Summer truly began today: Geoff Keighley’sSummer Game Festreturned for its 2025 edition. The video game showcase has only grown in the past few years, filling a void left behind by E3’s demise. It is now the summer’s must watch gaming event as it’s always packed with new announcements. This year’s show tried to live up to those lofty expectations, but it wasn’t quite as action-packed as Sony’s excellent State of Play earlier this week.
Sure, we got new trailers for upcoming games likeMafia: The Old CountryandDeath Stranding 2: On The Beach. We even got a big shocker in the form of Resident Evil Requiem. Much of the show was dedicated to smaller games, though. We saw tons of Unreal Engine-powered action games from small studies, top-down roguelikes, and multiplayer shooters with a unique twist. While there were some neat highlights and surprises, it was definitely on the weaker side as far as Keighley’s showcases go. Even so, there was a lot to see. Check out our full list of announcements from the show.
We got our obligatory Hideo Kojima cameo for Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2: On the Beachcomes out later this month, so of course we got a Hideo Kojima appearance. It wouldn’t be a Geoff Keighley show without that. Kojima did an on-stage interview where he talked about the design ethos of the sequel and shared a new clip. The cutscene shared more information about two new characters played by Alissa Jung and Luca Marinelli, who were first revealed at South by Southwest. Marinelli’s character is another porter named Neil who has some mysterious secret involving a mark on his hand.Death Stranding 2: On the Beachlaunches on June 26 and there will be another event showcasing gameplay on Sunday.
Sonic Crossworlds is getting some big Sega cameos
Sonic Crossworldsgot a brand new trailer revealing a September 25 release date. The bigger news, though, is that it’s getting a bunch of cameo characters including Hatsune Miku,Persona 5‘s Joker, and Ichiban Kasuga. It will also get some sort of Minecraft crossover featuring our good pal Steve.
Code Vein 2 is coming in 2026
Bandai Namco’sCode Veinis getting a sequel.Code Vein 2got a cinematic debut trailer that talked up its time travel-focused story alongside some dramatic music. We got a glimpse at gameplay too, and it was filled with the exact kind of anime Dark Souls action that made the first game a cult hit. It will launch in 2026.
Game of Thrones is getting a big new game
It’s a surprise it’s taken this long, but Game of Thrones is getting a big video game.Game of Thrones: War for Westerosgot a cinematic trailer that showed Jon Snow battling the White Walker. We didn’t learn too much about it, but it seems to be more of a big budget affair than any Game of Thrones game to date.
Shovel Knight follow-up Mina the Hollower gets a release date
Indie game enthusiasts have waited a long time for this news:Mina the Holloweris launching on October 31. Yacht Club Games’ new retro title is its follow up toShovel Knight, introducing a brand-new character and created in a style that mimics classic Game Boy games. A demo for it is available now on Steam.
Deadpool is coming to VR
Deadpool is the latest superhero to get the VR treatment. Twisted Pixel announced that its first game under Meta’s ownership isMarvel’s Deadpool VR, a bloody first-person action game filled with swords and quips. A trailer showed several clips of the Merc with a Mouth shooting down his foes and plowing through them with a car. Digital Trends went hands on with the project prior to its announcement today, and we walked away surprised by how quick and smooth its action is.Marvel’s Deadpool VRwill launch later this year for Meta Quest 3 and 3S.
Dying Light: The Beast launches in August
Add one more game on the release date calendar for the back half of 2025, because Dying Light: The Beast launches on August 22. We got a new trailer to celebrate the news, which showed off plenty of rooftop parkour, grotesque monsters, and gore.
A new Scott Pilgrim beat em up is coming
Tribute Games is creating the first Scott Pilgrim game in a decade.Scott Pilgrim Exis a new beat em up made in collaboration the comic’s creators. Bryan Lee O’Malley is writing the story and Anamanaguchi are working on the soundtrack. It’s a four-player online game that’s scheduled to launch in 2026.
Splitgate 2 gets a surprise launch on stage
It wouldn’t be a Summer Game Fest without a big surprise:Splitgate 2is out right now. 1047 celebrated the launch of its new portal shooter with a brand-new trailer hyping up its action. you’re able to play it today for free.
Project Century is now Stranger Than Heaven
Back at The Game Awards, Ryu Ga Gotoku stole the show with a mysterious trailer for its next game:Project Century. At the time, it seemed like it would be a while until we saw it again, but it showed up at Summer Game Fest with another enticing trailer. This one showed off much more of its down and dirty brawling, as well as its neo-noir setting. There was lots of jazz. It also has a new name:Stranger than Heaven.
Resident Evil Requiem gets revealed after a fake out
After a strange teaser earlier in the show, Capcom closed the show with an official trailer forResident Evil Requiem. The trailer introduced a character named Grace who is sent to investigate a case that seemingly intersects with her mother’s murder. Things go south fast from there, as the trailer moves into a destroyed version of Racoon City. Keighley says that it’s a big shift for the franchise, trading survival horror for cinematic action. Surprisingly, it’s not far off either. It launches on February 27 and will be playable at Gamescom this year.
