Geoff Keighley had an unenviable job this 12 months. When E3 2022 was absolutely cancelled, gamers started trying to the gaming persona’s Summer Game Fest occasion to fill the hole. The present has grown in recent times, bringing extra high-profile bulletins throughout its annual kickoff stream. Considering that final 12 months’s present featured a brand new trailer for Elden Ring, one which revealed the sport’s launch date, expectations had been understandably excessive.
It’s secure to say that this 12 months’s present couldn’t absolutely capitalize on the hype. The tw- hour broadcast featured loads of new footage for giant video games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, but it surely wasn’t stuffed with the type of killer apps that make E3 a watercooler second (its grand finale, The Last of Us Part I, was leaked hours earlier than the occasion).
Despite being a painstakingly crafted labor of affection, this 12 months’s stream wasn’t the E3 alternative most gamers had been hoping for. Instead, it appeared to sign that gaming firms might not be in search of an E3 alternative in any respect, even when followers are.
Lack of selection hour
Today’s kickoff stream began properly sufficient with a brand new Street Fighter 6 trailer, an unannounced Aliens title, and a deep dive into The Callisto Protocol. The preliminary flurry of huge reveals shortly slowed down because the stream centered on beforehand introduced titles and new tasks from smaller studios. It by no means actually picked again up although, as advertisements for issues like Nerdwallet padded out the present. The Rock even confirmed up, however principally to plug an power drink within the present’s lowest second.
It didn’t assist that this 12 months’s present wasn’t fairly curated with selection in thoughts. It was heavy on shooters, significantly these set in outer area — so many who Keighley even joked about it between reveals. Games like The Callisto Protocol, Fort Solis, and Routine had been all sci-fi thrillers that dominated the present’s first half. That’s earlier than moving into video games like Warframe and Outriders: Worldslayer, which saved the theme going.
If something, the present might have unintentionally backfired for the online game trade. If you’re not somebody who pays consideration to video games and nonetheless see the trade as obsessive about violence, seeing somebody’s head ripped in half wasn’t going to vary your thoughts. Guns dominated the present, with only a few video games passing the display screen with out a second of muzzle hearth.
Naturally, the Summer Game Fest kickoff isn’t the one stream the occasion hosts. The Day of the Devs showcase that aired instantly after was a way more various expertise exhibiting how a lot impartial improvement is pushing the trade ahead. But the kickoff is the principle occasion, and it was one which appeared most serious about catering to Call of Duty followers.
Industry no-shows
Prior to the present, Keighley went on a advertising and marketing tour hyping up the showcase. He shared an inventory of studios concerned within the broadcast, that includes nearly each main firm you could possibly think about. He teased the stream with a flashy hype video too, which featured clips of high-profile video games that finally wouldn’t be a part of the present in any respect (Sonic Frontiers was a notable no-show).
Keighley wasn’t mendacity. Indeed, nearly each title in gaming confirmed up with one thing — it’s simply that what they confirmed wasn’t their A cloth. Sega got here by to plug new content material for Mankind, Capcom shared a personality reveal trailer for Street Fighter 6 (after the complete roster leaked), and Nintendo confirmed preexisting TV spots for its upcoming titles.
The pressure between studios desirous to play ball with Summer Game Fest whereas saving their greatest reveals was particularly obvious in Square Enix’s presence. Just final week, the corporate went all out for Sony’s State of Play stream, revealing new footage for Final Fantasy XVI. It stopped by for Summer Game Fest too, however solely to point out a brand new trailer for Outriders‘ upcoming DLC — not precisely on the identical degree. Much of the present felt like PR firms preventing to get their mid-tier tasks right into a prime-time slot. And with a two-hour runtime, Keighley appeared pleased to approve any and all requests.
None of this may have been an issue had it not been for the best way the present was marketed. In a Twitter Spaces speak, Keighley spoke about how he was trying to attain the highs of E3 this 12 months. “There were a lot of shows last year where everyone was disappointed when they weren’t really press conferences, right? Like Take-Two, Capcom, Square Enix and things like that,” Keighley stated. “You kind of need to have 30 minutes-plus of stuff, and sometimes they only have one or two great games to show, which may not be enough to do a full event around. So I think that’s going to be a bit of a shift. I have a pretty good sense of what’s coming in the next month, and I think people will be hyped about games in general.”
Keighley would later backtrack a bit nearer to the occasion, telling gamers to maintain their expectations in test. He implied that the present would principally deal with beforehand introduced titles (which was true), although he would double again shortly after, reminding disenchanted followers that 2021’s stream featured Elden Ring. Nothing would actually attain the identical heights this time round, save for the considerably polarizing The Last of Us Part I (even then, it’s telling that Sony didn’t roll out the purple carpet for God of War Ragnarok right here).
The present ended with the promise that Summer Game Fest will return in 2023 with an in-person element — placing it in direct competitors with E3’s deliberate present — however the kickoff left me feeling like each exhibits had been competing for one thing that followers want greater than recreation publishers. Studios like Capcom and Square Enix don’t actually appear serious about handing over their video games to third-parties that aren’t platform holders. Instead, they appear extra desirous to work with firms like Sony. Just have a look at the latest State of Play, which featured a Resident Evil 4 remake, Street Fighter 6, and Final Fantasy XVI. Since E3’s sluggish demise started, studios have realized that they will reveal their greatest merchandise each time they need versus spending huge bucks to have a presence on a present they don’t have affect over.
I get pleasure from Summer Game Fest and I hope it sticks round. It’s all the time enjoyable to see new video games and chat with pals about thrilling reveals. But it feels just like the E3-sized gap in our hearts isn’t being stuffed anytime quickly, even when the present does. Perhaps exhibits like Summer Game Fest are higher off as a discovery platform for smaller tasks moderately than a stage for AAA desk scraps.
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