This was set to be a big summer for the video game world, as hype built around forthcoming consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Then the coronavirus hit, forcing the cancellation of real-life events — not least the vast trade show Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), which was due to take place in L.A. in June. Enter the Summer Game Fest, a new initiative that aims to keep the momentum of industry news going.
The Summer Game Fest is an ongoing online event that started earlier this month and will end in August. It describes itself as “a season of digital video game events from publishers, select playable content, in-game events, and more,” and it is shaping up as a centralized platform for the sorts of announcements, showcases, and demos that would normally take place at and around E3 (and other events like it).
The festival is the brainchild of video game journalist Geoff Keighley, the producer of the annual Game Awards. He’s lined up an impressive array of official participants, including Microsoft, Sony, Electronic Arts, Bungie, Blizzard, Square Enix, Riot, and Bandai Namco. (There’s no sign of Nintendo, which was planning to attend E3 this year.) The festival plans to stream events across Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Twitch, and other major platforms.
