Even though E3, Gamescom, and other summer gaming events have become online-only or outright canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has already been a lot of gaming news this summer.
We finally know what the PlayStation 5 looks like and some of the games coming to the system, for example, and we’ve been given previews of Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars: Squadrons, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the future of Destiny 2, and more. But there are still more events ahead.
This week’s big event is another Xbox digital games showcase, taking place Thursday, July 23rd, at 12PM ET. The whole show will be about an hour long and focused on games, with “no business, devices or similar news,” said Aaron Greenberg, general manager of Xbox games marketing at Microsoft.
There’s one more notable event this week, too — on Monday at 11AM ET, you can look forward to the second Summer Game Fest Developer Showcase, which will include reveals from iam8bit, Panic, Ustwo Games, and more.
In this article, we’ve also rounded up included details on other summer gaming events, when they’re scheduled to happen, and how to watch them. Be sure to check back here often; we’ll be updating this post as more events are announced.
What is the Summer Game Fest?
The “Summer Game Fest” is a shorthand phrase for all the gaming events that have sprung up in the wake of COVID cancellations. Originally, Geoff Keighley, who created The Game Awards, created it as a series of digital events throughout the summer featuring “breaking news, in-game events, and free playable content.” Many large publishers joined on, including Bethesda, Blizzard Entertainment, CD Projekt Red, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Riot, Sony, and Square Enix.
There were multiple Summer Game Fest events in May and June, and more are planned for July and August. You can see the full schedule here, which is updated as events are added, and watch them on a variety of platforms including Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube. (Note that some of these are the accounts for The Game Awards.)
July Events
Summer Game Fest Developer Showcase
What: The two Summer Game Fest Developer Showcases (one in June and one in July) will feature “a select group of upcoming indie and AAA video games” curated by Geoff Keighley and the Day of the Devs team, which includes Double Fine founder Tim Schafer. The July showcase will feature a number of games, including reveals from iam8bit, Panic, MWM Interactive, Team17 and Ustwo Games, and a live performance of the Bugsnax theme song.
When: Monday, July 20th, 11AM ET
How to watch: Watch Summer Game Fest events on Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube. (Note that some of these are the accounts for The Game Awards.)
Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase
What: Microsoft is hosting a digital event to show off Xbox Games Studios games. That means we can expect to finally get a good look at Halo Infinite, and it seems likely that Ninja Theory’s Hellblade II, Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2, and Rare’s Everwild could also make appearances.
When: Thursday, July 23rd, 12PM ET
How to watch: Watch on xbox.com and on Xbox’s Facebook, Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube pages
August Events
Gamescom’s Opening Night Live
What: Geoff Keighley will be hosting another Opening Night Live event timed with Gamescom, which is now an all-digital event. It will be a “spectacular, industry-wide finale” to the Summer Game Fest, according to the Summer Game Fest calendar.
When: Thursday, August 27th, TBA time
How to watch: Since it’s a Summer Game Fest event, it seems likely you’ll be able to watch Opening Night Live on all of the Summer Game Fest platforms, including Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube. (Note that some of these are the accounts for The Game Awards.)
September Events
PAX Online
What: PAX Online is a nine-day virtual event that’s replacing PAX West and PAX Australia this year. There will be three channels hosting content all day for each day of the conference and downloadable demos to replicate actually playing games on the show floor.
When: Saturday, September 12th through Sunday, September 20th, TBA time
How to watch: TBA, though it seems likely that you’ll be able to watch some events on PAX’s Twitch channel
Completed Events
Destiny 2 event
What: Bungie said it would be revealing the “next chapter of Destiny 2.”
When: Tuesday, June 9th, 12PM ET
How to watch: You can watch the presentation on YouTube.
Sony’s The Future of Gaming event for PS5
What: Sony hosted an event to provide “a first look at the games you’ll be playing after PlayStation 5 launches this holiday” on June 11th.
When: Thursday, June 11th, 4PM ET
How to watch: You can watch a replay on YouTube
The PC Gaming Show
What: The PC Gaming Show showcased “new games, never-before-seen gameplay footage, and announcements from some of PC gaming’s biggest and most interesting developers.” You can see the full lineup of developers involved here. The event was two hours long, though unlike previous years, it was pre-recorded instead of shown live.
The event was originally scheduled for June 6th, but was delayed to June 13th to “make space for those speaking out and demonstrating about how to end the systemic oppression and police brutality experienced by black people.”
When: Saturday, June 13th, 2PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay of the event on YouTube
The Future Games Show
What: The hour-long Future Games Show included “exclusive trailers, announcements, and deep dives on existing AAA and indie games.” Content covered “40+ games on console, PC, and mobile,” according to GamesRadar, which is hosting the event. Publishers participating included Square Enix, Devolver Digital, and more. Nolan North and Emily Rose, who star in the Uncharted series as Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher, hosted.
The show was first planned for June 6th, but was postponed to June 13th “in support of the protests demanding justice and change over the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police.”
When: Saturday, June 13th, 5PM ET
How to watch: You can watch the full event on YouTube
Guerrilla Collective
What: Guerrilla Collective is a new “digital games festival” that took place from June 13th to June 15th, produced by Media Indie Exchange and the Kinda Funny Games Showcase. Studios on board with the event included Humble Publishing, Larian Studios, Paradox Interactive, and many more. The event was delayed from its original June 6th start date out of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
When:
- Saturday, June 13th, 12PM ET
- Sunday, June 14th, 12PM ET
- Monday, June 15th, 12PM ET
How to watch: Watch replays of day 1, 2, and 3 on YouTube
EA Play Live 2020
What: EA says its EA Play Live 2020 will be a live digital broadcast, but the studio hasn’t shared many details beyond that just yet. EA delayed the event on June 5th due to the “important conversations taking place and important voices being heard around the world right now.”
When: Thursday, June 18th, 7PM ET
How to watch: Watch the replay on YouTube
Summer Game Fest Developer Showcase
What: The two Summer Game Fest Developer Showcases (one in June and one in July) will feature “a select group of upcoming indie and AAA video games” curated by Geoff Keighley and the Day of the Devs team, which includes Double Fine founder Tim Schafer. The showcases will have gameplay, news, and musical performances, and Annapurna Interactive, The Behemoth, Panic, thatgamecompany, and Ustwo Games are among the developers that will be part of the events.
When: The first one took place on Monday, June 22nd, at 11AM ET
How to watch: Watch the replay on YouTube
New Game Plus Expo
What: 14 publishers from North America and Japan, including Koei Tecmo America, Natsume, Sega of America, SNK, and WayForward, hosted New Game Plus Expo (NGPX), a digital event featuring “dozens of games,” including new game announcements and live demos.
When: Tuesday, June 23rd, 11AM ET
How to watch: Watch the replay on YouTube
Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City Wire
What: Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red hosted a digital broadcast about the game. It was delayed on June 2nd because “more important discussions are happening right now and we want them to be heard.”
When: Thursday, June 25th, 12PM ET
How to watch: Watch the replay on YouTube
IGN’s Summer of Gaming
What: IGN hosted a “global, digital event” to “bring you the latest news and impressions around upcoming games and the next generation of console hardware.” There will be live broadcasts and on-demand programming. IGN’s event featured many publishers, including Blizzard, CD Projekt Red, EA, Facebook (including Oculus), Google Stadia, Humble, Microsoft, PC Gaming Show, Sega, Square Enix, Twitter, and Ubisoft.
As part of the event, IGN also hosted IGN Expo, a “showcase for exclusive announcements and reveals from developers across the industry.”
When: Events took place throughout June starting on Wednesday, June 10th. The IGN Expo events happened on June 10th, 11th, 12th, and 15th. You can view the full Summer of Gaming schedule here.
On June 2nd, IGN announced it would delay the start of the Summer of Gaming event to June 8th “out of respect for and in support of those rightfully demanding justice and change across the United States and the world.” IGN delayed the event again to June 10th out of respect for the funeral of George Floyd.
How to watch: IGN compiled a playlist of its Summer of Gaming coverage on its YouTube channel.
GameSpot’s Play for All
What: Play for All was a multi-week event with news, previews, interviews, and more. The event also raised money for COVID-19 relief efforts in partnership with Direct Relief and for Black Lives Matter. Publishers including EA, Bethesda, CD Projekt Red, Deep Silver, Devolver Digital, Larian Studios, Google Stadia, Bandai Namco, Private Division, Square Enix, Sega, and 2K Games participated in the event.
When: Play for All began on June 1st and ran through the middle of July.
How to watch: GameSpot has a number of Play for All video playlists on its YouTube channel
Limited Run Games’ #LRG3
What: Limited Run Games’ #LRG3 was a digital press conference focused on news and announcements for physical video games. The event was postponed from its original June 8th air date on June 4th.
When: Wednesday, July 8th, 3PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay on Limited Run Games’ YouTube channel
Ubisoft Forward
What: Ubisoft held a digital “E3-style showcase” with “plenty of exclusive game news, exciting reveals, and much more.”
When: Sunday, July 12th, 3PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay on Ubisoft’s YouTube channel
Stadia Connect
What: Google hosted its latest Stadia Connect digital broadcast on July 14th featuring “some of the games coming to Stadia later this year.”
When: Tuesday, July 14th, 1PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay show on YouTube
Update July 19th, X:XXAM ET: Updated headline and introduction to reflect this week’s gaming events, added details about the July 20th Summer Game Fest Developer Showcase, and moved Stadia Connect to the “Completed Events” section.
Correction: We originally called the Cyberpunk 2077 event “Nightly Wire.” It is called “Night City Wire.” We regret the error.
