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- Game-reveal week is here
Game-reveal week is here
Full schedule, times and links to every show!
With E3 dead and most game showcases continuing to follow the pre-recorded, trailer-reel format adopted during the Covid era, it’s Summer Games Fest that has stepped up to try and recapture E3’s unique stage-show magic.
Sony may have jumped the gun a couple of weeks early with its recent PlayStation Showcase (one that was strangely lacking in PlayStation showcases), but for all intents and purposes, last night’s Summer Games Fest was the start of game-reveal week. The week formally known as E3 week.
There’s nothing else quite like it, and with four shows already done and eight still to come, we’re currently right in the thick of it.
There’s a lot to keep track of if you don’t want to miss anything. So here’s a rundown of all the shows vying for your attention during one of the most exciting times of the year for video game fans.
Guerrilla Collective Showcase
Wednesday 7th June
5 pm (BST) 6 pm (CEST) 12 pm (EDT) 9 am (PDT)
Watch: YouTube | Twitch
At three hours long, this one would test even the most dedicated gamers’ staying power. Which is a real shame, because there were some brilliant indie games shown off by both established and up-and-coming devs. You can watch the entire show through the links above, or check out this excellent round-up of everything shown.
Summer Game Fest 2023 Opening Showcase
Thursday 8th June
8 pm (BST) 9 pm (CEST) 3 pm (EDT) 12 pm (PDT)
Watch: YouTube | Twitch
Summer Geoff Fest - sorry, Games Fest - continued to try to fill the void left by E3 with another show filled with trailers, announcements, interviews, and, um, Nic Cage. It was a decent showcase overall with games both big and small to suit pretty much any taste. Again, you can watch the entire show through the links above, or check out this rundown of all the announcements.
Day of the Devs
Thursday 8th June
10 pm (BST) 11 pm (CEST) 5 pm (EDT) 2 pm (PDT)
Watch: YouTube
A Week in Games favourite, Double Fine and iam8bit’s Day of the Devs is always a great time, and this year’s edition was no exception. If you missed it and have any interest at all in indie games, be sure to check it out. Or at least read this round-up. Oh, and be sure not to switch off before the delightful Tchia-themed musical outro that ended the show. Lovely stuff.
Devolver Direct
Thursday 8th June
11 pm (BST) 12 pm (CEST) 6 pm (EDT) 3 pm (PDT)
Watch: YouTube
You can always expect the unexpected when it comes to Devolver, and so it proved with a Direct that featured just a handful of games alongside the “return“ of “beloved” (and completely made up) character Volvy in a show that often felt more like an episode of Black Mirror than a games showcase.
It was clever, funny, unhinged and mildly traumatic in equal measure. Classic Devolver, in other words. Re-cap here.
Access-Ability Summer Showcase
Friday 9th June
4 pm (BST) 5 pm (CEST) 11 am (EDT) 8 am (PDT)
Watch: YouTube
The first of what’s planned as an annual show, the Access-Ability Showcase promises “recently released and upcoming video games made by disabled game developers, and featuring accessibility settings designed to help ensure more people are able to play.”
According to the organisers, “every game shown will detail a selection of their accessibility settings offerings, to make sure that gamers watching at home know with confidence if they’ll be able to play an exciting looking game that catches their eye." Very nice.
Tribeca Games Spotlight
Friday 9th June
8 pm (BST) 9 pm (CEST) 3 pm (EDT) 12 pm (PDT)
Watch: YouTube
Part of the Tribeca Festival, the Tribeca Games Spotlight will feature exclusive gameplay and creator interviews from Tribeca's official game selections. The Expanse: A Telltale Series, Goodbye Volcano High, Nightscape, and Stray Gods are amongst the games selected that are likely to be shown.
Wholesome Direct 2023
Saturday 10th June
5 pm (BST) 6 pm (CEST) 12 am (EDT) 9 am (PDT)
Watch: YouTube | Twitch
Another Week in Games favourite, the Wholesome Direct celebrates indie games with a focus on storytelling and beautiful art styles. The Direct will feature over 70 indie games and is sure to be just as lovely as its name would suggest. Don’t miss this one.
Future Games Show Summer Showcase
Saturday 10th June
6 pm (BST) 7 pm (CEST) 1 pm (EDT) 10 am (PDT)
Watch: YouTube | Twitch
Hosted by Future Publishing - makers of Edge and PC Gamer magazines - this 70-minute show is hosted by Marvel’s Spider-Man stars Yuri Lowenthal (Peter/Spidey) and Laura Bailey (Mary-Jane) and is set to feature over 40 trailers across all platforms.
Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct
Sunday 11th June
6 pm (BST) 7 pm (CEST) 1 pm (EDT) 10 am (PDT)
Watch: YouTube | Twitch
With half of this Xbox Showcase dedicated to Starfield, Microsoft isn’t hiding which game is most important to them this year. And with a string of recent first-party disappointments, cancellations and no-shows, there’s certainly a lot of pressure on Bethesda’s latest opus to succeed.
We’ll get to see some Forza and some Hellblade 2, probably some Fable, and hopefully a nice selection of new games and revived IP. Microsoft could do with a good show after a few lacklustre years, so fingers crossed that this can be it.
According to showrunners PC Gamer, this year’s showcase will feature more than 15 new game announcements and a total of 55 featured games. It may be an obvious thing to say, but the PC Gaming Show is noteworthy for its sole focus on PC - a rarity in an industry that tends to be far more focused on consoles.
Ubisoft Forward
Monday 12th June
6 pm (BST) 7 pm (CEST) 1 pm (EDT) 10 am (PDT)
Watch: YouTube
For a company often accused of playing things safe when it comes to games, this is one showcase that’s usually anything but predictable. Of course, Assassin’s Creed will be here - and Mirage is looking like a nice return to the series’ more simple times - but aside from that the contents of this one is anyone’s guess.
Still, it’s probably best not to hold your breath for updates on the long-awaited Beyond Good and Evil 2 or the stuck-in-development-hell Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake.
Capcom Showcase
Monday 12th June
11 pm (BST) 12 pm (CEST) 6 pm (EDT) 3 pm (PDT)
Watch: YouTube
With Resident Evil as relevant as its ever been (thanks to a couple of excellent new entries and best-in-class remakes of old ones) and Street Fighter 6 launching to unanimous praise, Capcom is on a quite-unprecedented hot streak of late.
This showcase is set to be a snappy 36 minutes long, so expect some gameplay for the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Ghost Trick, updates on DLC, add-ons and VR modes for Res Evil, some Monster Hunter, and hopefully a couple of nice surprises along the way.
Annapurna Interactive Showcase
Thursday 29th June
8 pm (BST) 9 pm (CEST) 3 pm (EDT) 12 pm (PDT)
Announced during the Summer Games Fest opening show, this showcase is arriving a while after the others and probably can’t really be called part of the reveal-week celebrations.
Regardless, it’s included here simply because Annapurna are one of the most consistently unique and brilliant publishers out there. And because, well because the teaser video strongly hinted at something Stray-related.
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As always, thank you so much for reading.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the issue. If you do, please tell your friends!
Have a great weekend everyone, and I’ll see you next week
Jeff
THE WEEK IN GAMES
The best news and gaming content of the week
NEWS
The free PlayStation Plus games for June 2023 are now available to download.
In case you missed it, a September release date and news that a playable demo for Bloodborne-alike Lies of P is available now was announced during Summer Games Fest.
Activision has revealed Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 Season 4.
Capcom wants your help deciding what Resident Evil game gets remade next. It’s Code Veronica, right?
The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be released physically on June 13 in the United States and Canada.
Whoopi Goldberg is upset that Blizzard hasn’t released Diablo 4 on Mac.
Apple has unveiled its long-in-the-works augmented reality headset, Vision Pro, which is due to release early next year for a cool $3,499 USD.
Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden release date has leaked.
Counter-Strike 2's first major update is here ahead of the game’s full summer launch.
Fans think they've worked out the time gap between Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
A Diablo 4 designer has confirmed that Sanctuary is in fact a round planet, not a flat world. Meanwhile, Blizzard says Diablo 4 is its fastest-selling game of all time and confirmed that two expansions are in development.
Twitch has now removed the new Branded Content Guidelines following a backlash from the streaming community.
Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine, a match-4 puzzler set in the world of Super Meat Boy, will be coming to Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and Steam on 22nd June.
Western Digital has launched its range of Xbox Series X/S storage expansion cards.
No Man's Sky's Singularity update explores AI corruption and robotic uprisings.
Amazon and Rovio have announced a new animated TV series based on the popular mobile game Angry Birds.
Hideo Kojima has announced Death Stranding Director's Cut will be launching for Mac later this year, with future Kojima Productions games also said to be heading to Apple's machines.
Frontier has announced that F1 Manager 2023 will release on 31st July.
First-person puzzler Viewfinder now has a release date and a demo on PlayStation 5.
The FTC has fined Microsoft $20 million for illegally collecting children’s personal info on Xbox.
Netflix has revealed five new games coming to the platform, including Oxenfree II, Lego Legacy, and more.
OutRun, Sonic and Forza have joined forces for a charity racing event at Donington Park.
MORE!
PaRappa the Rapper Book
Fresh from its recent Kickstarter success, PaRappa the Rapper by Mike Sholars is now available for anybody to buy. Written “to celebrate PaRappa‘s unprecedented mechanics, art, humour [and] cultural specificity…” and combined with Boss Fight Books’ track record of quality, this promises to be a must-read for fans of the game and of Boss Fight in general.
You can find out more and buy the book in digital or physical formats here.
INDIE SPOTLIGHT
Shining a light on new and upcoming indies
There’s no shortage of gorgeous indie games out there. But wow, Dordogne is something else. The hand-painted watercolour visuals, characters and locations are truly a sight to behold, and the promise of a unique and heart-warming narrative experience should ensure this one goes high on every indie fan’s wish list.
Best of all? It’s out next week. Dordogne launches on June 13 for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC.
NEW RELEASES
All the major releases for this week and next
OUT NOW:
Amnesia: The Bunker (Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – June 6
Diablo IV (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – June 6
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie (Switch, PC) – June 8
MotoGP 23 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – June 8
OUT NEXT WEEK:
Dordogne (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – June 13
Jack Jeanne (Switch) – June 15
Layers of Fear (2023) (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – June 15
F1 23 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – June 16
Park Beyond (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – June 16
Diablo IV - Out now!
SUPPORT TWiG
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…and that’s it for this week!
If you have any comments or suggestions, or if you’re interested in advertising your game, product or service to more than 1k passionate gamers, please contact me at [email protected], reply to this email directly, or catch me over on Twitter. I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks again, and see you next week!
Jeff
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