Summer Game Fest live show will feature three or four “pretty big” things

Summer Game Fest is almost upon us, kicking off with a live showcase before splintering into a “season” of disparate publisher events in the absence of E3. But first that showcase, which is now confirmed to be two hours in length, and featuring at least a couple of “pretty big” things.

Summer Game Fest gets underway on 8th June, with a live show consisting of premieres, gameplay demos, and announcements. That’s pretty much as far as details went in previous teases, but now, in an interview on the Epic Games Store, show host and producer Geoff Keighley has now shared a little more about what to expect from the format.

Alongside its now confirmed two-hour duration, Keighley suggests Summer Game Fest live will be a little more laidback compared to the bombastic Game Awards, offering a “chance to talk to the developers and showcase games and give a little bit more context around games”. While the exact line-up still appears to be in flux, Keighley does say he expects the Summer Game Fest live show to feature three or four things that are “pretty big for this audience.”

“As I always say with these shows, one or two games kind of makes the entire difference,” he explained. “As the producer, it’s challenging because sometimes you have those games, sometimes you don’t, sometimes you think you have them and they drop out or change.”

Beyond the live show, individual publishers have started confirming their own events running under the Summer Game Fest banner. Xbox, for instance, airs its showcase on 11th June, with Bethesda’s Starfield Direct set to run straight after, and Ubisoft takes to the stage on 12th June.

In total, Summer Game Fest will feature links with over 40 “partners” in some capacity, including big names like PlayStation, Xbox, Capcom, Sega, CD Projekt, Bandai Namco, EA, Epic Games, Netflix, Activision, Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros.

Sony, however, is setting its stall out early, well before the start of Summer Game Fest, with a one-hour PlayStation Showcase airing this Wednesday, 24th May, from 9pm BST. It’ll focus on PS5 and PSVR2 games from PlayStation Studios, third-party partners, and indie creators.