2023 Summer Game Festival Announced
Due to the pandemic’s impact on development schedules and the success of other events like The Game Awards, E3 has been canceled this year. This has raised expectations for Summer Game Fest (SGF), which has become the most significant mid-year platform for developers to showcase new games and generate excitement for upcoming releases. However, not all developers may participate, and the event may be overwhelming for some. We will provide information on how to watch and what to expect when Geoff Keighley and partner studios present their offerings.
Who’s coming to Summer Game Fest?
Most major game developers participate in Summer Game Fest to some extent. Former E3 mainstays Activision, EA, Microsoft, Sony and Ubisoft are included. You can also expect well-known studios and tech companies such as Amazon Games, Bandai Namco, CD Projekt Red, Capcom, Epic Games, Gearbox, Netflix, Razer, Samsung and Valve.
Keighley’s team haven’t shared many details about what to expect, but there have been a few hints. You should see the first gameplay footage of the fighting series, which reboots Mortal Kombat 1, while Remedy should show more of Alan Wake’s action horror sequel. II. We also wouldn’t be surprised if CD Projekt Red showed more of the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion Phantom Liberty as a promise of news this month.
Don’t expect a special PlayStation event at SGF. Sony held a Showcase livestream on May 24th, showcasing a lot of what the company and its partners have been working on, including the Project Q handheld streaming device and Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 3 remake. Nintendo isn’t ready to make an appearance either, and may hold a live show instead. That’s not surprising since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is already out, and the only major first-party game in the pipeline is Pikmin on July 4th.
Summer Game Fest schedule and viewing instructions
The tentpole event is Summer Game Fest Live on June 8th at 3pm Eastern. You can watch this through the performers’ many social channels, including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and TikTok. Billed as a “cross-industry showcase,” this is likely to include announcements from multiple publishers. This will likely apply to some creators who later have their own events, such as Microsoft.
The first company-specific events follow almost immediately after this. Double Fine and iam8bit will be doing their usual “Day of the Devs” indie game showcase on the 8th at 5pm, while Devolver will be posting their announcements at 6pm. It’s a treat sometimes, even if you don’t care about the games – Devolver likes to tell a funny story along with its announcements.
Each subsequent day has at least one event. Tribeca Festival will air exclusive game clips and interviews with its official selections on the 9th. June at 3 p.m. Eastern. On June 10th, you can tune in at 12:00 to the Wholesome Direct, which focuses on indie games.
For many, June 11 is a high point. Microsoft will host the Xbox Games Showcase at 1:00 PM Eastern, where it will likely discuss titles from its own studios. As soon as it’s done, Starfield Direct will show more of Bethesda’s sci-fi epic. PC Gamer’s PC Gaming Show starts at 4:00 p.m. and features two hours of demos featuring more than 15 new games.
And while it’s not technically part of Summer Game Fest, Ubisoft Forward is scheduled to begin on June 12 at 1:00 PM Eastern. You’ll have to watch on Ubisoft’s YouTube and Twitch channels, but you can expect updates on Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, The Crew Motorfest, and other upcoming releases.
The final Summer Game Fest event was announced just this week: Capcom will host a short broadcast on June 12th starting at 6:00 p.m. The 38-minute event will include “approximately 36 minutes of news and updates” on the company’s latest games.
You’ll also want to stay tuned to ReturnByte throughout the event. While Summer Game Fest isn’t an E3-style expo, we’re on the ground with news, analysis, and hands-on impressions. We’ll tell you which games are promising and show you this year’s trends.
