Summer Game Fest

Last updated

Summer Game Fest
Summer Game Fest logo.svg
StatusActive
Genre
Country United States
InauguratedMay 1, 2020;4 years ago (2020-05-01)
Most recentJune 8, 2023;11 months ago (2023-06-08)
Next eventJune 7, 2024;17 days' time (2024-06-07)
Organized by Geoff Keighley
Website www.summergamefest.com

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 such as Gamescom and the now-discontinued E3, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [1]

Contents

List of events

Event nameStart dateEnd date
Summer Game Fest [3] May 1, 2020August 24, 2020
Summer Game Fest 2021 [4] June 10, 2021July 22, 2021
Summer Game Fest 2022 [5] June 9, 2022June 12, 2022
Summer Game Fest 2023 [6] June 8, 2023
Summer Game Fest 2024 [7] June 7, 2024

History

2020

Summer Game Fest creator and host Geoff Keighley Geoff Keighley - New York Game Awards 2019 (cropped).jpg
Summer Game Fest creator and host Geoff Keighley

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,[ citation needed ] 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:

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]

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]

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]

Sony participated in the event by holding a State of Play on July 8, 2021. Announcements made during the event include:[ citation needed ]

  • 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 at the YouTube Theater on June 7, 2024. [7] [26]

Nintendo as of now is not planning to be in the show, instead deciding to have a Nintendo Direct sometime during June [27]

See also

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References

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  2. ↑ Summer Game Fest 2021. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022– via YouTube.
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  7. 1 2 Valentine, Rebekah (June 13, 2023). "Summer Game Fest, Play Days Set to Return in June of 2024". IGN. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
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  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ 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.
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  26. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (March 13, 2024). "Summer Game Fest debuts on June 7 in LA". VentureBeat. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  27. ↑ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved May 20, 2024.
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