It’s time!
Just because E3 2023 has been canceled doesn’t mean there won’t be fun shows to watch with surprises and reveals. The summer gaming season is kicking off with a series of events across various publishers and platform holders. These weeks will provide details on some of the best games to launch in the coming years. Here’s everything you need to know.
What is Summer Game Fest?
Summer Game Fest is a collection of different showcases and livestreams organized by Geoff Keighley and his team. Keighley is also known as being the host of Opening Night Live at Gamescom and the Game Awards.
Summer Game Fest first kicked off back in 2020 when the pandemic disrupted in-person gaming events like E3. Summer Game Fest 2021 and Summer Game Fest 2022 followed in similar (if somewhat more condensed) fashion. Summer Game Fest has seen reveals and updates on a wide variety of games, so it’s not something you want to miss out on.
While there is a central Summer Game Fest showcase, directly hosted by Keighley, other events can also be brought in under the Summer Game Fest umbrella. Or snatched up the leviathan’s tentacles, whatever metaphor you prefer, it applies.
I’ve listed every event below that is part of Summer Game Fest 2023, as well as some others that aren’t part of Summer Game Fest but are also relevant given the obvious overlap in audience. I’ll be updating the list as other events are announced or new details emerge. For obvious reasons, the events are in the order in which they are being held across the coming weeks. As links become available for the upcoming shows, they’ll be added to this list.
Summer Game Fest: PlayStation Showcase
Airing on May 24 at 1:00 p.m. PT / 4:00 p.m. ET, this PlayStation Showcase is the first proper “showcase” held by the company since September 2021. It’s widely expected that the rumored Metal Gear Solid 3 remake will show up here, but outside of that, who knows. The show will run for a little over an hour, featuring first and third-party games across PS5 and PS VR2. Will the list of PlayStation games on Windows PC grow as a result? We’ll have to wait and see.
Summer Game Fest: Warhammer Skulls 2023
While not technically part of Summer Game Fest proper, Warhammer Skulls 2023 has too much overlap in audience and announcements to not be mentioned here. Warhammer Skulls 2022 brought updates on a variety of Warhammer video games, and that’s exactly what we can expect this year. The show is being hosted by actor and Warhammer fan Rahul Kohli.
You can check out Warhammer Skulls 2023 on May 25 at 9:00 a.m. PT / noon ET.
Summer Game Fest: Summer Game Fest
This is the full Summer Game Fest show as hosted by Keighley. The show is being held on June 8 at noon PT / 3:00 p.m. ET. Right now, we know that this show will feature the debut of Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay, while the full showcase is set to run for about two hours.
Summer Game Fest: Day of the Devs
Immediately following Summer Game Fest is the traditional Day of the Devs, an event hosted by Xbox studio Double Fine Productions, in partnership with iam8bit. On June 8 at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET, check out a selection of upcoming indie games.
Summer Game Fest: Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct
The annual Xbox Games Showcase is returning, and this time, it’s paired with a presentation from Bethesda Game Studios regarding the team’s upcoming Xbox console exclusive science-fiction title, Starfield.
Check out the full show on June 11 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET, with the Starfield Direct beginning immediately after the main showcase ends. This presentation is expected to provide insight into everything coming to Xbox Game Pass in the near future, as well as details on upcoming Xbox first-party titles.
Ubisoft Showcase
Ubisoft initially planned to attend E3 2023, but pulled out of the show, contributing to its cancellation. Ubisoft will now be holding a special showcase on June 12 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. While we don’t have many details on what to expect, Ubisoft plans to release eight games by April 2024, indicating that the company has a number of titles it’ll be showing off.
Fun for everyone
Regardless of your tastes in games, there’s bound to be something for you in the weeks ahead. From first-party extravaganzas to multiplatform reveals, the summer of gaming is kicking off.
As things change or new information becomes available, this article will be updated, as well as details on everything you missed from a showcase if you aren’t able to catch it live.
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