Summer Game Fest 2024 - All News at a Glance

This year's Summer Game Fest 2024 was a little short on big announcements, but it still managed to showcase a lot of games in less than two hours. At least Geoff Keighley opened with a brief mention of layoffs and studio closures.

Unlike The Game Awards 2023 and Summer Game Fest 2023, Geoff Keighley also briefly addressed the wave of layoffs and studio closures in the industry at the beginning of the show. He said it had "disappointed us all". He went on to say that the industry is going through a period of change and that smaller teams and indie developers are shaking up the market, thanks to digital distribution. Furthermore, he pointed to data from GameDiscover showing that eight of the ten most successful games of the year came from small or indie teams - and only two from established publishers such as Capcom (Dragon's Dogma 2) and Sony Interactive Entertainment (Helldivers 2). These successful games included Enshrouded by Keen Games from Frankfurt, Deep Rock Galactic Survivor, Hades 2, Manor Lords, Balastro, Super Market Simulator, Buckshot Roulette and, of course, Palworld. At least he mentioned the situation right at the beginning of the show, before the avalanche of trailers and announcements began. On YouTube, the show was viewed over three million times in just under ten hours. Immediately following the opening show, Day of the Devs and Devolver Direct continued.

The Summer Game Fest 2024 show lasted just under two hours and was streamed live to an audience at the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles. Compared to previous shows, there were also more women on stage during the interview and presentation segments. Games from studios or publishers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were rare. Only Plaion was a bit more visible with a trailer for Kingdom Come Deliverance II. Anyway, apart from Lego Horizon Adventures, Civilization VII and Blumhouse Productions' entry into game publishing, there were few big announcements at Summer Game Fest 2024 itself. Xbox Game Studios was absent, as was Nintendo. Ubisoft and Devolver Digital took the opportunity to promote their own showcases. Capcom in particular stood out as a publisher, with Street Fighter 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, Monster Hunter Stories and Kunitau-Gami: Path of the Goddess. Btw. Monster Hunter Wilds and Dune Awakening will be presented in more detail at gamescom 2024.

Announcements

Lego Horizon Adventures has been announced by Guerrilla Games, Studio Gobo and Sony Interactive Entertainment for PC, PS5 and Switch. It is scheduled for release in autumn 2024. This will be Aloy's first appearance on the Nintendo platform.

Torn Banner Studios, the developer behind Chivalry 2, has unveiled the eight-player co-op horror shooter No More Room in Hell 2. In the sequel to the 2011 Source mod, players must find their friends and survive while isolated in the dark. "No More Room in Hell 2 continues the dark, grounded aesthetic and intense action horror approach of the original game while expanding its vision dramatically," said Steve Piggott, CEO and creative director at Torn Banner Studios. "We're excited to be the new shepherds of a franchise we adored as fans and thrilled to take up the mission of capturing the iconic horror of classic zombie cinema. We want to blow people away with our first co-op game, pushing Torn Banner’s skill in multiplayer action to a whole new level." It is coming to Early Access on PC this Halloween.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions launches on 3 September for PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC. Published by Warner Bros. Games and developed by Unbroken Studios and Portkey Games, the game will also be available as a PlayStation Plus Monthly Game on day one.

2K Games did not announce Borderlands 4, as widely assumed, but Sid Meier's Civilization VII. It will be released in 2025 for PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC. The full reveal is scheduled for August 2024. "The Civilization series has sold more than 70 million copies and has been played for more than 1 billion hours. It is a true crown jewel for 2K," said David Ismailer, President of 2K Games. "What the team has in store for Civilization VII is nothing short of breathtaking. We are confident that Firaxis Games has another hit on its hands with Civilization VII."

Film studio Blumhouse Productions is expanding into the gaming industry with Blumhouse Games. Founder Jason Blum unveiled six horror games: Crisol: Theatre of Idols from Vemila, Grave Seasons from Perfect Garbage, Sleep Awake from Eyes Out, Fear the Spotlight from Cozy Game Pals, The Simulation from PlayMeStudio and Project C from Half Mermaid.

Amazon Games' MMORPG New World will make its console debut on 15 October 2024 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S under the title New World: Aeternum. This version will include all content from the PC version, including the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion, as well as new content that will also be released on PC, including a PvP zone, a ten-player raid, solo end-game trials, improved levelling, new character archetypes and an enhanced dialogue system. "New World: Aeternum is the culmination of years of development with the help of a dedicated community of players who experienced the original New World on PC," said Christoph Hartmann, Vice President of Amazon Games. "Listening to player feedback is essential to our approach to game development. We know that New World: Aeternum delivers on the promise of a fresh and exciting experience that New World players can enjoy together across platforms."

Battle Aces, an action-oriented RTS with a customisable unit deck, has been announced by Uncapped Games. Closed beta test signups are available. "The promise of RTS has always centered on building and commanding a massive army, and controlling how it moves and fights across the map as you match strategic wits against an opponent. In Battle Aces, our aim is for players of all skill levels and experience with RTS to experience that promise in every match," said David Kim, senior game director of Uncapped Games. "In fact, what we've seen in our testing so far is that players new to RTS or less familiar with the genre have been able to learn Battle Aces and grow in skill more quickly than any RTS our team has ever worked on before."

More Announcements

• Paper Cult announced Tears of Metal, a medieval co-op roguelike hack-and-slash game coming to PC in 2025.
• Capcom announced the second season of Street Fighter 6, featuring DLC characters M. Bison, Terry Bogard (Fatal Fury), Mai Shiranui (Fatal Fury) and Elena.
• Digital Eclipse and Hasbro announced the brawler Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind for consoles and PC.
• Two Star Games (Choo-Choo Charles) announced Cuffbust. This multiplayer escape game will be released on PC in 2025.
• The Game Bakers, the French studio behind Furi and Haven, have announced Cairn. The "survival climbing" game will be released on unspecified consoles and PC in 2025.
• Annapurna Interactive and Ivy Road have unveiled Wanderstop, a narrative-driven cosy game due out on PS5 and PC via Steam in 2024.
• The creators of Among Us, Outersloth, announced a fund for indie games. There will also be an Among Us TV show on CBS.
• From Outerloop Games (Thirsty Suitors) comes Project Dosa, a game about life, love and loss. Outersloth will co-publish the game in 2026.
• Remedy Entertainment and Epic Games Publishing will release the first DLC for Alan Wake II, Night Springs, on 8 June. Limited Run Games will offer a physical Collector's Edition for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
• Ironmace's fantasy FPS dungeon PvPvE adventure Dark and Darker returns to Steam and the Epic Games Store after a lengthy legal battle.
• Riot Games will soon release the 5v5 tactical shooter Valorant on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. It will be available starting with a limited beta.

Trailer and Release Dates

• Kingdom Come Deliverance II developed by Warhorse Studios and published by Deep Silver (Plaion). The medieval role-playing game will be released in 2024 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
• Star Wars Outlaws from Ubisoft (30 August)
• Neva from Nomada Studio (Gris) and Devolver Digital (2024)
• Black Myth: Wukong from Game Science will be released on 20 August for PC and PlayStation 5. The Xbox Series X|S version has been delayed.
• Asgard's Wrath 2 (Meta Quest; already released)
• Starry Studio will release Once Human for PC on 9 July. It is an open-world multiplayer survival game set in a post-apocalyptic future.
• Warhammer 40.000: Space Marine II from Focus Entertainment Publishing (9 September)
• Camouflaj and Oculus Studios will release Batman: Arkham Shadow for Meta Quest 3 this fall.
• Metapher: ReFantazio from Atlus (11 October)
• Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe announces that Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, the first instalment in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series in 15 years, will be released on 11 October 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
• TiMi Studio Group and Level Infinite presented Delta Force: Hawk Ops. An alpha test on PC will take place in July.
• SNK will release Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves on PS5/PS4, Xbox Series X|S and PC in early 2025.
• Battle Crush, a "30-player action brawl" game from Ncsoft, will launch in Early Access on 27 June.
• Mecha Break from Amazing Seasun
• Deer & Boy from Lifeline Game Studio
• Bokeh Game Studio will launch Slitterhead for PS5/PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on 8 November 8.
• Killer Bean from Killer Bean Studios
• The narrative action-adventure Unknown 9: Awakening from Reflector Entertainment and Bandai Namco Entertainment will be released in autumn 2024 for PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and PC.
• Enotria the Last Song from Jyamma Games (19 September)
• The First Descendant from Nexon (2 July)
• Sonic X Shadow Generations from Sega (25 October)
• Dune Awakening from Funcom with reference to gamescom 2024
• Monster Hunter Stories from Capcom (14 June)
• The Finals from Embark Studios (already available)
• Honkai Star Rail from HoyoVerse (already available)
• Kunitau-Gami: Path of the Goddess from Capcom (19 July)
• Hyper Light Breaker from Heart Machine and Arc Games (Fall 2024)
• Party Animals from Recreate Games and Source Technology (already out)
• skate. from Full Circle and EA (console playtesting in Fall 2024)
• Palworld from Pocketpair (Update "Sakurajima" coming 27 June)
• Squad Busters from Supercell (already available)
• Monster Hunter Wilds from Capcom (2025)
• Phantom Blade Zero by S-Game

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