What is Summer Game Fest 2021 and how to watch it live?
Summer Game Fest will again hit the ‘net in June to bring us tonnes of news, launches, trailers and much more on unannounced and eagerly anticipated games.
Sponsored by Amazon’s Prime Gaming, it runs concurrently with E3 2021 and similarly has a healthy collection of games publishers and developers signed up to show off their wares.
So, when does it take place, what can you expect, and how can you watch it all? We explain all.
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What is Summer Game Fest and when does it start?
Born from the pandemic and global lockdowns, Summer Game Fest started in 2020 to fill the void left by a cancelled E3.
It ran from May to August and featured publisher announcements, in-game events and an opening livestream that crammed in bundles of game info and trailers.
However, this year it runs for a shorter period and parallel to an all-digital E3, which has also garnered a lot of attention.
It will start with a live kick off show on Thursday 10 June at 11am PT. We hope to host the kick off show here closer the time.
Other publisher events will take place over the following weeks and tie into the gaming festival. You can see all the confirmed events and times below.
Summer Game Fest 2021: How to keep track
Summer Game Fest is online-only with a number of key events taking place throughout June. Here are the highlights and the times they will start.
Summer Game Fest Kickoff live – 10 June
The main show will be hosted by The Game Awards’ Geoff Keighley and start at the following times. It will also feature a live performance by Weezer.
- US west coast: 11am PT
- US east coast: 2pm ET
- UK: 7pm BST
- Europe: 8pm CEST
Ubisoft Forward – 12 June
Ubisoft’s annual round-up event will stream online and show what’s coming up from the brand in 2021 and beyond.
- US west coast: 12am PT
- US east coast: 3pm ET
- UK: 8pm BST
- Europe: 9pm CEST
Steam Next Fest – 16 June
Rather than one video event, Steam Next Fest is a six-day event tied into the Summer Game Fest. It will debut PC games trailers, developer interviews and offer exclusive demos for you to download and try out.
- US west coast: 10am PT
- US east coast: 1pm ET
- UK: 6pm BST
- Europe: 7pm CEST
EA Play Live
Electronic Arts will host its own online livestream, debuting many new games and given us updates on those in development.
We’re yet to get exact timings, but you will be able to watch it right here.
What to expect during Summer Game Fest
As well as the above, the following publishers have signed on to take part in the Summer Game Fest. Some are also taking part in E3 2021. Basically, June is going to be a great month for gamers.
- 2K
- Activision
- Amazon Games
- Annapurna Interactive
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Battlestate Games
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Capcom
- Devolver Digital
- Dotemu
- Electronic Arts
- Epic Games
- Finji
- Frontier
- Gearbox Publishing
- Hi-Rez Studios
- Inner Sloth
- Koch Media
- Mediatonic
- MiHoYo
- PlayStation
- Psyonix
- Raw Fury
- Riot Games
- Saber Interactive
- Sega
- Steam
- Square Enix
- Tribeca Festival
- Tencent Games
- Warner Bros. Games
- Ubisoft
- Wizards of the Coast
- Xbox
More will be announced in the build up to the event. We’ll update as they are announced.
