debtFor nearly 15 years, I used to fly to Los Angeles every June to cover E3, the massive video game conference where major games and consoles were unveiled for the first time, from PlayStation to Wii U, from Fallout 4 to Final Fantasy VII Remake. However, due to the pandemic, E3 was canceled this year and replaced by a series of loosely connected events: Summer Game Fest, organized by The Game Awards’ Jeff Keighley, the Xbox Game Showcase, and the indie-led event Day of the Devs. It all kicks off tomorrow, June 6th.
Publishers like Ubisoft and Devolver are hosting their own broadcasts, while other E3 regulars like EA and Square-Enix are absent. Live Show From leading games and entertainment website IGN – I worked there during the height of E3 in the early 2010s, when companies would rent studios and broadcast basically all of their announcements over four consecutive days. What’s basically happened is that it seems like we still get as much gaming news as we get at E3, but now it’s much more spread out and crammed into one weekend instead of a week-long conference.
In short, it’s all a bit chaotic right now, but I’m on a plane to Los Angeles just like the old days, so I’ll do my best to play and cover as many interesting games as I can. If you’re looking to follow events other than E3 over the weekend, here are five things to keep an eye on (and where to watch them).
Summer Game Fest Live Stream – Friday, June 72pm PST / 10pm BST
It’s a two-hour live showcase hosted by Keighley from LA’s YouTube Theatre. Based on my previous experience with both SGF and the Game Awards, it’s going to be a series of blockbuster trailers interspersed with very tepid, very rehearsed conversations with developers. It’ll be an endurance test, but with all the big names in the video game industry in attendance, including Capcom, 2K Games, and PlayStation, there should be at least two major game announcements and it should be worth watching. Straight afterwards, for those staying up late in the UK, the Day of the Devs indie showcase (4pm PST/midnight BST) and Devolver Direct broadcast (5pm PST/1am BST) will showcase the satire and independent spirit of the games industry, dispelling any corporate chic.
Wholesome Direct – Saturday, June 89am PST / 5pm BST
If you’re looking for a cozy gaming vibe, this is the place. Farming simulators, dating games, anything with cats and frogs. I get a lot of emails from Pushing Buttons readers asking where to find non-violent, approachable games, and this is the place. In past years, this showcase has proven to be long-lasting enough to get cloyingly cute, and with over 70 games on display, it’s quite possible that will be the case in 2024 as well, but the wholesome intention behind it makes up for it for me.
Xbox Games Showcase – Sunday, June 9th9am PST / 5pm BST
I’m very interested to see how the rather embattled Xbox division will fare this year, having pushed through the Activision/Blizzard/King mega-merger last year and then made the very unpopular decision to close down some of their studios. With a new version of Xbox on the horizon, the Game Pass strategy seems to be shifting, and Microsoft now owning a lot of developers, should There’s no shortage of games to premiere, with the sequel to the Call of Duty Black Ops series (above), due to launch this year, also premiering shortly thereafter.
PC Game Show – Sunday, June 9th1pm PST / 9pm BST
PC releases tend not to get as much attention in the games media as console releases, so this will be a most exciting showcase for a readership that loves real-time strategy, 4x, Moba, team-based FPS games, CRPGs, and other genre acronyms that accompany PC-exclusive games. Organized by venerable magazine PC Gamer, the event is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Ubisoft Forward – Monday, June 1012pm PST / 8pm BST
Ubisoft’s lineup this year is promising, with the new Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan and the promising Star Wars Outlaws alone being enough to keep me entertained for an hour, but I Mario vs Rabbids Kingdom Battle 2017 Edition Shigeru Miyamoto made an appearance, Rabbids creative director Davide Soliani got emotional, and it wouldn’t be E3 without a slightly embarrassing “Just Dance” performance.
What to Play
I have two long-distance flights coming up, so it’s time to get serious. Elden Ring On Steam – Fortunately, the best game of 2022 (and in fact one of the best fantasy games of all time) runs great on a portable PC console. Shadow of the Elder TreeThe expansion is out on June 20th and is small enough to be considered a mini-sequel. The good news for those of you who haven’t finished Elden Ring yet, like me, is that you don’t have to finish the game to the end before the expansion comes out, but you’ll still get to enjoy the brutal yet exhilarating rhythm of the combat (and Substantial We’ll be looking back at the game’s history before taking on a new challenge later this month.
Available on: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox
Estimated play time: 60+ hours (expansion will take at least another 15-20 hours)
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What to Read
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Amazon Prime Unexpectedly Live-action television series It’s based on the fantastic cult-favorite crime drama game, Like a Dragon (pictured above).
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Sony’s State of Play showcase last week technically kicked off a summer of gaming-related announcements. Gamesradar There is an overview Highlights from the trailer Astro Botstarring an adorable little white robot who serves as PlayStation’s best mascot, is a playful mix of platforming, puzzles, and action that’s great fun.
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In news that’s too depressing for me to even think about, IKEA plans to pay its employees the minimum wage. Virtual Roblox Store You wanted the metaverse? Here’s the metaverse. Working at IKEA for minimum wage. But now. Not real.
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Actor and developer Abubakar Salim recently released his debut game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, with his studio Surgent. made a statement He talks about the targeted racist harassment he and his team suffered, part of a resurgence of the anti-woke culture wars that have resurfaced this year in the games industry and beyond. “There’s always going to be a reason why diverse stories can’t exist. These exclusionary rules keep piling up, and the goalposts keep shifting, until I, my studio, and people like us just sit back, shut up, and accept the fact that we’re outsiders. And I won’t,” he says.
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