The video game industry is slowly starting to cope with pandemic life. As big events get canceled one after the other, many are going online, creating digital alternatives, or turning out brand new programming. Here’s every newly-digital gaming event we know about so far.
Every Confirmed Digital Gaming Event So Far
Thanks to multi-part events like the Summer Games Fest, we’re not going to be short on hype for the summer of 2020. Esports is moving online as best it can, E3 is being steadily replaced by a series of online conferences and streamed shows, and even indie studios are banding together to make their own platforms. This is by no means an exhaustive list and will probably expand dramatically as more companies start to move towards digital events.
One notable no-show so far: Nintendo. While it tends to handle its own press via its irregularly scheduled Nintendo Direct broadcasts, Nintendo has been weirdly quiet for most of 2020, and has nothing visibly scheduled at this point in time. Even its release schedule is unusually slow, although its new Paper Mario has turned up the heat a little bit. Sony has also stayed under everyone’s radar for the last few weeks, although we know that it’s still confident it’ll be able to ship the PlayStation 5 on time.
Here’s everything we know about so far as we look forward into the summer of 2020. We’ll keep this updated as the schedule continues to evolve.
| Event | Dates | Plans |
| Gamespot’s Play for All | Early June | A multi-week event/charity telethon with game news, previews, and more |
| Future Games Show | June (exact dates TBA) | GamesRadar hosts an hour-long digital stream with exclusive trailers and announcements |
| PC Gaming Show | June 6th | PC Gamer’s traditional PC-centric pre-E3 show goes all-digital; further plans not yet stated |
| Starting June 6th | A series of 18 regional online Street Fighter V tournaments, leading up to a 20-person bracket for the championship | |
| The Guerrilla Collective | June 6th-8th, 10 AM PST/1 PM EST | An event featuring an association of publishers and developers that includes 11-Bit Studios, Larian Studios, Paradox Interactive, Raw Fury, and Rebellion, hosted by Greg Miller |
| Limited Run Games’ #LRG3 | June 8th, 12 PM PST/3 PM EST | A live press conference on Twitch “for the biggest announcements in the future of physical video games” |
| June 9th-14th | An event that “shines a spotlight on games set to be released in the next year,” with playable demos available to the public | |
| Cyberpunk 2077: Night City Wire | June 11th | A special broadcast from CD Projekt Red as part of the Summer Games Fest |
| EA Play Live 2020 | June 11th, 4 PM PST/7 PM EST | A digital showcase for EA’s forthcoming releases, which had better include the Mass Effect Trilogy remaster or I know someone who’s going to go berserk |
| July 1st through 13th | The Zurich Games Fest goes online, to exhibit games, give out awards, and host keynote speakers | |
| Starting July 4th-5th, going every weekend afterward until August 2nd | Open-enrollment online tournaments and exhibition matches for Mortal Kombat 11 and other fighting games | |
| Tennocon 2020 | July 11th | Digital Extremes holds a virtual convention for Warframe |
| Ubisoft Forward | July 12th, 12 PM PST/3 PM ET | Expect more news about Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Watch Dogs: Legion, and the extremely unfortunately named Rainbow Six: Quarantine |
| Xbox Game Studios unnamed event | Unspecified point in July | A vaguely confirmed Xbox Series X-focused event |
| August 4th | The Game Developers’ Conference goes online; details to follow | |
| August 24th | Gamescom is going all-digital in the wake of its cancellation, beginning with Geoff Keighley’s Opening Night Live | |
| Xbox 20/20 | “Monthly moments” planned to take place over the rest of the year | Xbox Series X briefings |
We’re staying home and bringing you all the news, tips, and guides we can. While you’re filling out your hype schedule for the rest of 2020, check out some of our other articles:
- How optimization works on the Xbox Series X
- GTA5 is free this week on Epic and its first victim was Epic’s servers
- Tim Sweeney’s Unreal Engine 5 reveal, as recreated in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
COVID-19 is having as weird an effect on the video game industry as it has everything else. It’s a brave new world, and things are going to be very different come 2021. Good luck out there, everyone, and keep in touch via our official Twitter, @PrimaGames.
