Summer Games Fest: Kickoff Live News Rundown

Kicking off what is soon to be a wild weekend of announcements, trailers, and reveals, Geoff Keighley hosted the Summer Games Fest Kickoff Live event yesterday. There are a lot of new things to dig into, so we’ve got a full rundown of what the event showcased. Let’s get started, shall we?

The show began with a reveal for 2K and Gearbox Studios’ new game, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. It seems to be a D&D-styled shooter like Borderlands, but it also features the diamond unicorn Butt Stallion featured in the Borderlands series. It is a standalone game, with character customization and all sorts of other fun things. I am very excited about this announcement and the Early 2022 release.

Next up we have an announcement for Metal Slug Tactics, a grid-based strategy spinoff of the 90’s Metal Slug series. This one looks pretty cool, though I think we’ll need a bit more info. No release date was provided, though the trailer looked nice.

Then Hideo Kojima made a surprise appearance for a new announcement. They conduct a short interview with Kojima-san (pre-recorded) before getting into the announcement for the Death Stranding Director’s Cut, which is coming soon for PS5. Kojima didn’t reveal any details on his next project, but he apparently does have something brewing. The interview was actually somewhat insightful too.

Afterward, Jeff Goldblum dropped by to discuss an announcement for a new Jurassic Park game. Jurassic World Evolution 2 will be coming this year to all platforms except Nintendo Switch, though I presume it might come later. The trailer didn’t show any gameplay itself, but there are some teases for different dinosaur types, including aquatic ones.

We got a performance by Japanese Breakfast next. I had never heard of her, though she is apparently doing music for the upcoming game Sable. Sable will be releasing on September 23^rd and will be showcased today at the Tribeca games showcase.

Next up came an announcement for the western release of LostArk, an MMORPG by Amazon Games and Smilegate. If the MMO market wasn’t already oversaturated, I might consider trying this one out. It looks very Diablo-esque, and while I like that a lot, I’d have to see just how it sets itself apart from everything else. LostArk will come to western audiences and Steam this Fall.

Prime Gaming got an advertisement next since they were a sponsor of the show. Then they showcased new Call of Duty: Warzone content, specifically Warzone Season 4 which is coming on June 17^th. They showcased a trailer for Season 4, along with discussing the June 22^nd and June 23^rd “World Series of Warzone” for their Call of Duty E-Sports division.

Surprising everyone was an appearance by Ryan Reynolds, who showed up to promote a new trailer for his new film Free Guy, releasing August 23^rd. The film also has cameos from creators like Pokimane and Jacksepticeye, which is really cool.

Now we come to the Among Us section of the show, where the developers announced new features coming to the game. There will be a new Hide & Seek mode, new roles, new colors and skins, more cosmetics, and achievements. There is also a new map coming to the game in the future.

Following that came an appearance by Shuhei Yoshida, part of Sony’s indie department, PlayStation Indies. He discussed the release of Chicory: A Colorful Tale, as well as the announcement of the sequel/successor to Salt and Sanctuary, called Salt and Sacrifice. I never played the original, and I have some issues with the genre, but Salt and Sacrifice looks very good. Salt and Sacrifice will be coming to PS4 and PS5 next year.

Annapurna Interactive and Heart Machine Games’s Solar Ash was next up on the trailer front, revealing the Hyper Light Drifter-esque visuals for their latest game. It has a very Shadow of the Colossus feel to its gameplay too, and while I wasn’t fond of that, this one looks interesting. The movement seems pretty cool, and your character seems very agile. Solar Ash releases later this year.

While Chivalry 2 is available now, the showcase also took the time to show off the Launch trailer of the brand new game. You can pick it up on Epic and both PlayStation and Xbox consoles now, to play with friends or strangers online. It isn’t really my thing but I know a lot of folks will love it.

In the midst of another Prime Gaming ad, Geoff showed off a trailer for the new Valorant character coming soon to the game. It was a quick tease, but there is more to come later this month. They also provided new information for the next content and environment coming to Escape from Tarkov.

Next up came the first trailer for Two-Point Campus, which we previously covered rumors of. I’m so glad the rumors were true because this game looks hilarious. Just like Two-Point Hospital, there are all kinds of quirky things at work in Two-Point Campus. It also seems you’ll have to manage your students’ approval, fun, etc. Two-Point Campus will launch sometime in 2022 across all major platforms.

Then there was an advertisement for Netflix’s Geeked Week Livestream, which seems to be showing off trailers for new shows based on video game properties. Things like Cuphead, the live-action Resident Evil series, and more will be featured. They also revealed a Smite Collaboration with Stranger Things.

A new publisher made an appearance at the show as well. Prime Matter Games, a new publisher, released a sizzle reel showing some of the new games they’re publishing. That includes a new game in the Painkiller franchise.

Now we have a new IP from Stray Bombay, coming first on Xbox One, PC, and Game Pass. It is a 4-player Co-Op First Person Shooter known as The Anacrusis. It looks a lot like a funky, fresh, horde mode FPS honestly. It seems pretty interesting if you like that sort of game.

Then they showcased a new Fast and Furious 9 collaboration with Rocket League. Several cars from the franchise are returning to the game, along with a brand new one. The new content will be available on June 17^th, after we’re all E3 drunk and in a mild coma.

After that, we finally got a title and premiere trailer of the Vampire the Masquerade multiplayer game by Sharkmob. Vampire the Masquerade: Blood Hunt is a new Battle Royale, coming this year. However, remind me again why vampires need guns? I don’t quite follow, especially since the Masquerade is about secrecy.

Following that was new footage from The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes. I enjoyed Man of Medan and Little Hope, so I’m curious to see how this one goes. I really hope the chemical weapons mentioned don’t lead to an “oh look it’s all a hallucination” punch line again though. House of Ashes is coming on October 22^nd to consoles and PC.

Tales of Arise gets the spotlight next, and I am excited to see more of it too. New characters were showcased here in this trailer, and we got a look at the game’s antagonist (presumably) as well. It looks absolutely gorgeous, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. The September 10^th release date can’t come soon enough.

Next came an announcement that June 29^th is the Nintendo Switch release date for Sky: Children of the Light. Something called the “Le Petit Prince” season will follow soon thereafter on July 6^th. The game has a very Journey-esque feel to it. It looks interesting.

After that came an announcement for an indie game called Planet of Lana. Coming in 2022, the game seems to have a painterly, watercolor aesthetic, and it is a feast for the eyes. It looks gorgeous, and I cannot wait to play it.

Overwatch 2 was next on the agenda. We got a new bit of info regarding the fact that Overwatch 2 will have 5v5 teams, rather than 4v4. They also showed off some skins and character models for Baptiste and Sombra. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance was next. They showed a pre-recorded gameplay walkthrough of the game. It wasn’t a long section, but the game seems pretty fun. I’m ready to play it myself when it launches soon.

Then we had a collaboration between Paladins and something called gen:Lock. Don’t ask me what it is, but several of the characters are coming to Paladins as playable characters. It seems kinda odd, but I’m not questioning it.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 was next up on the list, coming to Switch on July 9^th. The trailer showed off more of the story, along with information on the Deluxe Edition. There were also new amiibo figures showcased as well. That was followed by a new song from Weezer.

After that…interesting interlude, we got more footage of Endless Dungeon. Endless Dungeon was shown off at The Game Awards 2020 and is a Co-Op Rogue-like Action game. Endless Dungeon doesn’t have a release date, but it is coming to all current (and next-gen) platforms.

Far Cry 6 got some love at Kickoff Live, with an interview with Giancarlo Esposito, who plays the antagonist. Then we got an announcement for a Fall Guys skin for 2B from Nier Automata. Seeing her as a little nugget was adorable.

New content for Genshin Impact was teased, then the new studio Deviation Games took the stage with their new title. There was no gameplay shown, and they couldn’t say anything about the game. So, I guess they wasted everyone’s time, didn’t they? Although they did mention that they’re partnering with PlayStation at least.

There was a performance of the Sonic Unleashed music by the Philharmonic orchestra after that. It was included with a montage of footage from the game. Back4Blood also got a quick tease, ahead of its showcase later this weekend. The footage showed off a new boss and detailed the beta which is coming on August 5^th.

Along with Steam Next Fest, ID on Xbox is also doing a Demo event for free, starting Tuesday, June 15^th. This information came along with details for Tunic, a game we saw a while ago, but just now is getting a new demo along with the ID on Xbox event. Tunic is an Isometric Zelda-like about a Fox in a big world. According to the developer, it is about the sense of discovery and wondering what is behind the next corner.

Coming July 27^th, Tribes of Midgard is a Norse-styled Survival Action game that can be played in co-op or entirely solo. It looks interesting, if a little bit complicated with the settlement building and defense elements attached. It will be coming to Steam and PlayStation consoles when it releases in July.

After an announcement at The Game Awards, we finally get to see more about Evil Dead: The Game. Extended gameplay was shown, and not only can you play as Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams (along with his allies), you can also play as the demons who are trying to kill said protagonist. Evil Dead: The Game will be coming to all major platforms this year.

To top the show off, they gave a World Premiere look at Elden Ring. Excuse me while I yawn? No, I’m kidding (mostly). I was not expecting this. In fact, I completely withheld it from my E3 predictions article because the developers have been so secretive. I’ll admit I have issues with FromSoftware. I’ll also admit that their accessibility options (and lack thereof) are a sticking point. However, this game looks absolutely gorgeous.

The in-game world seems far larger than other FromSoftware games too, considering the fact that you have a horse in the game! It seems as though you play as someone called “The Tarnished” who is in search of the titular Elden Ring. It is clear that death will be a frequent bedfellow in this game, but the visuals are great, and the character variation and design seem very interesting. If only I could play it. Elden Ring will release on January 21^st, 2022 for both Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

There you have it, folks! Lots to get excited about and we’re just getting started! Phenixx Gaming will be covering quite a bit of E3 2021 coverage as well, so keep an eye on us all next week!