Geoff Keighley, the journalist and creator of Summer Game Fest, has said to expect fewer third-party showcases this year. The news comes as the gaming industry of 2022 still struggles to bounce back from the chaos of the last two years.
Speaking in a Twitter Spaces session over the weekend (via VGC) Keighley said:
“There were a lot of shows last year where everyone was disappointed when they weren’t really press conferences, right? Like Take-Two, Capcom, Square Enix and things like that.” He went further, pointing out that companies had a lot less to show, compared to what gamers were expecting to see. “I think [they] have learned that if you’re going to do a press conference, you kind of need to have thirty minutes-plus of stuff,” he said. “And sometimes they only have one or two great games to show.”
The idea seems to be that Keighley expects some publishers to keep their cards close to the chest. The glut of online events in 2020 and 2021 led to a lot of confusion among gamers, and even some anger. A lot of these publisher events were little more than trailer showcases. And in some instances, didn’t even announce any new games. A lot of companies didn’t have much to show as 2020 massively slowed down development progress, thanks to COVID-19. But as the world slowly returns to a sense of normalcy in video games, some publishers have a bit more to show off.
Whether these companies actually show their new games off depends on what the traditional showcases plan to do. E3 is not happening, so that leaves a lot in limbo. Keighley did admit that he hopes that Summer Game Fest will be able to fill the gap. With E3 2022 being canceled, the Summer Game Fest is now the biggest gaming show left on the calendar. The event is still slated for Thursday, June 9 at 11a PT / 2p ET / 6p GMT.
Geoff Keighley and Summer Game Fest have been able to fill the gap pretty well so far, hopefully, they can continue that trend.
