren’t also a game that forces you to use its levels to solve itself. It’s the debut game from Geometric Interactive, a studio that previously worked on the award-winning puzzle-platformers Limbo and Inside. At Summer Game Fest 2023, I had about half an hour to play the game’s opening, and it stuck with me more than anything else I saw at the show. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the game of the show. — Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-Chief

‘Forza Motorsport’ wants you to drive forever

The long-awaited next title in the Motorsport series (it’s been over five years since its release!) comes with a bunch of new features, improved physics, better AI, and looks absolutely fantastic in 4K/60. The most interesting thing about it to me is that it may very well be the last standalone Motorsport game as Microsoft is moving the series to a game-as-a-service model. In the age of Game Pass, it makes perfect sense to me and I can’t wait to drive in October. —Aaron Souppouris

“Immortals of Aveum” first impression: A little more magic and this could be wonderful

When I saw the announcement trailer for Immortals of Aveum in Winter 2022, I was surprised by my own interest in the game. Today, I’m still interested in Immortals of Aveum and I think I understand why. There aren’t many first-person action games that rely on mechanics other than guns – Dishonored, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hexen come to mind – but overall it’s a small field. This might be one reason why Immortals stands out as something fresh, but it’s also nice to see a new, AAA-level game that’s single-player and story-driven with a subdued campaign, rather than an open world of live-service features. —Jessica Conditt

“Lysfanga” is what happens when hack and slash meets tactical time travel

Lysfanga’s isometric views may evoke memories of Hades, but this is a different kind of game. While you’re still slicing and dicing monsters and enemies, protagonist Imë combines his spells and weapon combos with the ability to turn back time and do it all over again, in a different way. The second time, his shadow from the previous timeline continues to rush at enemies. While some action gaming skills help, you can beat most levels just by thinking them through before you act. The controls and gameplay aren’t terribly similar, but Lysfanga reminded me of the old Fire Emblem games where careful planning ended the battle before it even started. Even in this early demo, the game offers incredibly satisfying moments when all your attacking clones come together to wipe out all the enemies in a matter of seconds. – Matt Smith

“Mortal Kombat 1” made a great first impression

Ed Boon’s onstage gameplay reveal of Mortal Kombat 1, the latest installment in the storied fighting game series, was one of the standout moments of the otherwise low-key opening event. At a private event after the show, Brandon Quintana and Mat Smith sat down to play MK1 and left impressed.

“Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown” is a Metroidvania-style platformer to be released in 2024

After a small reveal at Summer Game Fest’s opening night event, Ubisoft dived deeper into the game in Monday’s “Forward” stream. After that, Senior Video Producer Brandon Quintana got his hands on an early build of the game and enjoyed himself.

’33 Immortals’ first impression: Defying God is more fun with friends

Can you imagine gathering 33 players for a 25 minute track? 33 Immortals intends to do just that. Channeling the animation style of retro comics (and a little Banner Saga), 33 Immortals is a multiplayer roguelike top-down action game from the makers of Spiritfarer. In this early version of the game, I played with five others and had a great time, although some technical issues spoiled the party. I’m excited to play a roguelike as part of a mob, and I’m curious to see what the other character types are up to. – Matt Smith

“Under the Waves” is a sad but relaxing ocean adventure

Parallel Studio’s Under the Waves is a soothing game. Amidst the cheers and laughter of nearby Crash Team Rumble players (possibly employees), I dove. Dive deeper and deeper into the inky blue, chase the banished cargo container as it bounces off rocks, spills stuffed toys and mysteriously reveals a derelict submarine hidden deeper and deeper. Although I could be relaxed, I also felt a little uneasy. In a lot of ways, whether it’s the yet-to-be-revealed story or the uneasy tension that’s touched on regularly, it reminds me of Firewatch, even if it’s all set under the sea. – Matt Smith

All other big announcements at Summer Game Fest 2023

You can find all of our Summer Game Fest announcements here, but here’s a chronological list of the announcements that we think really moved the needle.

Thursday, June 8

• You can play Goth Pinocchio’s Lies of P demo right now
• ‘Sand Land’ is a new adventure game based on the manga by the creator of Dragon Ball
• “Sonic Superstars” gives a new modern twist to the classic game
• “Like A Dragon Gaiden” will resurrect Kiryu on November 9, 2023
• “Final Fantasy VII Remake: Rebirth” has been pushed back to early 2024
• “Baby Steps” is the 3D “QWOP” we’ve all been waiting for

Sunday June 11

• See Xbox’s Fable reboot in action
• “South of Midnight” is a southern gothic monster adventure from Compulsion Games
• Obsidian’s fantasy RPG “Avowed” is coming to PC and Xbox in 2024
• ‘Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II’ will arrive in 2024
• “Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth” will make you see Ichiban’s bare backside in early 2024
• The Xbox Series S will be available with 1TB of black storage for $349 on September 1st
• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will take you back to Night City on September 26th
• “Cities Skylines II” arrives on PC and consoles on October 24
• “Metaphor: ReFantazio” is a fantasy RPG from the “Persona 5” team.
• ‘Clockwork Revolution’ is a steampunk anarchy time-traveling RPG
• Overwatch 2’s story missions and new PvP mode will arrive on August 10th
• “Persona 3 Reload” updates the PS2 classic for modern platforms in early 2024

Monday June 12

• Ubisoft’s “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” arrives on December 7, 2023
• “Skull and Bones” is still alive and apparently closed beta in August
• The first Star Wars Outlaws gameplay trailer offers 10 minutes of outlaw wish fulfillment
• Capcom’s Pragmata has been delayed for the second time
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is an action game with a traditional Japanese aesthetic