This year’s E3 has been cancelled, but that won’t stop game makers like Sony, Microsoft and Ubisoft from hosting their own digital showcases throughout the summer – and Geoff Keighley’s ever-expanding Summer Game Fest also offers a good alternative to the video hard-hitting game announcements that you would have expected from E3 2023.
While Nintendo hasn’t announced a Nintendo Direct at its usual E3 time, and Sony has already held its PlayStation Showcase, there’s plenty more to come. Here’s a quick look at the schedule for not-E3 and Summer Game Fest 2023 through August. See below for more details on when, where and what publishers plan to show this summer.
Summer Game Fest – June 8 Day of the Devs – June 8 Devolver Direct – June 8 Wholesome Direct – June 10 Future Games Show Summer Showcase – June 10 Xbox Games Showcase – June 11 Starfield Direct – June 11 PC Gaming Show – June 11 Ubisoft Forward – June 12 Sega’s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Summit – June 16 Gamescom Opening Night Live – August 22 Summer Game Fest 2023
On Thursday 8th June host Geoff Keighley will present his fourth annual Summer Game Fest. This year’s SGF promises the expected game reveals and first looks, including Mortal Kombat 1’s debut gameplay and a new look at Alan Wake 2. Given Keighley’s history with game reveals, it wouldn’t be surprising if Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding 2 and the by FromSoftware Also released are Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. The event will showcase games from more than 40 publishers and developers, Keighley says.
Summer Game Fest 2023 will be streamed live from Los Angeles at 12:00 PM PDT/3:00 PM EDT/9:00 PM CEST and can be viewed on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and Steam.
Developers Day: Summer Game Fest Edition
Image: iam8bit/Double Fine Productions
Immediately after the Summer Game Fest, Double Fine Productions and iam8bit present their Day of the Devs live stream. Day of the Devs: SGF Edition promises games from more than a dozen indie game developers including AdHoc Studio, Die Gute Fabrik, Evil Licorice, Geometric Interactive, Heart Machine, iam8bit Presents, Impossible, Land & Sea, Lululu Entertainment, Moonloop Games, Phantom Coast, Sad Owl Studios, Shape Shop, Studio Sai and Wishes Unlimited.
Devolver Direct
On June 8th, Devolver Digital will host its Devolver Direct livestream, promising “new game reveals, announcements and surprises.” There will also be the “return” of the character Volvy, a ’90s mascot who didn’t exist until now but will appear in a number of games in true, wacky Devolver fashion. Traditionally, expect comedy and gaming news alike from Devolver.
Devolver Direct 2023 will be broadcast live at 3:00 p.m. PDT/6:00 p.m. EDT.
Healthy direct
Wholesome Direct, the showcase for cute, cozy, colorful and clever games, returns on Saturday 10th June with a slew of feelgood games – more than 70 in all, organizers say.
You can tune in to Wholesome Direct at 9:00 AM PDT/12:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM CEST on the group’s YouTube and Twitch channels.
Future Games Show Summer Showcase
Expect more than 50 multiplatform games in the 70-minute Future Games Show Summer Showcase on Saturday, June 10th. It will be hosted by voice actors Yuri Lowenthal and Laura Bailey – Spider-Man Watson’s Peter Parker and Mary Jane – and can be viewed on the Future Games Show YouTube channel, GamesRadar’s Twitch channel, Facebook and Twitter become.
Xbox Games Showcase
Image: Microsoft
On Sunday, June 11, Microsoft is expected to bring out the big guns to take a look at the next steps for Windows PC and Xbox Series X. Expect “new surprises and first looks” from Xbox Game Studios and its third-party partners. According to Microsoft, the Xbox Games Showcase will focus on titles for Xbox, PC and Game Pass.
Xbox Games Showcase 2023 will begin at 10:00 AM PDT/1:00 PM EDT/7:00 PM CEST and stream on the Xbox YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook channels.
Starfield Direct
Immediately following the Xbox Game Showcase will be a second stream, Starfield Direct by Bethesda Softworks. The Starfield Focus promises “new gameplay, developer interviews, and inside behind-the-scenes” for the upcoming Windows PC and Xbox Series X game.
PC gaming show
The folks at PC Gamer return with another PC Gaming Show, which, you guessed it, is all about upcoming PC games and updates to released games. More than 50 games will be showcased at this year’s show, including Baldur’s Gate 3, Frostpunk 2, Dune: Awakening, and a new game from Klei, the studio behind Don’t Starve and Mark of the Ninja.
The PC Gaming Show 2023 will stream on June 11th on YouTube and Twitch starting at 1:00pm PDT/4:00pm EDT/10:00pm CEST.
Ubisoft Forward
Get ready for another trip to Pandora as Ubisoft’s long-awaited avatar video game arrives at Ubisoft Forward 2023 on Monday 12th June. In addition to Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, there will be live reveals for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, The Crew Motorfest, Assassin’s Creed Nexus, and Something Mystery based on the teaser video above.
Ubisoft Forward 2023 will stream live on June 12 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT/7pm CEST.
RGG Summit Summer 2023
Sega’s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio – the folks who make Yakuza, Judgment, and Like a Dragon games – will provide a preview of the next games on Thursday, June 15 during the RGG Summit Summer 2023. Publisher Sega says fans of the Like a Dragon series can “get updates on upcoming titles, community efforts, [and] Developer Discussions” during the live stream with English translation. Hopefully fans will get an update on Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, the spin-off that brings back former series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu.
RGG Summit Summer 2023 will stream on June 15 at 8:00 p.m. PDT/11:00 p.m. EDT on Sega’s Western YouTube and Twitch channels.
Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023
Geoff Keighley will return to Germany and all livestream platforms on August 22 for Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023. Like Summer Game Fest, expect world premieres and important game announcements. If you didn’t catch it at SGF 2023 in June, fingers crossed for anything unannounced to appear at Gamescom.
Details on the exact times that Gamescom ONL 2023 will be streamed will follow shortly.
What about Nintendo Direct and Sony’s State of Play?
Without E3, there isn’t a major event for Nintendo to host a Nintendo Direct presentation. In the absence of E3, Nintendo will typically offer a smaller, third-party-focused version of its Nintendo Direct showcases. Throughout 2020 and 2022, Nintendo streamed Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcases, saving the big first-party reveals for later in the year.
Nintendo also doesn’t have much more on its release schedule than July’s Pikmin 4, and it’s possible the company will be able to tell Nintendo Switch owners what to expect sometime this summer.
As for PlayStation, there was a big PlayStation Showcase in May, but with plenty of games still to show – like Naughty Dog’s multiplayer spinoff The Last of Us – it’s possible that later this summer or sometime this summer a new State of Play live stream is coming this fall.
Continue reading
