Gaming’s summer of big reveals and showcases is usually loosely referred to as E3 season, with the biggest and best publishers historically having used that yearly expo to drop the biggest announcements and teases of games they’ve got in the works.
Despite E3 itself having been cancelled for this year back in April, you can still catch a ton of broadcasts over the next couple of weeks that’ll offer you glimpses into the future of the medium from the perspectives of different publishers and studios, before getting ready for the entertainment expo’s return in 2023.
So, what should you have marked in your calendar to ensure that you don’t miss a thing? Here’s our guide to this year’s summer of gaming:
What Is the Summer of Gaming Schedule?
The schedule for the summer of gaming currently goes as follows:
- Sony State of Play, June 2, 3PM PST/6PM EST/11PM BST
- Upload VR Showcase, June 9, 8AM PST/ 11AM EST/4PM BST
- Summer Game Fest, June 9, 11AM PST/2PM EST/7PM BST
- Devolver Direct, June 9, 3PM PST/6PM EST/11PM BST
- Netflix Geeked Week, June 10, 10AM PST/1PM EST/6PM BST
- Tribeca Games Spotlight, June 10, 12PM PST/3PM EST/8PM BST
- Guerrilla Collective, June 11, 8AM PST/11AM EST/4PM BST
- Wholesome Direct, June 11, 11AM PST, 2PM EST/7PM BST
- Future Games Showcase, June 11, 12PM PST/3PM EST/8PM BST
- Xbox & Bethesda Showcase, June 12, 10AM PST/1PM EST/6PM BST
- PC Gaming Showcase, June 12, 12:30PM PST/3:30PM EST/8:30PM BST
- Capcom Showcase, June 13, 3PM PST/6PM EST/ 11PM BST
- Xbox & Bethesda Extended Showcase, June 14,10AM PST/1PMEST/6PM BST
How Do I Watch Summer of Gaming?
All of the showcases will be livestreamed on YouTube via the channel of the specific publisher or group hosting that particular showcase. For example, Sony’s State of Play showcase was broadcast via PlayStation’s official YouTube channel.
The Biggest Summer of Gaming Showcases and What to Expect
Sony State of Play
Japanese publisher Sony decided to get in ahead of the crowd with its show, which revealed a range of exciting games coming to PlayStation in the near future. You can read our full recap here, but the highlights were headlined by fresh trailers for Final Fantasy 16, Street Fighter 6, and Resident Evil 4 Remake, all of which had been heavily speculated as potential inclusions in the run-up to the showcase and will arrive in 2023.
VR was also a heavy focus of the broadcast, with Horizon: Call of the Mountain, which is based in the same universe as Horizon: Forbidden West, also receiving top billing. Marvel’s Spider-Man series also got some love and will be hitting PC later this year.
Summer Game Fest
Helmed by the ever-relevant Geoff Keighley, the Summer Game Fest showcase promises to be an interesting one. Keighley has already gone on record in a Twitter Spaces session (transcribed by VGC) asking those tuning in to “manage your expectations” when it comes to the broadcast. Supposedly, that’s because it will primarily focus on games that have already been announced, rather than launching something huge and completely unexpected at our faces.
Having given us a pretty big Elden Ring announcement last year, according to Keighley, this year’s Summer Game Fest will feature peeks at Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Gotham Knights, and something Fortnite-based involving Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, along with a slew of other games.
Xbox and Bethesda Showcase
The joint showcase between Xbox and Bethesda has seemingly attracted some of the most vociferous speculation from fans of any of the summer events, with lots of discussion focusing on the involvement that companies like Obsidian Entertainment might have now that Bethesda’s Starfield and Redfall have been delayed to next year.
With a host of games as possible options, including RPGs Avowed and Pentiment, something from Obsidian does seem likely for the showcase. Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb recently commented that he thinks Avowed will be the most likely to be shown off, especially given that, in his estimation, Microsoft is looking for a pretty gameplay-heavy show.
This is everything we know about 2022’s summer of gaming showcases and what we can expect from them right now. However, we’ll update this article as soon as we learn any more information.