This year’s E3 has been canceled, but that hasn’t stopped game publishers like Sony, Microsoft and Ubisoft from holding their own digital showcases all summer – or Geoff Keighley’s ever-growing Summer Game Fest event to get a good alternative to the video burst of game announcement you’d expect from E3 2023.
While Nintendo hasn’t yet announced any form of Nintendo Direct around the usual E3 timing, and Sony has already held its PlayStation Showcase, there’s a lot more to come. Here’s a quick look at the “non-E3” and Summer Game Fest 2023 schedule through August. More details on when, where and what publishers plan to show this summer can be found below.
- Summer Game Fest — June 8
- Developers Day – June 8
- Devolver Direct – June 8
- Healthy Instant — June 10
- Future Games Show Summer Showcase – June 10
- Xbox Games Showcase – June 11
- Starfield Direct – June 11
- PC Game Show – June 11
- Ubisoft Forward – June 12
- Sega’s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Summit – June 16
- Gamescom Opening Night Live – August 22
Summer game festival 2023
On Thursday, June 8, host Geoff Keighley presents his fourth annual Summer Game Fest. This year’s SGF promises the expected game reveals and first looks, including debut gameplay from Mortal Kombat 1 and a new view Alan Wake 2. Given Keighley’s history of game reveals, it wouldn’t be surprising if Kojima Productions’ Dead stranding 2 and that of FromSoftware Armored Core 6: Burning Rubicon And Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree also made an appearance. The event will with games from over 40 publishers and developerssays Kighley.
Summer Game Fest 2023 will stream live from Los Angeles at 12pm PDT/3pm EDT/9pm CEST and can be viewed at YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, TikTok, Instagramand Steam.
Day of the Devs: Summer Game Fest Edition
Image: iam8bit/Double Fine Productions
Right after Summer Game Fest, Double Fine Productions and iam8bit present their Day of the Devs livestream. Day of the Devs: SGF Edition promises games from more than a dozen indie game developers, including AdHoc Studio, Die Gute Fabrik, Evil Licorice, Geometric Interactive, Heart Machine, iam8bit Presents, Impossible, Land & Sea, Lululu Entertainment, Moonloop Games, Phantom Coast, Sad Owl Studios, Shape Shop, Studio Sai and Wishes Unlimited.
Devolver Direct
On June 8, Devolver Digital will hold its Devolver Direct livestream, promising “new game reveals, announcements, and surprises.” It will also see the “return” of the character Volvy, a ’90s mascot who didn’t exist until now, but will appear in some games in true, crazy Devolver fashion. As is tradition, expect an equal amount of comedy and gaming news from Devolver.
Devolver Direct 2023 will stream live at 3PM PDT/6PM EDT.
Healthy instantly
Wholesome Direct premieres on Saturday, June 10
⏰ 9am PT / 12pm ET / 6pm CET
✨ See the future of fun and uplifting gaming with an hour of exclusive footage and announcements from over 70 awesome indie games!! pic.twitter.com/15mkewJ0PS— Healthy Games (@_wholesomegames) May 15, 2023
Wholesome Direct, the showcase for cute, fun, colorful and clever games, returns on Saturday, June 10 with a ton of feel-good games — more than 70 in total, the organizers say.
You can tune into Wholesome Direct at the group YouTube And Twitch channels at 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 6pm CEST.
Future Games Show Summer Showcase
Expect over 50 multi-platform games in the 70-minute Future Games Show Summer Showcase on Saturday, June 10. The whole thing is hosted by voice actors Yuri Lowenthal and Laura Bailey – Peter Parker and Mary Jane from the Spider-Man series Watson – and can be viewed on Future Games Show’s YouTube channel, GamesRadar’s Twitch channel, FacebookAnd Twitter.
Xbox Games Showcase
Image: Microsoft
On Sunday, June 11, Microsoft is expected to pull out the big guns to see what’s to come alongside Windows PC and Xbox Series X. Expect “new surprises and first looks” from Xbox Game Studios and its third-party partners. Microsoft says the Xbox Games Showcase will focus on titles for Xbox, PC and Game Pass.
Xbox Games Showcase 2023 starts at 10am PDT/1pm EDT/7pm CEST and streams on Xbox’s YouTube, TwitchAnd Facebook channels.
Starfield Direct
Immediately following the Xbox Game Showcase, there will be a second stream, Bethesda Softworks’ Starfield Direct. The emphasis on Star field promises “new gameplay, developer interviews, and behind-the-scenes inside information” for the upcoming Windows PC and Xbox Series X game.
PC game show
The folks at PC Gamer are back with another PC Gaming Show that’s all about – you guessed it – upcoming PC games and updates to released games. More than 50 games will be showcased at this year’s show, including Baldur’s Gate 3, frostpunk 2, Dune: awakeningand a new game from Klei, the studio behind it Don’t starve And sign of the ninja.
The PC Gaming Show 2023 is streaming YouTube And Twitch starting at 1pm PDT/4pm EDT/10pm CEST on June 11.
Forward Ubisoft
Get ready for another journey to Pandora as Ubisoft’s highly anticipated Avatar video game will release on Monday, June 12 on Ubisoft Forward 2023. Avatar: Limits of Pandora will be live reveals for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, The Crew Motorfest, Assassin’s Creed Nexusand something mysterious, based on the teaser video above.
Ubisoft Forward 2023 streams live on June 12 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT/7pm CEST.
RGG Summer 2023 Summit
Sega’s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio – the people who make Yakuza, Judgment and Like a Dragon games – will give a preview of the future at RGG Summit Summer 2023 on Thursday, June 15. Publisher Sega says fans of the Like a Dragon series can “get updates on upcoming titles, community efforts, [and] developer discussions’ during the live stream, with English interpretation. Hopefully fans will get an update on that Like a Dragon Gaiden: the man who erased his namethe spin-off that brings back former protagonist Kazuma Kiryu.
RGG Summit Summer 2023 will be streamed on Sega’s Western YouTube And Twitch channels at 8 p.m. PDT / 11 p.m. EDT on June 15.
Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023
Geoff Keighley will return to Germany and every live streaming platform for Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023 on August 22. Just like Summer Game Fest, expect world premieres and big game announcements. If you haven’t seen it at SGF 2023 in June, keep your fingers crossed for unannounced stuff coming up at Gamescom.
Details on specific times when Gamescom ONL 2023 will be streamed will follow.
What about Nintendo Direct and the state of Sony?
Without E3, Nintendo won’t have a major event to link a Nintendo Direct presentation to. Typically, in the absence of E3, Nintendo will hold a smaller, third-party-focused version of its Nintendo Direct showcases. In 2020 and 2022, Nintendo streamed Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcases, saving the big first party reveals for later in the year.
Nintendo doesn’t have much else on the release schedule Picmin 4 in July, and it’s possible the company will be able to update Nintendo Switch owners on what to expect at some point this summer.
As for PlayStation, it held a big PlayStation Showcase back in May, but with plenty of games still to show off – like Naughty Dog’s multiplayer The Last of Us spin-off – it’s possible that a new one will launch later this summer or sometime in the summer. State of Play live stream is coming. the fall.