Everything announced at Summer Game Fest’s kickoff stream

This year’s Summer Game Fest started off with a bang. While no one was quite sure how Geoff Keighley’s gaming showcase would fare with E3 right around the corner, the kickoff stream was absolutely stacked. It started strong with the reveal of Borderlands spinoff Tiny Tina’s Wonderland and ended with the biggest game: Elden Ring. The two-hour stream (plus the Day of the Devs event that followed) was loaded with surprise announcements, celebrity interviews, and musical performances. It’ll be a tough act for E3 to follow, but that hopefully sets the stage for an exciting weekend of reveals. Here’s all the major news from the first day of Summer Game Fest 2021. The biggest shocker was Elden Ring, which closed out the show after years of memes. We got a glimpse at a new trailer that gave us a close look at its fantasy setting and gameplay. Even more shocking is that the game got a release date: January 21, 2022. That’s much sooner than some had been expecting, making this a genuine bombshell moment for Summer Game Fest. Hopefully we’ll see a little more at Namco’s E3 showcase on Monday, June 15. We’d heard rumors about it leading up to E3, but now it’s official. Borderlands is getting a fantasy spinoff game called Tiny Tina’s Wonderland. It features a star-studded voice cast that includes Andy Samberg, Wanda Sykes, Ashly Burch, and more. The game is scheduled for an early 2022 release. Hideo Kojima appeared on the screen to offer up a surprise. Death Stranding is getting a Director’s Cut on PS5. A teaser trailer for the game featured some cheeky callbacks to Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid franchise. While we patiently wait for an update on the indefinitely delayed Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, the series is getting a multiplayer spinoff game. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt will come out sometime this year, and fans can sign up for a closed alpha right now. Shoot-em-up classic Metal Slug is getting a surprising new installment. Metal Slug Tactics is a Fire Emblem-style strategy game that features characters fighting on a grid. Dotemu, the team behind last year’s standout Streets of Rage 4, is working on the game. Indie sensation Among Us is getting tons of new content. A road map for the game was shared during the show, which revealed that new roles and modes are coming. The biggest addition is a Hide-and-Seek mode, though details on what that entails weren’t shared. Jeff Goldblum made a celebrity cameo during the show to reveal Jurassic Park Evolution 2. The surprise sequel to the dinosaur park building game will be released sometime this year. We got a slight teaser of Call of Duty: Warzone’s next season, which debuts on June 17. It’ll feature a “hijacked gulag,” whatever that means, plus plenty of new maps and guns. We finally got a closer glimpse of Evil Dead: The Game. A gameplay trailer showed off the multiplayer title’s gameplay, which looks about as gory as one would expect from the zombie franchise. A ton of indie games were shown during a delightful Day of the Devs stream. The biggest game shown during the stream was Axiom Verge 2. Developer Thomas Happ shared new details on the Metroidvania and confirmed it’ll come to PS4 and PS5. Other highlights included Soup Pot, The Wandering Village, and stop-motion title Vokabulantis. It isn’t officially summer until Summer Game Fest kicks things off. This yearly event is back and looks like the biggest one yet, with more partners and looks at upcoming video games teased than ever before. Everything from the biggest AAA titles to passionate indie games will get a time to shine on one of the biggest platforms of the year. Unlike showcases of old, Summer Game Fest is a multi-day event that includes individual showcases across the entire weekend. Whether you’re playing on PS5, Xbox, Switch 2, or PC, there’s at least one game or showcase that will appeal to you. We’ve decoded the entire schedule so you can tune in to anything and everything that catches your eye, plus we’ve listed everything we know for sure will be shown off. The first of many Steam Next Fests to be held in 2025 is here, which means there are more game demos to try out than anybody has time for. The latest iteration of the PC storefront’s event spotlighting upcoming titles with playable demos runs from February 24 through March 3, but where to start? Early standouts include the absurd Skin Deep and turn-based strategy game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown. These barely scrape the surface of what Next Fest offers. To make things a little easier, here are ten incredible demos to start with if you are feeling lost.
Demon Tides
If you are itching for more 3D platforming goodness after last year’s Astro Bot, try out Demon Tides. The cartoonish adventure set in a world of islands and open oceans is a responsive and frenetic platformer with a lot of promise. While the demo doesn’t give us the deepest look into how Demon Tides will expand its story and players only get a taste of the platforming, what is there is solid enough to put this game immediately on my wishlist after playing.
Despelote
We all have a list of upcoming video games that we’re eagerly awaiting getting our hands on. Waiting is always the hardest part, but Valve tries to make that wait a little bit more bearable with its Steam Next Fest events. Hosted multiple times a year, this gives PC players a chance to play demos for a ton of upcoming PC games while the celebration is going on. This is the perfect chance to get an early look at some games you have on your wishlist, but also get exposed to some new games you hadn’t heard of before. This is a major event with tons to do and not a lot of time to do it, so here are all the details you need about Steam Next Fest to make the most of it.
What is Steam Next Fest?
In short, Steam Next Fest is an event Valve hosts during select times during the year where developers can all release demos for their upcoming games at once for everyone to see. The entire Steam page will be taken over with featured demos, streams, and more to encourage people to check out these projects and add them to their wishlists. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.