Summer Game Fest

Summer Game Fest
StatusActive
Genre
CountryUnited States
InauguratedMay 1, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-05-01)
Most recentJune 7, 2024; 6 months ago (2024-06-07)
Organized byGeoff Keighley
Websitewww.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 North American summer period, the most notable of which is the "main show" which usually airs on the first day of the event and showcases upcoming major releases. The "main show" is usually then followed by a "Day of the Devs" after-show that is focused on indie titles. Multiple other streams showcasing other upcoming game titles that are both affiliated and unaffiliated with the official Summer Games Fest event also occur in the few days following the main show.[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]

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 June 11, 2023
Summer Game Fest 2024[7] June 7, 2024 June 10, 2024

History

2020

A man with brown hair smiling while facing to the left of the camera.
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 coinciding with E3 2021.[4][19] From June 15–21, 2021, ID@Xbox offered a number of demos of upcoming games for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles as part of the Summer Game Fest.[20]

The Summer Game Fest opened with an announcement stream of games hosted by Keighley on June 10, 2021. Among titles presented include:[21]

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.[22] These games included:[23]

Koch Media presented a showcase on June 11, 2021, as part of the Summer Game Fest.[24] Alongside introducing their new publishing label, Prime Matter, Koch Media's presenting covered the following games:[25]

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

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:[26]

Nintendo and Konami did not participate. Nintendo instead hosted a Nintendo Direct on June 21, while Konami announced their games at the Tokyo Game Show in September.

2024

The fifth Summer Game Fest was held at the YouTube Theater on June 7, 2024 and it ended on June 10, 2024.[7][27]

The following titles were showcased:[28][29]

The following titles had new updates, downloadable content, or ports showcased:[28][29]

In addition, Innersloth, creator of Among Us, announced Outersloth, a game fund to support other indie game developers. Innersloth also showcased the upcoming animated television series based on Among Us.[30] Again, Nintendo and Konami did not participate. Nintendo instead hosted a Nintendo Direct on June 18,[31] while Konami announced their games at the Tokyo Game Show in September.

Following his experience at the 2024 Summer Games Fest, Diego Nicolás Argüello of Paste thought the event was in a "transitional period" and shifting towards something "more in line with what E3 used to be".[32] He commented that "as of now, the Summer Game Fest conglomerate stands as a hybrid of sorts—a fading summer vacation with the preview commitment traditions of old. Perhaps it was naive to expect the 'chill' vibe to remain as one of the event's pillars, as it's already becoming larger than its intended place and runtime. It's clear that this ambition is deliberate. But I'm glad I caught it during this period".[32]

Events

Main Show

The most notable and watched part of Summer Games Fest is the "Main show" which is usually held on the first day of the event and is used to showcase and show trailers for major upcoming releases. Most of the content shown on the show is paid promotional content from major publishers. though a few "free slots" are also reserved for smaller and indie games and studios to be showcased at the show.[33]

Day of the Devs

Following the main show a "Day of the Devs" after-show is then immediately shown following the main show and is used to mainly showcase upcoming Indie games. The stream was first incorporated at Summer Games Fest in its inaugural event in 2020. after the event which originally was a free in-person festival held in San Francisco was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 and has remained a part of the event since. The games selected to showcased on the stream are selected following an application process that closes a couple months before the event. Developers and publishers do not have to pay any costs or fees to featured on the stream.[34]

Publisher-Specific Shows

Like E3, a number of publisher-specific shows take place during Summer Game Fest.

Trailers

Publishers and Developers pay for trailers to appear during the main show. With marketing professionals stating that for the main show for 2024 that it costs $250,000 to air a one minute trailer with $100,000 being added to the price for each additional 30 seconds. Though a few "free slots" are also reserved at each main show for smaller and indie games and studios.[33] Esquire estimated that those rates the 2023 Game Awards made $9.65 million in fees to air trailers for the main show in 2023. This has generated some criticism as it makes airing a trailer during the show mostly out of reach for smaller and independent studios who do not get a free slot.[35]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Summer Game Fest 2021. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ a b 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.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ a b 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.
  6. ^ a b 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.
  7. ^ a b Valentine, Rebekah (June 13, 2023). "Summer Game Fest, Play Days Set to Return in June of 2024". IGN. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  8. ^ 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.
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  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
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  20. ^ 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.
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  23. ^ 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.
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