Summer Game Fest 2024 kicked off June with an array of blockbuster announcements from AAA and independent studios located worldwide. As in past years, there were plenty of goodies in this year’s show, with announcements including some surprises, debut trailers, release date reveals for upcoming games, and plenty more besides.
Here’s all the biggest gaming news and game announcements from Summer Game Fest 2024.
Summer Game Fest 2024: News Roundup
Lego Horizon Adventures is arriving in Holiday 2024
Summer Game Fest 2024 kicked off with a trailer for Lego Horizon Adventures, a new game from PlayStation Studios and Guerrilla Games. It stars Aloy in her first ever Lego spin-off. The world of Horizon has been completely Lego-fied for this journey, with the action of the franchise translated into tiny little bricks. While Lego Horizon Adventures looks like a more kid-focussed title, the spirit of Horizon remains intact. It launches for PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch in Holiday 2024.
No More Room in Hell 2 is on the way
No More Room in Hell 2, sequel to the original game of the same name, is on the way. In this multiplayer squad game, you are travelling with friends in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. To survive, you’ll need to wield deadly weapons, and rely on teamwork. As announced at Summer Game Fest, the game has up to 8 player co-op, permadeath, and plenty of terror. It launches on Halloween 2024.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions arrives in September 2024
Next up was a trailer for Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, a long-rumoured Harry Potter Quidditch game featuring the titular sport. Players will control a Hogwarts Quidditch team in matches, and take part in vertical team battles. The game arrives on PC and consoles on 3 September 2024.
CuffBust is from the dev behind Choo-Choo Charles
The Quidditch Champions Summer Game Fest reveal was followed by a trailer for CuffBust, a new game from the solo developer behind Choo-Choo Charles, Two Star Games. In this game, players are controlling weird, cutesy critters as they try to escape a jail using any means and tools necessary – including spoons.
Star Wars Outlaws gets a new teaser trailer
Star Wars Outlaws appeared next, with a small teaser trailer revealing glimpses at Kay and Nix’s space-bound adventures. This Summer Game Fest peek is just a preview, with a better look at the game arriving during Ubisoft Forward 2024, so stay tuned for more. As previously announced, Star Wars Outlaws arrives on PC and consoles on 30 August 2024.
Neva chronicles the story of Alba, and her companion wolf cub
One of the most visually striking reveals from Summer Game Fest, the next trailer, from the devs behind Gris, was for Neva – a game following a young woman who is bonded to a wolf cub. In their travels, they’ll cross great ravines, and work together to conquer environmental puzzles and combat challenges. The game launches for PC and consoles in 2024.
Civilization VII is coming from Firaxis and 2K
This was followed by a trailer for Civilization VII, which features a lovely sand diorama depicting a range of historic battles from across the ages. No gameplay footage was shown at Summer Game Fest, but the debut teaser was plenty intriguing. The game arrives on PC and consoles in 2025.
Next up was a trailer for Black Myth: Wukong, a game inspired by the Journey to the West mythology. It launches on 20 August 2024.
Asgard’s Wrath 2, a highly-praised Meta Quest VR game, also got a trailer.
This was followed by a trailer for Once Human, an adventure game set in a world populated by eldritch beasts. It launches on 9 July 2024.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 also got a new trailer in this lot, showing off bloody battles.
Metaphor: ReFantazio gets a showcase trailer
Next up, Studio Zero developers Katsura Hashino and Shigenori Soejima turned up to talk about Metaphor: ReFantazio, a new RPG where players will take part in fantasy battles, and wield their “Archetype” abilities to take down monsters. These “Archetypes” are based on character fears and anxieties, with these conquered in the fight against evil.
In the new trailer, the game’s protagonist is seen battling demons, as a fight for the heart of a kingdom takes place. The protagonist will spend time in the game recruiting new allies and friends, bringing them together for a magical war. As previously announced, Metaphor: ReFantazio launches on 11 October 2024.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is a new Meta Quest 3 VR game
Batman: Arkham Shadow was revealed during Summer Game Fest 2024. This is a Meta Quest 3-exclusive game featuring Batman’s fight against a fear-based villain known as The Rat King. The trailer for the game was largely cinematic, and a proper gameplay trailer was promised for Gamescom 2024. Batman: Arkham Shadow launches for Meta Quest 3 in Autumn 2024 [Northern Hemisphere].
King of Fighters is crossing over with Street Fighter 6
As announced at Summer Game Fest 2024, King of Fighters is crossing over into Street Fighter 6 – M. Bison, Terry, Elena, and Mai from KoF are coming to Street Fighter 6 for its next year of seasonal content.
This reveal was followed by a trailer for Tears of Metal, a medieval fighting game starring dwarves heading into massive arena battles, reminiscent of Dynasty Warriors. As detailed, it’s a roguelike co-op game for multiple players.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero launches in October 2024
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero got a new trailer next. In this game, you will embody a variety of iconic Dragon Ball Z and Super characters in hard-hitting battles which take place on a vertical, multi-level battlefield. The game officially launches for PC and consoles on 11 October 2024.
Delta Force: Hawk Ops adapts Black Hawk Down
Following this, a trailer for Delta Force: Hawk Ops – a multiplayer extraction game – was revealed. A global PC Alpha Test launches in July. In addition, Summer Game Fest host Geoff Keighley revealed it will partially adapt the events of award-winning film Black Hawk Down, with players able to run through the events of the film.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves launches in 2025
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves was up next, with an ultra brief trailer. In this fighting game, you’ll meet a range of classic and returning characters from the Fatal Fury series. It launches in early 2025.
This was followed by a trailer for Battle Crush, a new arena brawler game starring a variety of intriguing characters: a young hero with water manipulation abilities and a sword, an ogre-like creature with a hammer, and also Ares, the original god of war.
A trailer for Mecha Break also aired during this segment. This is a mech action game where players will embody a mech pilot fighting their way through a dark, post-apocalyptic world. A closed beta test arrives in August 2024.
Blumhouse Games reveals its upcoming games lineup
During Summer Game Fest, Blumhouse Games (Five Nights at Freddy’s [film], M3GAN) revealed its upcoming games lineup. This includes Crisol Theater of Idols, Grave Seasons, Sleep Awake, Fear the Spotlight, The Simulation, and Project C from Sam Barlow. Each game is a creepy horror adventure featuring embattled folks doing it tough against demons (personal and otherwise.)
Jason Blum also appeared on stage to confirm Blumhouse Games is working on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a major film sequel. Going forward, Blumhouse will work on both films and games, with a view to spotlight “the most effed up” stories they can find.
Power Rangers is getting a new retro-style beat-em-up
Next up at Summer Game Fest, Digital Eclipse revealed Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, a retro-style side-scrolling beat-em-up where players will take part in a variety of boss battles, as well as front-on driving challenges, all rendered in lovely pixel art.
Deer & Boy stars a young boy and a deer surviving a harsh world
This was followed by a trailer for Deer & Boy from Lifeline Games. In this introspective adventure tale, you are guiding a young boy and a deer through a variety of landscapes, tackling environmental puzzles along the way.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 gets a new trailer
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 got a new trailer during Summer Game Fest 2024. This was more story-focused, and featured drama and hilarity in a medieval village. In the game, you will explore a medieval world, carving out a name for yourself across a variety of battles. The game launches for PC and consoles in 2024.
Read: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has officially been announced
Slitterhead gets a gameplay trailer
Slitterhead, the upcoming action-horror game from the creator of Silent Hill, Keiichiro Toyama, finally got a gameplay trailer during Summer Game Fest 2024. In this trailer, a variety of oozing, fleshy monsters are seen to possess humans – and it appears you’ll do the same, using humans that wander the streets as your own fleshy vessels for chaos and destruction. When you possess a human, they’ll gain special abilities like flesh swords and claws. The game launches on 8 November 2024.
Killer Bean stars a Max Payne-like frog-bean
Slitterhead was followed by a trailer for Killer Bean, an action-adventure thriller starring a weird anthropomorphic frog-bean-thing who wields guns, and also has very Max Payne-like slow-mo abilities. This appears to be a parody of the action game genre, with plenty of weird, wonderful ideas. It’s coming to Early Access in Summer 2024 [Northern Hemisphere].
Cairn is a mountain-climbing game of risk and reward
Developers Audrey Leprince and Emeric Thoa of The Game Bakers were up next at Summer Game Fest 2024, to introduce a mountain-climbing game called Cairn. In this game, you’ll scale a giant mountain, taking your time to grasp the right footholds, and ensure you don’t slip. The game looks incredibly tense, and should present a real challenge to players.
Wanderstop is a cosy, mysterious cafe-adventure game
This was followed by a trailer for a new game called Wanderstop, which is coming from Ivy Road, a studio co-founded by Davey Wreden (The Stanley Parable, The Beginner’s Guide). In the game, players will help to run a cafe, and gather ingredients in a cosy magical world, while also contending with personal demons. It launches in 2024.
Unknown 9: Awakening follows a woman learning to wield magic
Unknown 9: Awakening was up next at Summer Game Fest 2024. This game, which stars Anya Chalotra (The Witcher), is about a young woman learning to harness magical abilities in a unique world. The game launches in Autumn 2024 [Northern Hemisphere].
Unknown 9 Awakening was followed by some flashy trailers for Capcom games, including Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. Both games launch on new platforms shortly.
A trailer for Enotria: The Last Song joined them. In this game, you are a warrior in a medieval kingdom who wields dazzling combat abilities to take on their enemies.
The First Descendant launches in July 2024
Next up, The First Descendant got a new trailer. In this looter-shooter, players will run and gun their way through futuristic battles, wielding the abilities of super-powered, technology-supported heroes. The game launches on 2 July 2024.
Innersloth announces Outersloth indie game fund
The Innersloth team was up next to announce Outersloth, an indie game fund that will support emerging indie developers in shipping their games. Outersloth is already doing good work, with a range of games including Mars First Logistics (!!!), Battle Suit Aces, Mossfield Archives, One Btn Bosses, Rogue Eclipse, and Project Dosa supported by Outersloth.
A sneak peak at Innersloth / CBS’ Among Us TV show also aired at Summer Game Fest 2024. This will adapt the events of the game into a funny little episodic series, with some big names in the cast. There’s no release date just yet.
Sonic x Shadow Generations launches in October 2024
Sonic x Shadow Generations followed this, with a fresh trailer revealing new levels, and the abilities of Shadow the Hedgehog, who joins Sonic in this remaster/re-release. The “Shadow” part of the game is being considered an entirely separate adventure, with new ways to play through stages. The game launches on 25 October 2024.
Dune: Awakening imagines a world where Paul Atreides is not born
A new trailer for Dune: Awakening revealed more of the open world survival game’s story, which takes place in an alternative Dune timeline where Paul Atreides is not born, and the events of the franchise happen very, very differently. It appears Paul will still be part of the game in some form, with alternate history shenanigans complicating his path.
Battle Aces is a streamlined RTS battler
Next, a trailer for Battle Aces from Uncapped Games aired. This is an action-adventure RTS featuring a mech pilot blasting their way through a colourful, anime-like world of aliens and machines. In Battle Aces, you will pit your army against the armies of your enemies, strategising by bulking out and upgrading your units with new weapons and abilities.
This was followed by a reveal for a new arena for The Finals. The new season for the game launches later in June 2024.
Alan Wake 2: Night Springs DLC revealed
Next up, Remedy Entertainment’s Sam Lake turned up to reveal Alan Wake 2 is getting a physical deluxe and collectors edition, launching in Autumn 2024. Preorders open tomorrow (June 8).
Lake also introduced Night Springs, the new DLC for Alan Wake 2. It contains three episodes, starring three fan-favourite characters in “mysterious, terrifying, and quirky ‘what if’ scenarios.” Night Springs will be playable in “less than 24 hours” – it launches tomorrow, 8 June 2024.
The World Premiere trailer featured David Harewood’s Mr Door introducing players to the strange, alternate realities of Night Springs. One of the characters you can play is Rose, Alan Wake’s biggest fan. Another is Jesse Faden from Control. Sheriff Tim Breaker is the third playable character. Alan himself features in the DLC, as a non-playable character.
A flashy trailer for Amazon’s The New World: Aeternum followed, showcasing some of the upcoming DLC’s story, and the many locales it contains. It launches on 15 October 2024.
A reveal for new story and missions for Honkai Star Rail also followed, in a flashy trailer revealing ample destruction, and plenty of gorgeous-looking battles.
Dark and Darker also got a new trailer in this lot, showing off dungeon-crawling, roaming skeletons, and even player-on-player betrayal. You can play the game for free now.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess launches in July 2024
Next, Capcom confirmed the release date for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, a new action-adventure set in a fantasy version of Japan populated by strange, mythical monsters. It launches on 19 July 2024.
This reveal was followed by a flashy, fast-paced trailer for Hyper Light Breaker, a run-and-gun adventure game (and sequel to Hyper Light Drifter) featuring a band of mysterious warriors. It launches in early access in late Summer 2024 [Northern Hemisphere].
Party Animals also got a new trailer, featuring funny physics-based brawling in a variety of stages.
skate. is back
Tim Robinson appeared next in a live-action trailer for skate. that confirmed a new entry in the series is in active development, and more news will be available shortly. This was bizarre, really.
This was followed by a new trailer for Palworld, confirming new game content launches on 27 June 2024.
The Valorant team then popped up to confirm the game is coming to console in future. A free limited PS5 beta kicks off on 14 June.
This was followed by a clip from Disney’s Inside Out 2.
Ken Jeong was up next in a chicken costume, to introduce a bizarre celebrity-filled trailer for Squad Busters, a mobile game where you squad up and fight through various environments.
Monsters Hunter: Wilds got a new trailer
Following this, Ryozo Tsujimoto of Capcom turned up to introduce a new trailer for Monster Hunter: Wilds. In this trailer, characters ride creatures through desert locations, while giant monster worm-dragons emerge from the sands to disrupt them. The game launches on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2025.
Phantom Blade Zero concluded Summer Game Fest 2024
The final trailer for Summer Game Fest 2024 was for Phantom Blade Zero, an upcoming hack-and-slash action-adventure set in a mythical Japan populated by creepy creatures and towering samurai warriors. One of the creatures revealed in the trailer was the Jade Dancer, who has swords for feet.
Over the coming months, keen players will be able to get hands-on with Phantom Blade Zero at various worldwide gaming events.
You can watch the entire Summer Game Fest 2024 showcase on YouTube.
This article has been updated since its original publication.
