All The Summer Games Shows
It’s that time of the year where, in the recent past at least, we’d all be enviously attending E3 vicariously through our monitors. During and post Covid and post the collapse of the live E3 event itself, the major publishers have rallied around the “Summer Games Fest” brand, and many will again be presenting their major summer showcase events over the next week or so.
Notably missing from the calendar this year are Electronic Arts, PlayStation, and Nintendo. The latter two have moved towards their own Showcase Direct style events, with Sony doing their own Showcase event a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the last EA Play Live event happened back in 2021. Who knows when the next will take place.
In the meantime, there are a lot more events to look forward to. Here's a schedule and brief look at most of the major events coming up this week. All times indicated are South African Standard Time. The snapshots below the schedule include links to each event’s main livestream channels. Selected (*) events will have dedicated MEW Forum topics which will contain direct links to the live event streams when they happen. Links to these topics will be add as they're created.
2023 Summer Games Show Schedule
Thursday 8 June
21:00: Summer Game Fest 2023 *
23:00: Day of the Devs
Friday 9 June
00:00: Devolver Direct
21:00: Tribeca Games Spotlight
Saturday 10 June
17:00: Future of Play Direct
18:00: Wholesome Games 2023
19:00: Future Games Show
Sunday 11 June
19:00: Xbox Games Showcase & Starfield Direct *
22:00: PC Gaming Show *
Monday 12 June
19:00: Ubisoft Forward *
Tuesday 13 June
00:00: Capcom Showcase
19:00: Xbox Games Showcase Extended
Wednesday 14 June
20:00: UploadVR Showcase
* These events will have dedicated topics on the MEW Community Forum.
Summer Game Fest 2023
Thursday, 8 June @ 21:00
Produced and once again hosted by Geoff Keighley, this event is the official opening event for Summer Game Fest 2023. Billed as a “global fan celebration of what’s next in video games”, SGF is in its fourth year, and will be a live event again. The show will be broadcast from the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park.
SGF23 will feature content from over 40 publishers this year in a two-hour show. Expect world premieres, live gameplay demos and a host of developer and celebrity appearances.
Day of the Devs: SGF23 Edition
Thursday, 8 June @ 23:00
Iam8bit and Double Fine‘s indie showcase returns this year and will follow the main Summer Game Fest live stream on the same channels.
Day of the Devs typically showcases games from smaller indie studios that deserve a little big stage attention. Games highlighted in the recent past include Psychonauts 2, Escape Academy, Untitled Goose Game, Unpacking, and Disco Elysium.
Devolver Direct
Friday, 9 June @ 00:00
If sarcastic, foul-mouthed, anti-corporate gaming had a persona it would be the annual Devolver Digital event.
This year “The Return of Volvy” themed event reaches us at midnight locally. It looks like the Devolver Digital’s self-proclaimed “beloved video game mascot” will be the virtual host for the show.
Livestream Channels: YouTube / Twitch
Tribeca Games Spotlight
Friday, 9 June @ 21:00
New York’s famous annual Tribeca Festival will again present a platform to show off the games selected for this years’ festival. The Spotlight will feature The Expanse: A Telltale Series, Stray Gods, and Nightscape. The Spotlight stream will show off each game in detail, along with interviews with their creators.
Livestream: YouTube
Future of Play Direct
Saturday, 10 June @ 17:00
Future of Play Direct is an indie games showcase billed as “a fresh spin on video game showcases bringing you exciting new games from across the galaxy.”
The show is hosted by AI V-Tuber Melios, who makes it their mission to feature “big announcements, brand new trailers, musical guests, and show-stopping galaxy premieres that are dripping in style”.
Livestream Channel: YouTube
Wholesome Direct 2023
Saturday, 10 June @ 18:00
More indie games get showcased in the Wholesome Direct Games 2023 event. Focus on uplifting and cosy games, the Wholesome Games show promises “an hour of exclusive footage and announcements from 70+ amazing indie games”.
Future Games Show: Summer Showcase
Saturday, 10 June @ 19:00
The Future Games Show will feature over 50 multi-format games and will be hosted by Marvel’s Spider-Man voice actors Yuri Lowenthal (Peter Parker) and Laura Bailey (MJ Watson). The 70-minute gaming showcase is produced by GamesRadar+.
MEW Forum Thread
Xbox Games Showcase
Starfield Direct
Sunday, 11 June @ 19:00
Combining a 90-minute Xbox Games Showcase and a dedicated 30-minute Starfield Direct, this year’s Showcase will last around 2 hours.
“Join us for some new surprises and first-looks from our incredibly talented internal studios, and our many creative partners around the world,” Microsoft said. “This is the day gamers have been waiting for to see what is coming to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass.
The Starfield Direct presentation that follows immediately after the Xbox Showcase promises another deep-dive into Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi RPG. “Starfield Direct will invite you inside Bethesda Game Studios to learn much, much more about Starfield, with tons of new gameplay, developer interviews, and behind-the-scenes insider information.”
Livestream Channels: YouTube / Twitch
MEW Forum Thread
MEW Forum Starfield Thread
PC Gaming Show
Sunday, 11 June @ 22:00
The annual celebration of all games PC, hosted by PC Gamer, will again highlight several upcoming PC titles. 2023’s live stream will feature 55 games, including 16 new game announcements and “special access to developer studios around the world”.
Livestreaming Channels: YouTube / Twitch
MEW Forum Thread
Ubisoft Forward
Monday, 12 June @ 19:00
Ubisoft was one of the last remaining big publishers that E3 hoped to keep at their live event. After Ubi decided to join the ranks of many others and quit E3, the fate of the convention was sealed, and the official cancellation of the event came shortly after.
Ubisoft will be holding its own event, a trailer for which confirms that it will feature Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Assassin’s Creed Mirage and The Crew: Motorfest, while also teasing another unannounced title. Might we see some confirmation of a Skull and Bones release?
MEW Forum Thread
Capcom Showcase
Tuesday, 13 June @ 00:00
Announced just yesterday, the Capcom Showcase will feature “news and updates” on the company’s latest games. In a brief announcement, Capcom say that the show will last “36 minutes and will feature some games which aren’t suitable for children”.
Xbox Games Showcase Extended
Tuesday, 13 June @ 19:00
A follow-up stream to the Xbox Games Showcase. Like last year, it will feature in-depth interviews and deep dives focused on the some of the games from the main showcase plus a handful of updates from others developers.
Upload VR Showcase
Wednesday, 14 June @ 20:00
The Upload VR Showcase is a celebration of what’s to come for VR content. The event promises “the most new game reveals we’ve ever featured at a showcase, including some from companies yet to release VR games”.
Livestream: YouTube
That makes for a very busy week of game showcase events and a mass of new trailers and teasers for us to look forward to. Any upcoming games that you’re hoping to see more about this week?