Summer Game Fest promises four months of big news and events

E3, GDC and Gamescom are not happening in their usual form this summer, complicating matters for developers and publishers who typically make big game announcements at those major events. They’ll have a new avenue through which they can reveal new titles and updates this year, though: Summer Game Fest.

Geoff Keighley of The Game Awards (another major game-reveal event) is working with big-name platforms and publishers on the event, which will run until Gamescom: Opening Night Live on August 24th. Sony and Microsoft are both on board, with details about the latter’s involvement coming next week -- the company is set to showcase Xbox Series X gameplay for the first time on Thursday.

But that’s not all. Keighley, who is acting as Summer Game Fest curator, revealed a string of major publishers who are taking part, including 2K, Activision, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Blizzard, Bungie, CD Projekt Red, Digital Extremes, Electronic Arts, Square Enix, Private Division, Riot Games, Steam and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. And that’s just the first wave of confirmed participants.

There’ll be plenty of news and surprises on the cards, along with in-game events. Some, including Steam and Xbox, will offer playable demos and trials. The summer edition of the Steam Game Festival will take place June 9th-14th, while Keighley and iam8bit are putting together a developer showcase of upcoming games. Details about other publishers’ events and others who are taking part will arrive in the coming weeks. An initial schedule will be added to the Summer Game Fest website on Tuesday.