It’s the new tradition. Since the disappearance of E3, the old video game show, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Summer Game Fest has taken up the torch. Between Friday and Monday, many publishers announced the new games they were working on. Here’s what you should remember from this video game weekend.
A main event without big surprises
Geoff Keighley, the former journalist hosting the main evening of Summer Game Fest, had however warned: “Don’t expect any big announcements. » The wording was a little derogatory for the games that were presented, especially when the American media Esquire revealed that a minute of trailer at the conference cost $250,000. However, it is clear that no announcement during this conference on Friday really changed the face of gaming.
At the start of the event, the creators of the Japanese role-playing game series Persona came to present some images of their project, Metaphor ReFantazio. Superhero fans will be happy to be able to return to Gotham City in Batman: Arkham Shadowbut perhaps disappointed to learn that it will be a virtual reality game on Meta Quest, the VR headset from Mark Zuckerberg’s firm. Civilization VIIa new entry in the timeless series of strategy games, offered a short teaser in the middle of the event, but we will still have to wait until August to see the game itself.
Never willa poetic indie game from Normada Studios, the Spanish team behind Gray, one of the best games of 2016, will be released this year. The two-hour conference also offered new images of Star Wars Outlawsone of Ubisoft’s big projects, Black Myth Wukonga Chinese action game inspired by Asian mythologies, and Dragon Ball Sparking Zerothe return of the manga in a 3D fighting game formula.
Indie games party
If you’re more into indie games, on the other hand, this year was made for you. Several thematic conferences focused like the caring games of Wholesome Direct (including French Caravan SandWitch), games from Latin America or development teams led by women. Others, more general, were led by publishers or collectives.
Despite the overdose of city building, gardening, card or rogue-like games (sometimes all at the same time), many nuggets stand out from the crowd. To name a few, the French from Motion Twin, at the origin of Dead Cellspresented Tenjutsutheir next game, through an anime-style cutscene from the 1980s. Other examples of games to watch out for: Screenbounda platform game in both 2D and 3D on two screens, Relationship Buildinga romance game where you play as a house (yes, the building itself), The Crush Housereality TV simulation by day and horror game by night, and While Waitinga collection of mini-games that celebrate boredom and waiting.
Historical brands in retreat
Sunday saw Microsoft hold its own conference. Call of Duty Black Ops 6 opened the conference and revealed its release date: October 26. The game will be free for subscribers to GamePass, Microsoft’s on-demand gaming service. Among the other big arguments of the conference Doom, The Dark Agesthe return of role-playing Fable announced for 2025, Gears of Wars E-Day which resurrects the franchise, or even a new episode of Life is Strange.
Playstation had chosen a conference before the Summer Game Fest, on May 30. The main information of this rather light event remained the remake of Silent Hill 2, a classic of psychological horror. Another big absentee: Nintendo, which should also release its own trailers later, to announce the games that will allow us to wait for the launch of the Switch 2.
No matter the conference, many speakers or had a word on the complicated situation of the video game sector this year. In six months, at least 8,000 people have lost their jobs. And if some of these decisions can be explained by cycle effects, after a year 2023 loaded with big releases, this also affects many small or medium-sized teams. One more reason to go hunting for independent games this year.
