Every video game livestream, event, and announcement happening this summer
Welcome to the Summer of Gaming, 2021 edition.
Get ready for another summer chock full of digital events focusing on video games.
In the past year, the video game industry shifted away from announcing new video games in-person at events like E3, Gamescom, and PAX last summer. Many of these events and publishers instead opted for online alternatives to showcase ongoing and upcoming video games.
While in-person events may return eventually, the huge uptick in digital reveals seems like it’s here to stay. Many events are already confirmed throughout the summer.
If you want to stay in the loop for all of the latest video game announcements, this is every event happening from May to September 2021 (this list will be updated as new events and press conferences are announced).
But first: What are your favorite games and platforms of 2021, and what future releases are you most excited about? Take our poll!
- June 5, 2021 at 5 a.m. Eastern — YouTube
The next Indie Live EXPO is poised to happen on June 5, 2021. It will highlight some interesting indie games that are mainly from Japanese developers.
- June 5, 2021 at 11 a.m. Eastern and June 12, 2021 at 11 a.m. Eastern — Twitch
This is a multi-day showcase that will mainly be focused on indie games. That said, last year’s show did contain some bigger announcements like Persona 4’s PC port. Innersloth, 505 Games, Fellow Traveller, tinyBuild, Good Shepard Entertainment, Superhot Team, and Thunderful have already confirmed their involvement.
Summer Game Fest Day of the Devs Showcase
- June 10, 2021 at 2 p.m. Eastern
You can check out Inverse’s article on this event to learn more, but Summer Game Fest is going to have a major presentation with both indie and AAA reveals in June.
Lost in Random is one of the games featured in the Tribeca Games Spotlight
- June 11, 2021 at 2 p.m. Eastern
Tribeca Festival is expanding to include games this year and will kick the event off with a livestream showing the eight games featured. Those games are Kena: Bridge of Spirits, The Big Con, Sable, Lost in Random, Norco, Harold Halibut, Signalis, and Twelve Minutes.
- June 11, 2021 at 3 p.m. Eastern
Game publisher Koch Media is poised to hold its own gaming stream on June 11. Koch Media has told Inverse that it will feature around a dozen new games, some of which are brand new IPs. Geoff Keighley will be one of the show’s special guests.
- June 11, 2021 at 4 p.m. Eastern
While entertainment media outlet IGN is an official partner for E3 2021, it will also hold its own showcase just one day before the event. “IGN Expo 2021 will bring together new game reveals, never-before-seen gameplay, and announcements you won’t hear from anyone else,” the event’s description teases. “We’ll also be partnering with Geoff Keighley’s Kick Off Live!, bringing you more information about the biggest announcements from the June 10 world premiere showcase.”
- June 12 to June 15, 2021
E3 returns in 2021 after taking a year off! While you can check out our dedicated article on the event to learn more, expect an ongoing livestream throughout all of these days in addition to press conferences that will also be highlighted as part of this calendar.
- June 12, 2021 at 1 p.m. Eastern
The Wholesome Direct is an indie showcase focused on relaxing and friendly indie games. This presentation will include new announcements in addition to updates on already announced games and some surprise launches.
- June 12, 2021 at 3 p.m. Eastern
As part of E3 2021, Ubisoft will hold another one of its Ubisoft Forward press conferences. Expect updates on games they have in the pipeline like Far Cry 6, Riders Republic, and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake.
- June 12
Indie publisher Devolver Digital has teased that its E3 presentation will take place on June 12, 2021. While it hasn’t been unveiled yet, expect the event to be just as weird as the showcase was in previous years.
Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase
- June 13, 2021 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Xbox and the newly acquired Bethesda will both be featured in the same showcase this year. This 90-minute livestream will highlight new games from both Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda and new additions to Xbox Game Pass.
- June 13, 2021
The PC Gaming Show returns on June 13, 2021 and will focus on the latest and greatest titles making their way to PC.
- June 13, 2021
This show is part of a double-billing with the PC Gaming Show, and should also contain some cool announcements from game developers big and small.
E3 returns in 2021, and the whole experience is centered around a new app.
- June 14, 2021 at 4 p.m. Eastern
On June 14, Limited Run Games will livestream a showcase video made by Mega64. It will reveal 25 physical games that Limited Run Games plans on making over the next year or so.
- June 14, 2021 at 6 p.m. Eastern
The gaming hardware company is poised to hold its own keynote as part of E3 2021. While you shouldn’t expect any new video game announcements to happen during this show, we’ll likely get a good idea of what Razer products we can expect over the next year.
Nintendo Direct E3 2021 + Nintendo Treehouse Live E3 2021
- June 15, 2021 at 12 p.m. Eastern
Nintendo will once again host an E3 Nintendo Direct on the last day of E3. It will be around 40 minutes and show games intended for 2021 and 2022. After that, Nintendo will highlight the featured games in a 3 hour Nintendo Free Live showcase.
- June 16, 2021 to June 22, 2021
The Steam Games Festival might have a new game, but it will functionally be a similar event. Expect a lot of game demos for upcoming titles and accompanying livestreams to be available on Steam during this period.
- July 2, 2021 to July 5, 2021
This anime-focused expo is typically only tangentially related to gaming. Still, if you’re a fan of anime-style video games, some news surrounding games of that ilk usually emerges at this event.
- July 6, 2021 at 1 p.m. Eastern
European game publisher Nacon will hold its own Direct-like event in 2021 to highlight its upcoming games. Games like The Lord of the Rings: Gollum and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown could possibly be featured there.
- July 16 to July 18, 2021
While PAX East was originally supposed to take place in person this June, ReedPop and Penny Arcade decided to cancel it and revive PAX Online this summer. Expect that some indie game showcases and interesting panels will take place during this event.
- July 17, 2021
Tennocon is an event dedicated solely to updates on Digital Extremes’ popular sci-fi game Warframe. The developers will sell in-game content bundles as part of the event, with those proceeds going to the Unity Project for Relief of Homelessness charity.
- July 19 to July 23, 2021
GDC is typically a very developer-focused event, but some intriguing video game announcements sometimes happen around it. The event will be completely online this year once again.
- July 22, 2021
EA has chosen to hold its showcase in July this year and not around E3. Expect the publisher to go over big titles like the new Battlefield, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect games in addition to new Madden, FIFA, and NHL games.
EA could show off the next Dragon Age again at EA Play 2021.
- August 19 to August 21, 2021
QuakeCon is an event typically dedicated to iD Software games like Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein. Now that Bethesda and iD Software are owned by Microsoft, this year’s show is surely going to be an exciting one.
- August 23 to August 27, 2021
This European video game expo returns this year. The developer-focused Devcom expo starts on August 23, ultimately leading into Gamescom, which is open to the public and once again online-only this year.
- August 25, 2021
As part of Gamescom, Summer Game Fest’s Geoff Keighley will host another livestream that will contain a lot of exciting new video game announcements. This will likely be the last big press conference-style shows of the summer.
- September 3 to September 6, 2021
Barring any delays or a switch to a solely online focus, this will be one of the first major in-person video game events of the year.
- September 23 to September 27, 2021
Wrapping things up in late September is the Game Devs of Color Expo. “The 6th annual Game Devs of Color Expo is dedicated to amplifying the creative power held by people of color in games,” the event’s description explains. “Join us for a multi-day celebration of diverse voices. You’ll meet a variety of amazing creators from around the world and learn to build and market games players love.”
Past Events:
Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary Special
- May 26, 2021 at 11:30 p.m. Eastern — YouTube
“May 27th is Dragon Quest Day, and to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the series, we’re bringing you a special broadcast to showcase all of the latest information about what’s going on — and what’s yet to come — in the world of Dragon Quest,” the event’s official description reads. The event will even feature live interpretation into English for western fans.
- May 27 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern — YouTube
Sega will finally show off some new Sonic the Hedgehog-related projects. This could encompass games, movies, shows, and more.
Sony State of Play
- May 27 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern
Sony is skipping E3 but holding a State of Play in May that will highlight Horizon Forbidden West and more. The pre-show and countdown starts at noon, with Horizon Forbidden West’s reveal poised to begin around 5 p.m. Eastern.
This article was originally published on
