Summer Game Fest 2021 Will Have A Dozen World Premieres And Announcements On June 10

This summer's gaming events continue to come into focus. Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest has now been more fully detailed, and it sounds like another big event.

The all-digital free worldwide event begins June 10 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET / 6 PM GMT with what's being called the Kick Off Live event. Produced and hosted by Keighley, the show will include more than a dozen "world premieres" and reveals, while it will also set up what's to come over the month-long series. You can get the full rundown in our story on how to watch Summer Game Fest's Kick Off event.

Keighley tells GameSpot that you can expect major reveals during the Kick Off event, and by his latest count, there were around 20 games that should make an appearance at the show. Keighley declined to be drawn into specific teases for any particular franchise (we did our due diligence and asked if Elden Ring may show up) but he said the announcements and reveals will be of a caliber worthy of your time and investment. In addition to announcements, the broadcast will show off what's new for some live service games, the host said.

While you can expect some noteworthy announcements, Keighley said video game fans should temper their expectations somewhat. He remarked that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to some challenges in regards to game development, and some games that people might have been expecting in 2021 may no longer make it, though he didn't share any specifics.

A major difference between 2021's Summer Game Fest and last year's event is that the June 10 Kick Off broadcast will be the focal point of the series. Keighley said a major piece of feedback from 2020's event was that it was too long and drawn out. For 2021, the Kick Off event on June 10 will be the main event, so to speak, and the rest of the month-long Summer Game Fest will focus on co-hosting other summer events, like Ubisoft Forward on June 12 and more partner broadcasts that haven't been announced yet.

"We're not doing days and days of live coverage. We've got a show--then we're going to pass the baton to all those individual publishers," Keighley said. "We have some really good stuff for the kick-off."

Summer Game Fest 2021 begins just days before E3 2021, a show that Keighley is no longer directly involved with. He doesn't have anything bad to say about E3, and he expects fans of video games to tune in to every gaming event this summer.

"I think sometimes people try to paint it as this battle between Summer Game Fest or E3. But no, it's really like, 'Watch whatever you want to watch.' If you're a gamer, you're probably going to watch all this stuff," he said.

The Kick Off Live! presentation will include a live performance from Weezer. The "Island in the Sun" band will reveal a new "stream-safe" game soundtrack song during the event that streamers can use on their broadcasts without needing to worry about getting a strike.

Throughout the course of the show, viewers can expect updates and announcements from a wide variety of partners, including a lot of very big names. The list of announced participants for the 2021 Summer Game Fest includes the following companies, presented in alphabetical order:

• 2K
• Activision
• Amazon Games
• Annapurna Interactive
• Bandai Namco Enterainment
• Battlestate Games
• Blizzard Entertainment
• Capcom
• Devolver Digital
• Dotemu
• Electronic Arts
• Epic Games
• Finji
• Frontier
• Gearbox Publishing
• Hi-Rez Studios
• Innersloth
• Kock 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

Just like in 2020, Nintendo is missing from the list. Keighly told GameSpot that he would welcome Nintendo and has extended the invitation to the Mario company to participate. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but Keighley said you can expect additional partner announcements to come over the next few weeks leading up to the show.

The Summer Game Fest will also include a showcase for indie games called Days of the Devs, which is produced by iam8bit and Double Fine Productions. This will be incorporated into the Kick Off Live! event on June 10.

"The Day of the Devs team handpicked the best of the games and performances from hundreds of submissions from all around the world. What they've put together is, for the ninth year in a row, an incredibly inspiring celebration of gaming's creative spirit," Double Fine's Tim Schafer said in a press release.

Additionally, Summer Game Fest will include "free live streamed events" from some publishers, though a list of participating companies has not been announced yet. Keighley confirmed to GameSpot that it will include at least Ubisoft Forward. Microsoft has teased its own summer showcase with Halo Infinite news and updates from Bethesda. Given that Xbox is one of the partners for Summer Game Fest, it seems likely this showcase is part of the event.

In terms of where you can watch the Summer Game Fest events, it will be shown on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and other places. The series is sponsored in part by Prime Gaming.

"As a free, fan-first, global experience, Summer Game Fest will bring the entire video game community together for a memorable month of announcements and updates," Keighley said.

Outside of Summer Game Fest and E3 2021, the Guerrilla Collective event takes place on June 5 and 8, Electronic Arts will host EA Play Live on July 22, and Gamescom 2021's all-digital show is slated for August.