While the ESA and E3 2020 were already on shaky ground, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the hand of the organization and with one fell swoop, E3 2020 was canceled. While the ESA tried to scramble to get things going via an online and digital event, it didn’t pan out. With gamers looking at Summer 2020 no giant gaming event and being stuck in their homes to the quarantine, things looked bleak. That is until IGN, Gamespot and more recently, the Game Awards Show announced plans to host their gaming events, and filling in for the canceled E3 2020 event.
In each of these events, you can expect a heavy focus upcoming video games such a Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us Part II, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, as well as the next-gen gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. What better way for all of us to still experience what E3 could have been, in the comfort in our own homes?
In this article, we’ll take a look at these events and what they’re offering.
IGN’s Summer of Gaming
When E3 was officially canceled, it was IGN who first announced its gaming event to replace the now-dead gaming event. While we know that this event will headline some of the biggest games of not only Summer 2020 but the rest of the year and beyond. The following companies have been slated to join IGN’s gaming event, with more to yet to come.
- 2K
- CD Projekt Red (recently added)
- Square Enix
- SEGA
- Bandai Namco
- Amazon
- Google Stadia
- Devolver Digital
- THQ Nordic
IGN won’t just be streaming the event, as they will have the world participate as well by sending in reaction videos, voting in various polls, and more.
“With the next generation of console gaming kicking off later this year and gamers eager to learn more about what games they’ll be playing on their new hardware, our online event will be a key moment for publishers and developers to connect with the audience worldwide,” Peer Schneider, Chief Content and Product Officer at IGN, said in a statement alongside the announcement.
IGN’s Summer of Gaming will be streamed across YouTube, Facebook, Mixer, Twitter, Twitch, Tiktok, Snapchat, and IGN’s website. More details on this event will be provided by IGN shortly.
IGN hasn’t announced all of its plans as of yet, so be sure to check out their website for news in the upcoming weeks.
Gamespot’s Play for All
Put together by Gamespot, this gaming event will take place during Summer 2020, and will have several major players from the gaming industry involved. From what we understand, this will be a multi-week event, however, a start date has not been revealed. According to Gamespot, this will not be just a gaming event as they’ll be working with Direct Relief in regards to the ongoing pandemic.
Play for All will also be headlined by other popular gaming outlets and personalities, including the Giant Bomb team, Greg Miller from Kinda Funny, Danny O’Dwyer from NoClip. Several others are planning to attend but have not been announced as of yet. This event will be streamed via YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Here’s who’ll be featured in Play for All, with more to come.
- 11 Bit
- 2K Games
- Amazon Games
- Bethesda
- CD Projekt Red
- Coffee Stain
- Dear Villagers
- Deep Silver
- Devolver Digital
- Fellow Traveller
- Good Shepard
- Google Stadia
- Headup
- Larian Studios
- Modern wolf
- Modus Games
- Mythical Games
- Bandai Namco
- Perfect World Entertainment
- Private Division
- Raw Fury
- Sega of America
- Sega of Europe
- Square Enix
- Those Awesome Guys
- Thunderful
- United Label
- Vs Evil
- Wings
- Ysbryd
For more information on Gamespot’s Play for All event, head on over to the official announcement.
Summer Game Fest
You didn’t think Geoff Keighley and crew would sit idle while all of this was happening, did you? Heck, I’m sure this event was long in the planning even before E3 was canceled. He did withdraw from E3 2020, after all. Summer Game Fest was only just announced and even now my inbox is being flooded with information surrounding this event. Starting this month, May 2020, this event will continue up to August 2020 and will showcase some of the biggest names in the gaming industry.
Thoughout the event, limited time demos and trials will be made available on most gaming platforms, including Steam, and Xbox Live, with more being named later.
“In these uncertain and challenging times, it’s more important than ever that video games serve as a common and virtual connection point between us all,” said Geoff Keighley, curator, Summer Game Fest. “SGF is an organizing principle that promises fans a whole season of video game news and other surprises from the comfort of home.”
So far, the following will make appearances;
- 2K
- Activision Publishing
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Bethesda
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Bungie
- CD Projekt Red
- Digital Extremes
- Electronic Arts, Microsoft
- Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation)
- SQUARE ENIX
- Private Division
- Riot Games
- Steam
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Out of all the events announced so far, this one is the only one that has PlayStation attached. It also will run through May and June 2020 and could be where we finally get a look at the PlayStation 5.
For more information on the Summer Game Fest, check out the official website.
New Game+ Expo
As you may be aware, most if not all gaming related events and conventions have either been delayed or canceled thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. While several online events have popped up to replace those events, mainly for the larger publishers, leaving the smaller ones such as indie and niche shops without any way of showing off their upcoming games. Well, that’s all about to change with the formation of New Game+ Expo, a new online event dedicated to showcasing those publishers and developers who would have otherwise gone unseen.
Taking place on June 23rd, 2020, at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, New Game+ Expo will showcase a number of upcoming titles from some of your favorite gaming studios. The event will be live-streamed exclusively on Twitch.
Here’s who’ll be attending New Game+ Expo so far:
- Acttil
- Aksys Games
- Arc System Works America
- Grasshopper Manufacture
- GungHo America
- Idea Factory International
- Inti Creates
- Koei Tecmo America
- Natsume Inc.
- NIS America, Inc.
- Playsim
- Sega of America / Atlus
- SNK Corporation
- Spike Chunsoft, Inc.
- WayForward
