Summer Game Fest 2024: all the news, trailers, and announcements

Summer Game Fest can be hard to keep track of. The sprawling event is spread out across several days, ranging from blockbuster keynotes like SGF Live and the Xbox Games Showcase to smaller indie focused streams like Devolver Direct and Day of the Devs. Some games even have their own dedicated showcases. That means there’s a lot to see, which also means it’s tough to see it all. So we’ve combed through each event and pulled out the best trailers to give you a good overview of what went down and what the next few months of video game releases will look like.

Not only did Remedy show off the first expansion for Alan Wake 2, but the studio also launched it: so if you’re interested in the very Twin Peaks-inspired new storylines (which include lots of coffee), you can play them right now.

It has a new name and now a first gameplay trailer: here’s your first proper look at Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The clip was released as the final portion of Summer Game Fest and followed an announcement from BioWare that the next Dragon Age would no longer be called Dreadwolf. The studio says that the footage shown here, which includes around 15 minutes of actual gameplay, takes place during the “opening moments of the game,” and has been edited somewhat to avoid spoilers. It shows off some of the combat, conversations, and a handful of cutscenes.

Earlier during Summer Game Fest, the developer released a short trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase, which showed off a few of the new characters in the fantasy RPG:

One would think after spending a summer screaming about kissing bears in Baldur’s Gate or gods in Hades 2 that my primary concern for Dragon Age: The Veilguard — a game from a studio known for its robust character writing and romanceable companions — would be who I’m picking to smooch. But after three games spanning almost two decades, all I really wanted out of the next Dragon Age was a skin tone that matched mine and didn’t look like I’d never seen a bottle of moisturizer.

So I know there is a Maker who loves me when one of the very first features that game director Corinne Busche showed me was all the different skin tones in Veilguard’s character creator.

The reveal of Assassin’s Creed Shadows mostly focused on its story, characters, and setting. But a new trailer gives a better idea of how the game will actually play. The lengthy gameplay overview, which clocks in at around 12 minutes long, shows off the game’s sprawling rendition of Japan, while also detailing the different skills and approaches of its two playable leads. It’s also very bloody.

This is the game’s second gameplay trailer in as many days. Ubisoft also released a shorter clip during the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday:

We’re getting very close to the launch of Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft’s Grand Theft Auto-style take on a galaxy far, far away. Which means it’s a good time for another trailer detailing the sorts of criminal escapades players can get into. The new overview focused primarily on the different Star Wars locations you’ll be exploring and the various not exactly legal missions you’ll take on. Among various aspects featured are dealing with the Hutts, riding a speeder bike, and finding new recruits for your scoundrel gang.

You can get a quicker taste of the gameplay in the video above, or check out this 10-minute-long deep dive:

It’s a mad world once again. At its Xbox Games Showcase at Summer Game Fest, Microsoft revealed the latest entry in the sci-fi shooter series: Gears of War E-Day. It’s being developed by The Coalition, Xbox’s internal studio dedicated to all things Gears. The game doesn’t currently have a release date, but it being built on Unreal Engine 5.

The announcement trailer harkens back to the classic “Mad World” commercial for the original Gears. Fittingly, E-Day is set 14 years before the first Gears, and “tells the story of the first Locust emergence on Sera.” It once again stars Marcus Fenix and is being billed as an origin story.

Microsoft is making the white version of the Xbox Series X official today. The new console option won’t include a disc drive, and will be entirely all-digital. Inside it’s identical to the Xbox Series X, with the same performance for existing Xbox games. This new white model will be available with 1TB of storage later this year, priced at $449.99.

Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed the new white Xbox Series X during the Xbox Games Showcase today, alongside a 2TB “Galaxy Black” version of the original Xbox Series X. There’s also a $349.99 1TB Xbox Series S coming in white, too.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is arriving on Xbox and PC on November 12th. The next installment in the legendary franchise will include hot air balloon trips, aerial firefighting, and much more.

During the Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 developer Asobo showed off commercial flight, air ambulances, and even aerial advertising. Asobo has been working on adding a variety of new planes to the game, and you’ll even be able to fly as part of a search and rescue team, or help with agricultural aviation and aerial firefighting. Asobo has also been working on additions like air racing, skydive aviation, and even VIP chartered services.

Microsoft is officially putting a release window on Fable, which is now set to arrive at some point in 2025. After an initial trailer at last year’s Xbox summer showcase, today, we got to see some early gameplay.

The new footage was mostly focused on the characters and story of the fantasy game. Fable will be centered on a hero named Humphry, who “will be forced out of retirement when a mysterious figure from his past threatens Albion’s very existence.” It appears that choice will once again play a big part in the experience, though not a lot of hard details have been revealed about the game just yet.

It’s been four years since we first found out that a new Perfect Dark game was on the way, and now Microsoft has revealed the first gameplay during the Xbox Games Showcase today.

The new Perfect Dark is a reboot of the original game, being developed by The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics. In the gameplay trailer we got a first look at Joanna Dark in a near-future Cairo setting. “Team Perfect Dark has pulled inspiration from elements of the first two games, but crafted an entirely new story and universe around them for this reboot,” says Xbox wire editor in chief Joe Skrebels.

The Fallout games have seen a big boost in popularity since the live-action TV series, and Fallout 76 is primed to take advantage of that with its next major expansion. It’s called Skyline Valley, and for the first time, it will actually expand the game’s map, introducing a new Shenandoah region in the south. Bethesda says that players will “investigate the cause of an electrical storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 where they will meet its dwellers and discover a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.”

You can get a feel for the expansion in the trailer above, though it won’t be long before you can play it, as Skyline Valley launches on June 12th. The trailer also teased a much-requested feature coming to the game in early 2025: you’ll finally be able to play as a ghoul, though maybe not one quite as cool as The Ghoul.

Bethesda’s sci-fi universe is about to get bigger. Bethesda has finally unveiled Shattered Space, the first major expansion for Starfield, which comes nearly a year after the open-world RPG debuted. Based on the first trailer, it has a much darker tone than the main Starfield campaign. No release date was revealed, but it’s coming sometime in 2024.

Here’s the official premise:

The rumors were true: the next Doom is heading to a dark fantasy realm. At Xbox’s big June showcase event, id Software officially unveiled the next entry in the demonic shooter series, which is called Doom: The Dark Ages. As the name implies, it takes the franchise back to a medieval-like era, with the slayer killing enemies in a more fantasy realm. In that way, it seems to serve as a prequel of sorts. It still looks as gruesome and gory as ever, though. Also, you can fly on some kind of cyberpunk dragon.

The game is launching in 2025, and will be coming to Xbox (including Game Pass), PC, and PS5.