Summer Game Fest is a live video game event organized and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. 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 multiple streams over the next few days from other publishers or groups, such as an Xbox Game Studios showcase or "Day of the Devs" featuring several indie games.
While Keighley had been involved in events associated with E3, one of the game industry's prominent events, he had expressed concern and dissatisfaction with the direction the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) had planned for the event in 2020, and withdrew from participation. When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of physical events for E3 and Gamescom in 2020, Keighley established the livestreamed Summer Game Fest presentation to help replace these events. Following the ESA's decision to discontinue E3 after 2021, Summer Game Fest has become the default mid-year showcase for game announcements, and often is nicknamed as "not-E3" because of this substitution.
List of events Event name Start date End date Summer Game Fest 2020 May 7, 2020 August 24, 2020 Summer Game Fest 2021 June 10, 2021 July 22, 2021 Summer Game Fest 2022 June 9, 2022 June 14, 2022 Summer Game Fest 2023 June 8, 2023 June 11, 2023 Summer Game Fest 2024 June 7, 2024 June 10, 2024 Summer Game Fest 2025 June 6, 2025 June 9, 2025 Summer Game Fest 2026 June 5, 2026 June 8, 2026
History 2020
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". This change of approach was criticized by some in the industry, 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; Keighley also opted out of the show, noting he did not "feel comfortable participating" due to the changes.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ESA canceled the physical event for E3 in 2020. Keighley began working with numerous developers and publishers to run a four-month Summer Game Fest from May 7 to August 24, 2020, helping developers and publisher to host live streams and other events in lieu of E3 and Gamescom. Alongside Summer Game Fest, Keighley promoted the third Steam Game Festival, following The Game Awards 2019 and 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. A similar event for Xbox One games occurred from July 21–27, 2020, as part of Summer Game Fest.
Announcements made during Summer Game Fest 2020 included: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, a remastered version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and its sequel for modern systems. The release of Unreal Engine 5, the next iteration of Epic Games' game engine, in mid-2021. Star Wars: Squadrons, a new game from Motive Studios and Electronic Arts featuring team-play combat using the spacecraft of the Star Wars universe like X-wing fighters and TIE fighters. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, a sequel to the original trilogy of Crash Bandicoot games on the original PlayStation console, being developed by Toys for Bob and Activision. The launch of Cuphead for the PlayStation 4.
2021 The second Summer Game Fest took place from June 10 to July 22, 2021, coinciding with E3 2021. 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 Summer Game Fest.
Summer Game Fest 2021 opened with an announcement stream of games hosted by Keighley on June 10, 2021. Titles presented include:
Among Us The Anacrusis Back 4 Blood Call of Duty: Warzone The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Death Stranding Director's Cut Elden Ring Escape from Tarkov Evil Dead: The Game Fall Guys Jurassic World Evolution 2 Lost Ark Metal Slug Tactics Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Overwatch 2 Planet of Lana Salt and Sacrifice Solar Ash Tales of Arise Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Two Point Campus Valorant Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt
Summer Game Fest 2021 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. These games included:
The Big Con Harold Halibut Kena: Bridge of Spirits Lost in Random NORCO Sable SIGNALIS 12 Minutes
Koch Media presented a showcase on June 11, 2021, as part of Summer Game Fest. Alongside introducing their new publishing label, Prime Matter, Koch Media's presenting covered the following games:
The Chant Codename Final Form Crossfire: Legion Dolman Echoes of the End Encased Gungrave G.O.R.E. King's Bounty 2 The Last Oricru Painkiller 2 Payday 3 Scars Above
Sony participated in the event by holding a State of Play on July 8, 2021. Announcements made during the event include:
Arcadegeddon Deathloop Death Stranding: Director's Cut Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch 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.
The following titles were showcased:
Aliens: Dark Descent American Arcadia Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II The Callisto Protocol Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course Fall Guys Flashback 2 Fort Solis Goat Simulator 3 Gotham Knights Highwater Honkai: Star Rail The Last of Us Part I Layers of Fears Marvel's Midnight Suns Metal: Hellsinger Midnight Fight Express Neon White Nightingale One Piece Odyssey Outriders: Worldslayer The Quarry Routine Stormgate Street Fighter 6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Warframe: The Duviri Paradox Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Witchfire Zenless Zone Zero
2023 The fourth Summer Game Fest was a combined digital and physical event for the first time, held from June 8 to 11 2023, at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California; a physical component was available to the press only in 2022.
The following companies were featured:
Activision Amazon Games Annapurna Bandai Namco Entertainment Behaviour Capcom CD Projekt RED Devolver Digital Digital Extremes Disney Electronic Arts Epic Games Focus Entertainment Gearbox Publishing Grinding Gear Games Hoyoverse Kabam Larian Studios Level Infinite Magic the Gathering Neowiz Netflix Nexon Niantic North Beach Games Paradox Pearl Abyss Phoenix Labs Plaion PlayStation Pocketpair Razer Samsung Gaming Hub Second Dinner Sega Smilegate Square Enix Steam Techland Tribeca Festival Ubisoft Warner Bros. Games Xbox
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.
The following titles were showcased during the main show:
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Mortal Kombat 1 Path of Exile 2 Witchfire Crossfire: Sierra Squad Remnant 2 Sonic Superstars Lies of P Sand Land Throne and Liberty Warhaven Party Animals Alan Wake 2 Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 John Carpenter's Toxic Commando Baldur's Gate 3 Spider-Man 2 Palworld The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Under the Waves Fae Farm Marvel Snap: Conquest mode King Arthur: Legends Rise Wayfinder Stellaris Nexus Space Trash Scavenger Star Trek: Infinite Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior Immortals of Aveum Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The following titles had new updates, downloadable content, or ports showcased throughout the festival.
Exoprimal (Collab with Street Fighter 6) Dead by Daylight: Nicolas Cage as playable character Honkai: Star Rail (PlayStation 5 release) Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall Black Desert Online: Land of the Morning Light Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Season 4 content) Fortnite (Chapter 4 Season 3 content)
2024 The fifth Summer Game Fest was held at the YouTube Theater from June 7 to 10, 2024.
The following titles were showcased during the main show:
Asgard's Wrath 2 Batman: Arkham Shadow Battle Aces Battle Crush Black Myth: Wukong Cairn Civilization VII Crisol Theater of Idols Cuffbust Dark and Darker Deer and Boy Delta Force: Hawk Ops Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Dune: Awakening Enotria: The Last Song Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Fear The Spotlight Grave Seasons Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Honkai: Star Rail Hyper Light Breaker Killer Bean Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Lego Horizon Adventures Mecha Break Metaphor ReFantazio Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind Monster Hunter Wilds Neva No More Room in Hell 2 Once Human Party Animals Phantom Blade Zero Project C Skate Sleep Awake Slitterhead Sonic X Shadow Generations Star Wars Outlaws Tears of Metal The First Descendant The Simulation Unknown 9: Awakening Wanderstop Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
The following titles had new updates, downloadable content, or ports showcased throughout the festival:
Alan Wake 2: Night Springs Monster Hunter Stories (remaster) Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin (remaster) New World: Aeternum Palworld Street Fighter 6 (Year 2 content) The Finals (Season 3 content) Valorant (console release)
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. Again, Nintendo and Konami did not participate. Nintendo instead hosted a Nintendo Direct on June 18, while Konami announced their games at the Tokyo Game Show in September.
Following his experience at the 2024 Summer Game 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". 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".
2025 The sixth Summer Game Fest was held at the YouTube Theater on June 6, 2025, with a physical "Play Days" event taking place from June 7 to 9, 2025. Peak live viewership of Summer Game Fest increased 89% year-over-year to 50 million viewers.
The following publishers attended the event:
2K 505 Games Amazing Seasun Games Annapurna Interactive Bandai Namco Brass Lion Entertainment Capcom Coffee Stain Cubit Studios Day of the Devs Dotemu Dreamhaven Drinkbox Studios Embark Epic Games Eskil Team Fictions Focus Entertainment Frontier Funcom GameMill Entertainment IO Interactive Kakao Games Kuro Games Meta Quest Mundfish NC Netmarble Nexon Night Street Games PlayStack