A Guide To All The Summer Gaming Showcases

The Summer Game Fest is only a few weeks away now, which means a deluge of game conferences are coming along the way. We’re a fair way from the days of E3 where only the biggest game publishers got any attention, which is great for independent developers, but a bit hard on the average fan. No worries, however, as this article will serve as the one-stop guide for every major game conference.  Of course, Sony and Nintendo are still quiet about when or where they’ll be showing up, but since they’re the industry leaders, it’ll be impossible to get away from them once they announce dates anyway.

Everything begins with the Guerilla Collective. Sponsored by The Mix, the show frequently offers some of the most varied and interesting looking indie video games out there. Given a lot of indie games generally appear multiple times at multiple showcases, expect several of the ones seen here to make multiple appearances across the month  Guerilla Collective starts June 6th at 10am PT.

Next up is Summer Game Fest itself. Coming directly from the YouTube theater, Geoff Keighley will bring viewers a look at some of the hottest new games from around the world. Expect this to contain most of the major third-party, AAA titles. There’s no confirmation on what’s going to be there yet, but going by their partners, it wouldn’t be out of line to guess that we’ll see Bokeh Game Studio’s Slitterhead project or Electronic Arts’ Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.  Warner Bros could unveil anything from more Mortal Kombat to something new, but perhaps we’ll get a glimpse at Wonder Woman?  It’s been four years since it was first announced. Summer Game Fest starts proper on June 7th @ 2pm PT.

Directly after the Summer Game Fest is Day of the Devs, which will offer a bit more of a deep dive into indie titles.

Next is the Wholesome Direct. Described as a “vibrant lineup of artistic, uplifting, and emotionally resonant games from developers of all sizes from around the world,” the Wholesome Direct is something everyone should check out if they’re looking for a break from the usual onslaught of violent titles. It will feature 70+ games, and begins June 8th @ 9am PT.

Not long after the Wholesome Direct wraps up, the very first Latin American Games Showcase starts at 10am PT. Thanks to Devolver Digital and Raw Fury, fans can expect to be exposed to a host of new titles from Latinx developers.

The Women-Led Games Showcase is another new showcase to being added to Summer Game Fest. It starts at 11:30am PT on June 8th. Paired with this showcase is a Steam sale, so gamers should keep their Steam accounts open while this airs.

The Future Games Showcase makes its return to the summer. Starting June 8th at 12pm PT, it promises 40 games will be present, including SacriFire, First Dwarf, Eternal Strands, and more. Future Games Showcase is often where a lot of surprising titles end up, so even though fans will have seen potentially hundreds of games, this is still a showcase to check out.

The Xbox Games Showcase will kick off June 9th at 10am PT. The company absolutely needs a win right now, so expect a mix of release dates for the remaining games of 2024, plus new looks at several of the titles that have appeared over the last few showcases. Avalanche’s Contraband has been missing for ages, plus there’s a host of other studios that have been suspiciously quiet that need to make an appearance. And immediately following Xbox Games Showcase will be what’s rumored to be the Call of Duty Direct, where fans get a deep dive into this year’s Call of Duty game.

Everyone’s favorite, the PC Gaming Show, will close out June 9th at 1pm PT. This is the show’s tenth anniversary, and currently they’re promising a look at over 70 video games. For what its worth, by this point in the showcases we’ll likely have seen almost everything that developers are willing to show. Still, the PC Gaming Show is worth the time because they’re more likely to do developer discussions, and they definitely have a lot more fun with their show than some of the others.

That said, the fun isn’t over as there are a few more shows occupying the next week.

Ubisoft returns with Ubisoft Forward on June 10th. As yet, there’s no official time for this one. Coming live from Los Angeles, Ubisoft will talk about Star Wars: Outlaws and provide the first gameplay look at Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. Could there also be a first look at Far Cry 7?

Near the end of all these showcases is Dames 4 Games, featuring interviews with women who work in the industry, talks with passionate women gamers, and a showcase of upcoming games. This one starts June 13th at 1pm PT.

Finally, the last showcase with a date is The Mix  It makes returns with Black Voices In Gaming, another summer showcase that sees the Guerilla Collective crew do another livestream, sitting down with developers and talking about their games. This showcase starts on June 13th at 3pm PT.

Fans need to remain on the lookout for the Nintendo Direct sometime in June. This showcase will focus on games coming out for the final year of the Nintendo Switch as the company’s primary platform. They’ve already confirmed there won’t be anything here about the Switch successor, but perhaps there will be a bit more information about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, or even Metroid Prime 4.