HomeNewsSummer Games Done Quick
E3 2021 and the rest of the summer games scheduleSo many marketing blasts coming our way
So many marketing blasts coming our way
After skipping 2020 due to the pandemic, E3 returns this year as a virtual event. E3 tends to be the anchor for a summer of marketing events blasting announcements and trailers, with loads of publishers and websites and such holding their own showcases around then too. So here’s our handy schedule of what’s on when this summer, from E3 through to Gamescom. We’ll keep updating as more events are announced and detailed.
June 2021
July 2021
August 2021
TBA?
June 2021
Indie Live Expo
Saturday 5 June, 10:00 (02:00 Pacific)
The Japanese indie games festival returns for a third time to showcase more games, not all from Japan.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. Also broadcast in Japanese and Chinese. Visit theofficial site here.
Guerrilla Collective day 1
Saturday 5 June, 16:00 (08:00 Pacific)
Watch onTwitchor visit theofficial site.
God, Sable!
Playdate
Tuesday 8 June, 17:00 (09:00 Pacific)
The Playdate is a bizarre handheld console with a crank for controls, which isn’t PC gaming but sure, I’ll take a look.
Watch onYouTube. Seeits websitefor more.
Battlefield reveal
Wednesday 9 June, 16:00 (08:00 Pacific)
Various leaks have suggested the new game will beBattlefield 2042, and this is when we’ll find out what it actually is.
Watch onYouTube.
Summer Game Fest 2021
Thursday 10 June, 19:00 (11:00 Pacific)
Announcements, trailers, and such from Geoff Keighley (host of The Game Awards) and chums. Weezer,the band from the Windows 95 CD-ROM, will perform a new song from a mysterious video game soundtrack. Sounds likeAmong Us will reveal more about the next updatetoo. Doubtless Geoff will be teasing more scloosies as the event approaches. And, uh,Geoff Goldblum will be there?
Watch onYouTube. Watch theofficial sitefor more info.
Netflix Geeked Week: Gaming
Friday 11 June, 17:00 (09:00 Pacific)
Geoff Keighley and Netflix team up to “debut shows and films based on your favorite games!” The streaming service’s gaming lineup includesCyberpunk 2077, Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed,Devil May Cry, Dota 2, League Of Legends, Beyond Good & Evil, Dragon’s Dogma, and Sonic The Hedgehog, plus more are rumoured. That’s an awful lot. No clue what specifically they’re showing here, mind.
Koch Primetime
Friday 11 June, 20:00 (12:00 Pacific)
Presumably announcements from the parent company of studios including Volition, Free Radical, Warhorse, and Flying Wild Hog. I’d go for some more Saints Row, if they’re offering.
Watch onTwitch. See theofficial websitefor… no more info?
E3 2021
Saturday 12-15 June
More details about the schedule to be revealed, keep watchingthe website.
Guerrilla Collective day 2
Death Trash, a game which stars me? Though I’m not 100% sure which one of these is me.
Saturday 12 June, 16:00 (08:00 Pacific)
More announcements, trailers, gameplay videos, and “surprises” from the second Guerrilla Collective event. Games today include No Longer Home and oh hell yeah, Death Trash. Death Trash!
Watch onTwitch. Seeits websitefor more.
Wholesome Direct
Saturday 12 June, 18:00 (10:00 Pacific)
Over 75 feel-good indie games will be present for announcements, trailers, and interviews.
Seeits websitefor more.
Ubisoft Forward pre-show
Saturday 12 June, 19:00 (11:00 Pacific)
Ahead of their big blast, Ubisoft will be talking about news and updates for Trackmania, For Honor, The Crew 2, Brawlhalla, and Watch Dogs: Legion.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. More infoover here.
Ubisoft Forward
Saturday 12 June, 20:00 (12:00 Pacific)
A good dog in Far Cry 6.
Ubisoft promise “fan favorites, newly announced titles, and a few surprises, too” for their E3 keynote. Games confirmed include the zombie-busting Rainbow Six game previously known as R6 Quarantine, Far Cry 6, and Riders Republic. They’ll also gab about things coming to R6 Siege and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I hope they have Just Dance dancers again this year, socially distanced? And who knows, it might be a year they acknowledge Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. Website isthis-a-way.
Devolver Digital
Saturday 12 June, 21:30 (13:30 Pacific)
The rowdy crowd of indie games have become hella self-indulgent with their E3-y presentations which lampoon marketing while telling a story of corporate power struggles and so much blood. Andit’s great. Hoping that’ll continue this year as they announce more games, or whatever it is they’re up to.
Gearbox E3 Showcase
Saturday 12 June, 22:00 (14:00 Pacific)
Upload VR Showcase
Saturday 12 June, 23:00 (15:00 Pacific)
The VR games site return with another showcase promising game reveals and trailers.
Watch onYouTube. Seethe announcementfor more info.
Cate Blanchett being in a Borderlands movie is testing my “I’ll watch her in anything” resolve.
24 Entertainment
Sunday 13 June, 17:30 (09:30 Pacific)
The makers of Naraka: Bladepoint will be showing off their magical melee battle royale, which has already run an open beta.
Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase
Sunday 13 June, 18:00 (10:00 Pacific)
The corporate siblings display their newfound love with a 90-minute showcase of games from “Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and many game creators from our partners around the world.” Topics we know they’ll hit include the holiday season lineup and upcoming Game Pass additions. Who knows, maybe they’ll say something about Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG, Starfield. Probably wouldn’t expect The Elder Scrolls 6, though.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. Website isover here.
Square Enix Presents
Sunday 13 June, 20:15 (12:15 Pacific)
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. More info onthe Square Enix Presents website.
Warner Bros. Games: Back 4 Blood
Sunday 13 June, 22:00 (14:00 Pacific)
WBhave clarifiedthat Back 4 Blood is the only game they’ll be showing. Guess you’ll have to wait for more on Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League?
PC Gaming Show
Sunday 13 June, 22:30 (14:30 Pacific)
Cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer return with another showcase of announcements, trailers, and chat for PC gaming only.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. Seeits websitefor more.
Future Games Show
Sunday 13 June, 23:59 (16:00 Pacific)
GamesRadar return to show off “a mix of indie and AAA titles”.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. Seethe announcementfor more.
Pictured: Opening time at E3 2019.
Limited Run Games
Monday 14 June, 21:00 (13:00 Pacific)
The company who make physical releases of games and soundtracks promise “over 25 exciting announcements about new games, physical editions of cult favorites, and reprints of classic titles”. They mostly focus on consoles but do PC too. Seethe announcementfor more.
Watch onTwitch.
Take-Two Interactive
Monday 14 June, 18:15 (10:15 Pacific)
The owners of 2K, Rockstar, and the Private Divison publishing label have not yet announced quite what they’re doing at their press conference. Take-Two have said 2K were doing a new game with Borderlands devs Gearbox, and that they had other new games coming beyond the usual annual sequels, but dunno if any of that will be here.
Mythical Games
Monday 14 June, 19:10 (11:00 Pacific)
God help us, an E3 presentation from people who do blockchain games.
SeeMythical’s websitefor more.
Freedom Games
Monday 14 June, 20:30 (12:30 Pacific)
The wee publishing label will have trailers and videos and news and things.
Seetheir websitefor more on their games.
Capcom
Monday 14 June, 22:30 (14:30 Pacific)
Capcomhave saidtheir E3 showcase will have games including The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, Monster Hunter Stories 2, Monster Hunter Rise, and Resident Evil Village.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch.
Razer E3 Keynote
Monday 14 June, 23:00 (15:00 Pacific)
The hardware manufacturers promise “a series of innovative hardware built with Razer’s best-in-class technology and design that will continue to raise the bar for PC gaming.” Yeah yeah, but will they announce moregamer gumflavours ortelescopic strawsor other weirdness?
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. Official website isover here.
Monster Hunter Rise is due on PC this year, so maybe we’ll hear about that.
Nintendo Direct
Tuesday 15 June, 17:00 (09:00 Pacific)
SeeNintendo’s websitefor more.
Bandai Namco
Tuesday 15 June, 22:25 (14:25 Pacific)
WILL BAMCO FINALLY SHOW ELDEN RING? No idea, cos they haven’t said anything about their E3 presence yet. But we’re long overdue an update on the new game from Dark Souls devs FromSoftware and throne fan George R.R. Martin. But beyond that, they have plenty of other games brewing too.
Yooreka Games
Tuesday 15 June, 23:20 (15:20 Pacific)
The Chinese publishers are at E3 for some sort of doodad.
Seetheir websitefor more.
Official E3 2021 Awards Show
actually Wedneday 16 June for us, 00:45 (16:45 Pacific on the 15th)
The final day of E3 brings a pointless awards show to celebrate marketing, which also promises some “exciting announcements and reveals”.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch.
ELDEN RING - E3 Announcement TrailerWatch on YouTube
ELDEN RING - E3 Announcement Trailer
Steam Next Fest starts
Wednesday 16 June, 18:00 (10:00)
Take part onthe official website.
Sonic Symphony Orchestera
Wednesday 23 June, 20:00 (12:00)
A different form of marketing bonanza. Celebrating the 30th birthday of everyone’s favourite turbo-charged tiggywinkle, the Sonic Symphony Orchestera will perform tunes from across the decades. I hope this includes some of the Sonic Adventure songs with astonishingly daft lyrics.
Microsoft’s Windows reveal
Thursday 24 June, 16:00 (08:00)
Windows is the foundation for a lot of PC gaming, so I’ll be interesting to see them reveal “what’s next for Windows”. Presumably this is the update codenamed ‘Sun Valley’, which is rumoured to refresh the user interface, overhaul the garbage Microsoft Store, help improve battery life on laptops, give the ability to uninstall more of the built-in apps, and more. Some folks think they might call it Windows 11, some think it might just be a Windows 10 update. Dunno. We’ll see!
SeeMicrosoft’s pagefor more.
PC Game Music Quiz | Can You Guess PC Classics From The Music?Watch on YouTube
PC Game Music Quiz | Can You Guess PC Classics From The Music?
July 2021
Summer Games Done Quick starts
Sunday 4 July, 17:00 (09:00)
Related to E3? No. Great? Oh yes! Running until July 11th, the speedrunning bonanza will this year blaze through games including Factorio, Dragon Age: Inquisition, blindfolded Trackmania, and GeoGuessr.
Seethe schedulefor all the games.
Nacon Connect
Tuesday July 6, 18:00 (10:00 Pacific)
The French publishers promise gameplay footage, announcements, and such. Games confirmed so far include Blood Bowl 3, Steelrising, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong, and Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch.
WitcherCon
The two Geralts
Friday 9 July, 18:00 (10:00 Pacific)
The joint effort between the CD Projekt and Netflix, the makers of the Witcher games and the broadcasters of the Witcher show, will not include the announcement of a new Witcher game. CD Projekt Red have stated that quite clealry. But they do say it’ll have panels with people who make the games and show, probe the stories of the Witcher world, give behind-the-scenes peeks, and such.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch. Seethe WitcherCon websitefor more.
TennoCon 2021
Saturday 17 July
Warframe’s annual fan event is usually when the devs reveal the new hotness.
Seethe TennoCon websitefor more.
FarmCon 2021
Wednesday 21-23 July
Not to be confused withthe other Farmconwhich is for “movers and shakers in the ag sector”, this one is for virtual farmers. The official Farming Simulator fan event will focus on the next game in the series.
Watch onTwitch.
EA Play Live
Thursday 22 July, 18:00 (10:00 Pacific)
After a disappointing event last summer,with only vague teasers for new games, hopefully EA have more to show this time. Presumably we’ll see more ofthe newly-announced Battlefield 2042and hopefully the new Dragon Age, Need For Speed, and Skate games they vaguely gestured in the direction of? Plus new announcements, probably?
Seethe EA Play websitefor more.
Annapurna Interactive Showcase
Tuesday 29 July
The indie publishers say their first showcase will bring “exclusive gameplay reveals, new game announcements and some fun surprises”.
Watch onYouTubeandTwitch.
Battlefield 2042 is a flashy one.
August 2021
QuakeCon
Thursday 19-21 August
Id Software’s event became a Bethesda event after they bought Id, though maybe that’ll change now thatMicrosoft have bought Bethesda? MS and Bethesda are holding a joint showcase in June, after all. Whatever QuakeCon is this year, I assume it’ll have announcements and dev chat. But as they’re skipping an in-person event this year, maybe no Bawls.
Watch theQuakeCon websitefor more.
QuakeCon 2021
Gamescom: Opening Night Live
Wendesday 25 August
Geoff Keighley and chums will have more news and scloosies and trailers and that ahead of Gamescom.
FollowGamescom’s websitefor more.
Gamescom 2021
Thursday, August 26-27
The German games show is all-digital again this year, what with the pandemic and all. It usually brings a load of announcements, trailers, gameplay vids, and the like - a sort of European E3.
FollowGamescom’s websitefor more.
Yet to be announced?
Sony
Sony have skipped E3 for the past few years, and are skipping it again. However, it seems incredibly likely that they’ll be holding a big blast of their own at some point this summer. And hey, they are actually releasing games for PC these days.Uncharted 4 is expected next.
Guess who just got back today? Those murderdads who’d been away
