The Summer Game Fest main event is almost here. Hosted by the mayor of game town himself, Geoff Keighley, the annual showcase is set to deliver another dose of hype, disappointment, and juicy discourse about the state of the gaming industrial complex. Here’s what to expect from the successor to E3 and why you should watch.
When does the Summer Game Fest showcase start?
The Summer Game Fest showcase kicks off live at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California on June 5, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET. So grab some snacks, clear your Friday night plans, and strap in.
Where can I watch it?
The showcase will stream live on both YouTube and Twitch. You could also go and watch it in person if you are a real gaming sicko with cash to burn. Tickets sold out weeks ago, but you can currently buy nosebleed seats for the low, low resale price of just $300 on Ticketmaster.
What the heck is this thing anyway?
Summer Game Fest is Geoff Keighley’s baby. The journalist-turned-host willed it into existence back during the pandemic when E3 was on its deathbed. Now in its sixth year, the showcase runs roughly two hours and includes everything from world premiere trailer reveals for the biggest blockbusters to Muppets cracking jokes on stage.
There’s usually a celebrity cameo or two and the place is typically bustling with cross-promotional synergies. The show usually starts with a bang and ends with one. The ride in-between is really more about the friends we make along the way than the final destination.
Will GTA 6 be there?
Very unlikely. While the game’s summer marketing is about to start, Rockstar Games usually likes to make its trailers into events all their own. I would say it’s 100 percent not gonna happen, but Keighley’s thirst for the most highly anticipated and sought-after game trailers is unquenchable. It would be a crowning achievement for a showcase routinely pilloried by the peanut gallery for not having enough big reveals. But probably not.
What about Half-Life 3?
Nope. No way. Definitely not.
Wait, are there gonna be any cool games at this thing?
Only time will tell, but the rumor mill is already in overdrive with speculation. The most likely high-profile reveal is Final Fantasy VII Remake part three. We’ve been getting teases for months that the game is nearly finished, Rebirth just came to Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2, and that game was also revealed at Summer Game Fest just a year before it came out. This would normally be mere speculation, but pretty consistently accurate leaker NateTheHate has added that he expects it to be at the event.
Otherwise it’s much harder to say what Keighley has curated for this year’s show. A steady drumbeat of Persona 6 leaks suggest we’ll be getting news about that unannounced game soon, but it could be at a separate event. An apparent release date of August 27 recently leaked for Star Wars Zero Company, so that might be at the show as well. There will no doubt be some teases for upcoming Fortnite seasonal events and other live-service updates.
And what about Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra? The Amy Hennig–helmed action-adventure was supposed to be out already but has been MIA for a while. Remedy Entertainment has Control Resonant coming out in September, but it’s been a while since we heard anything about its remake of Max Payne. CD Projekt Red has also been toiling away on a bunch of different projects lately. Could we get a fresh look at The Witcher 4, a gameplay tease for the new Witcher 3 DLC, or even a very brief glimpse of something related to Cyberpunk 2?
The only thing I really can promise you is that at some point during the show, Hideo Kojima is likely to appear at Keighley’s side and talk about his ever-expanding portfolio of games and evolving interactive media experiences. Maybe we’ll get another update for OD, Physint, or even a reveal of some other game he has in the works. Or hell, why not a Death Stranding 2 crossover with Tekken 8? Summer Game Fest is a time when anything can happen.
