The Summer Game Fest will make a return this year on Friday, June 7. For the second time since the post-pandemic era, the show will make room for thousands of in-person audiences. It will be streamed live from the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
“Save the date: Friday, June 7,” announced Geoff Keighley and his team on X. “@SummerGameFest streams live from @youtubetheater in LA with thousands of in-person fans and millions watching online. Get a glimpse at what’s next in video games. Sign up at summergamefest.com for alerts.”
Immediately after the Summer Game Fest, Day of the Devs: SGF Edition will be livestreamed. Also making a return is the Summer Game Fest Play Days, an invite-only media and influencer event held in downtown Los Angeles. Play Days will run from 8 to 10 June and will be produced by iam8bit.
Summer Game Fest is a cross-platform showcase with trailers and upcoming game announcements. Regardless of the platform you play, you are almost certain to get an announcement about an upcoming game there.
The 2023 edition was the first time that the show featured an in-person audience since after the pandemic. Several new titles were announced during the over two-hour show including Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Alan Wake 2, Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay and roster reveal, and a new Final Fantasy VII Rebirth trailer.
Since the post-pandemic era, several major game publishers have also started hosting their proprietary product showcases including Ubisoft (Ubisoft Forward), Microsoft (Xbox Games Showcase), and Capcom (Capcom Showcase). Last year, some of those showcases happened close to the Summer Game Fest.
ALSO READ: How To Stop Sweaty Hands When Gaming—9 Tricks
The rise of individual showcases by different publishers has often cast doubt on the continued relevance of events like the Summer Game Fest. Last year, E3 was shuttered after several publishers pulled out of the show.
Summer Game Fest date was announced hours after Geoff spoke up about layoffs in the game industry
The founder and host of the Summer Game Fest, Geoff Keighley has been called out several times for staying mute about the recent wave of mass layoffs in the gaming industry. Some fans were left disappointed after he made no mention of the state of the industry at The Game Awards 2023.
Worse still, the developers who won awards, including the highly coveted Game of the Year, were not allowed to express themselves. A video shared on X at that time showed the Larian Studio team being told to wrap up their speech through a teleprompter, even while they were paying tribute to their departed colleagues.
If only we could commemorate them in some kind of event, and honour them instead of asking them to wrap it up when they are talking about those they have worked with who have left or passed away… pic.twitter.com/OQZjfwUmIb
— SeribiiGaming 🇬🇧 🇪🇸 (@Seribiigaming) March 13, 2024
In what seemed like a surprise to many, Keighley started a thread on X on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, where he addressed the state of the gaming industry and called it a “heartbreaking time”. He further acknowledged the work done by Amir Satvat to build a directory of job candidates.
ALSO READ: 2 Ways To Play PS5 In Tesla Exposed
“It’s a heartbreaking time in the game industry with layoffs impacting developers who bring us joy,” Keighley began his thread. “So I wanted to signal-boost Amir Satvat. He’s building a directory of 6,800+ job candidates, 2,100 mentors, even mock interview match-making.”
“I’ve spent a bit of time with Amir over the last few months, and I’m impressed with the constructive actions he’s volunteered to help developers. I’ve signed up to offer my time to mentor job seekers, if I can help. If you work in games, visit the site & resources.”
Great to see everyone engaging with these resources to learn more and try to help. Amir let me know:
– Over 50,000 unique visitors on https://t.co/gPXJJLRazE over past 16 hours.
– Guests from 68 different countries.
– On average, visitors engaged with three+ resources.— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) March 14, 2024
That tweet from Keighley came just hours before the date for the 2024 Summer Game Fest was announced. A coincidence? Well, in the comment section, many did not fail to express their anger and disappointment at the Summer Game Fest host.
Well, you failed to mention it during any of your shows last year, even the Oscars would take time to acknowledge writers strikes. Why dont you use your power as a host to do some real good in the industry? Less trailers, more discussion/celebration of the creators. Please!
— demo sphere (@demo_sphere) March 13, 2024
You finally talk about it Geoff, you have disappointed me and almost everyone in the game industry. Do better and be more responsible with your popularity. People now need to find new jobs in this economy where prices are going up and interest rates are high.
— 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐢 (@Soliveski_) March 13, 2024
13 months to say something about this crazy time in our industry. I hope you’ll use your voice and platform sooner rather than later.
Thanks, Geoff.
— Kolbe Payne (@kolbepayne) March 13, 2024
Some think that the only reason he spoke about the layoffs was to buy back the trust of those who felt disappointed by his silence in view of getting them to attend or view the next show. During the last Summer Game Fest, Keighley was also criticized for not doing enough to encourage representation and inclusion at the show.
ALSO READ: Opinion: Sweet Baby Inc Detected Is The Kind Of Conversation That Gets Us Nowhere
In an interview with CBC, he said the actress Melanie Liburd who played Alan Wake 2’s co-lead protagonist Saga Anderson was due to take part in the show but couldn’t make it due to conflicting schedules.
“I think generally we do a pretty good job with diversity in our shows. That was something that’s a fair flag,” he said. “We also want to be authentic to the games that are being presented on the show and the developers that are making them. So yeah, I think we’re conscious of it.”
Is Keighley doing enough for the game industry?
Those who accuse Keighley of being silent through the turmoil of the industry’s mass layoffs often say it as though he has a magic wand that will stop game studios from laying off employees for the fear that Keighley will talk about it.
Well, every game studio is a business and businesses are out to make money. Decisions are made based on logic rather than emotions. Layoffs will persist if studios don’t sell enough games to cover their production and running costs.
In my opinion, Keighley is already using his platforms to promote games and attract new players who may never have discovered these games. Games that feature on Summer Game Fest immediately enter the radar of many gamers or get added to their wishlist. Getting featured on Summer Game Fest is priceless publicity.
ALSO READ: Best Video Game Art Books Of 2024
No doubt, some games have sold more copies because of the publicity they got from Summer Game Fest—and Keighley deserves an accolade for that. Every game sold because of Summer Game Fest helps to keep the jobs of developers who worked on the game.
Ironically, some of those who criticize Keighley for keeping quiet in the face of the ongoing mass layoffs in the game industry are still those who would write the worst reviews on a game—and sometimes for the zaniest reasons—further discouraging other people from purchasing the game.
The fight to stop the massive layoffs in the video game industry is everybody’s fight. Rather than looking for a celebrity to make a scapegoat, play your part by purchasing a game and writing fair—rather than damaging—reviews about them.
