This week is the week of Summer Game Fest 2024. Ah, SGF! The Geoffers, as they call it down Los Angeles way. The Not-E3s. The Midsomer Keighleys. Jumping G.K's Game-a-Palooza. The AAAArghs. The Second Fall Of Babel. Trailarmageddon. The Sparkling Stink. SGF is sort of already in motion - last week, Sony kicked off the proceedings with their latest State of Play showcase, but you can expect the majority of new videogame announcements from Friday 7th June with the Summer Game Fest 2024 Opening Showcase, a two-hour livestreamed event which starts at 10pm UK, 5pm ET and 2pm PT. I'll be out there covering the whole sorry affair in LA from Thursday to Monday while the remainder of Rock Paper Shotgun hold the fort on London time.

It's a period of frightful bounty for the Maw, our resident Hadean icon of videogame news consumption. Look forward to trailers, celeb cameos, surprise demo releases, around a million hours of interlude music, and hands-on impressions fresh from the creaking furnace chambers of my jetlagged brain. Still, SGF isn't All She Wrote this week. A few brave developers and publishers are releasing new games alongside the event, like individual rockets plunging into Uncle Geoff's Fervid Fireworks Show. Here are a few that have caught our eyes.

Monday 3rd June sees the release of Elder Scrolls Online's Gold Road expansion, which Katharine (RPS in peace) considers a solid gateway drug to MMOs in general, together with lurid 90s room-escaper Tamarindos Freaking Dinner, in which you deliver pizza to a mansion full of Tim Burton-esque munsters. On Tuesday 4th June, there's Destiny 2's Final Shape expansion, a project whose success or lack thereof will reportedly determine whether Sony mounts a full takeover of Bungie, together with a pair of fairly handsome strategy games, Songs Of Silence (which looks a bit like a deck of Tarot cards) and Field Of Glory: Kingdoms (which looks a bit like a medieval manuscript). There's also asymmetrical horror outing Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, which Nic will be upset if I don't mention. Wednesday 6th June sees the release of Chornobyl Liquidators, which is "not a fantastic tale of exploring the Zone" but "a story about real people facing a real threat", and Kristala, a Soulslike with a touch of Robin Jarvis. And on 7th June, finally, the "deceptively cute" (aren't they always?) factory sim Star Stuff.

As ever, let me know if we've missed anything I would feel deeply embarrassed about missing, and enjoy the week. You can follow our routine news coverage in the liveblog below, which I'm going to extend into Sunday so you can follow the deterioration of my writing abilities in real-time. Onward, to SGF! Keighley & Friends! The Endless June! The Geoffervescent Circus!

Our live coverage of this event has finished.

Key points
  • 08:19 am 06/07/2024 FOR FRIDAY!
  • 08:00 am 06/06/2024 COR, THURSDAY!
  • 08:21 am 06/05/2024 SORE WEDNESDAY
  • 08:01 am 06/04/2024 LORE TUESDAY
  • 10:11 am 06/03/2024 MAW MONDAY
10:11 am UTC

MAW MONDAY

Let's get this party started. FEED IT. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 10:16 am UTC Via The Gamer, Starfield players have spotted a bunch of changelogs on SteamDB which imply that another big patch is in the offing. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 10:17 am UTC Via Kotaku, Ubisoft may add Rabbids and Assassin's Creed characters to their free-to-play shooter XDefiant, which is apparently not too bad. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 10:19 am UTC

Megacopter is a satirical sci-fantasy homage to EA's old Desert Strike games. I've played the demo and there's much to like.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 10:39 am UTC El Dorado: The Golden City Builder has a release date - 17th June. Alice B played a bit of the free prologue version in January and liked it, though she deemed its handling of Mayan mythology "a bit sus". Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 13:17 pm UTC

Baldur's Gate 3's official modding tools land in September alongside the game's next major update.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 13:22 pm UTC

Here's a demo for Hollowbody, "a tech-noir survival horror" from Chasing Static developers Headware Games, whose influences include Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner Silent Hill, Kuon and Haunting Ground.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 13:28 pm UTC

Take-Two are reportedly about to sell off or close their Private Division label, whose publishing projects include Moon Studios' No Rest for the Wicked and Wētā Workshop's Tales of the Shire.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 13:31 pm UTC

One we missed from last week: you can now play the original text adventure prototype for Outer Wilds in a browser.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 13:43 pm UTC

Super VHS looks fun.

a VCR but it shoots VHS tapes and the tapes are gravity detonators https://t.co/VacwV4Co4y pic.twitter.com/SY2oVGDxyP

— jon | super vhs (@reaction105) June 2, 2024

To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:01 am UTC

LORE TUESDAY

To the archives! I have mislaid the operations manual for the Journaballistic Whisk. FEED THE MAW. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:04 am UTC

Just Cause developers Avalanche have announced 50 layoffs and the closure of two studios, encompassing roughly 9% of their workforce.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 13:59 pm UTC Songs Of Silence is out now in early access. Ollie really liked the look of this one. Nic Reuben 14:55 pm UTC

Lemming-alike puzzler Humanity is on Game Pass. This ranks pretty highly on my backlog of shame. Backlog of shame? Backlog of ripening in the fullness of time, more like. My backlog is so ripe I'm pretty sure it's alcoholic. Anyway! Humanity is on Game Pass!

HUMANITY Launch Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:21 am UTC

SORE WEDNESDAY

Good lord, we didn't feed the Maw much yesterday. I guess that explains all the colliding moons directly over my flat. (We are of course a bit understaffed right now and given that we're about to pack the Maw full of SGF announcements, I hope you'll forgive us a quiet spell before the plunge.) Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:24 am UTC Dead By Daylight studio Behaviour Interactive are laying off up to 95 employees, mostly in Montreal, Canada, having already laid off 45 people this year in January. It's one of "multiple strategic changes" obliged by "unprecedent competition". Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:27 am UTC Microsoft are rumoured to be announcing a portable Xbox at their SGF showcase on Sunday. I can offer no corroboration, but this makes a lot of sense to me - the company are under pressure to grow their Game Pass subs, and invading Steam Deck's turf would be one way of doing that. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:29 am UTC

Bungie have apologised for connection issues that are preventing Destiny 2 players getting their fill of The Final Shape expansion. The responses to the tweet below dig into a few of the problems they've encountered and fixed.

Hey everyone, if connection issues have blocked you from playing or enjoying The Final Shape today, we want to apologize. We’re hard at work trying to resolve each of these issues as quickly as possible, and many of the connection issues from this morning have already been fixed.

— Destiny 2 Team (@Destiny2Team) June 5, 2024

To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:36 am UTC

Hades 2 done got patched again. This one's pretty comprehensive - I fear I must summon the dark god Brendy to make sense of it.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:55 am UTC

Baltic Folk is about managing a pub for forest gods. Forget the brews - what flavours of overpriced gastro-crisp would you serve?

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:56 am UTC

Warden's Will is a flippy-divey third-person shooter with roguelite and bullet hell elements. It's got a demo live for Steam Next Fest.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:02 am UTC The fourth annual Queer Games Bundle is live now on Itch, encompassing 489 individual items for $60. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 14:32 pm UTC Crab God is an aquatic side-scroller where you can apparently help conserve the actual IRL oceans by playing? Do not come knocking on my door if they all die out despite you no-lifing it, but sounds like a neat idea in theory. Nic Reuben 16:38 pm UTC

As Edwin mentioned earlier, Dead by Daylight makers Behaviour are laying off nearly 100 staff - months after cutting almost 50 devs - as part of what they're calling “strategic changes for future growth”.

Matt Jarvis 16:44 pm UTC

Summer Game Fest may not be abundant in Big New Game Announcements but it will at least give us more of Slitterhead, the horror-me-do from Bokeh and erstwhile Silent Hill, Siren and Gravity Rush developer Keiichiro Toyama.

Don't miss the gameplay world premiere of SLITTERHEAD, from the mind of Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama and @BokehGameStudio during #SummerGameFest live this Friday.

Catch the global livestream at https://t.co/59xiIzf5AN at 2p PT / 5p ET / 10p BST / 11p CEST. pic.twitter.com/qxTQhO9DcS

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) June 5, 2024

To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 17:17 pm UTC

Sony has official unveiled its PlayStation VR2 PC adapter with a release date, price and confirmation of SteamVR compatibility, but a lot of the headset's best features won’t work on PC - raising the question of whether it's worth the price if you don't already own one.

Matt Jarvis 17:23 pm UTC

Fucksweeper is not Minesweeper, not just porn, and not safe for work. "UNEMPLOYED ADULTS ONLY (25+)"

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 17:53 pm UTC

The Last of Us Part II will reportedly follow Part 1 onto PC, but potentially not until next year - development apparently finished months ago, according to reliable leaker Billbil-kun, suggesting it might wait until the next season of the HBO show in 2025.

Matt Jarvis 18:31 pm UTC

ICYMI: Baldur’s Gate 3 will add official mod tools this September, making it even easier to play dungeon master.

Matt Jarvis 21:17 pm UTC

Polyaris might be the first dedicated survival skiing game. Can a polar bear outrun a skier? Can polar bears ski? Pressing questions to which I currently have no answer.

POLYARIS Announcement Teaser | Upcoming Survival Game Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:00 am UTC

COR, THURSDAY!

Shine your shoes for a Maw-worthy news nugget, guvna? Nic Reuben 08:01 am UTC Beef Cat Ultra is a Vampire Survivors-like I'm mainly highlighting because I find the word 'beef' incredibly funny in certain contexts, such as this one. No release date yet, but you can't rush a Beef Cat. Nic Reuben 12:09 pm UTC Nightdive Studios could well be taking a re-crack at cult PS2 classic The Thing next, according to a teaser tweet. Thanks, Pushsquare! Nic Reuben 12:12 pm UTC Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 are now on PC Game Pass, after Square Enix shadow dropped them on all platforms alongside a new 'battle mode' update for 2. Thanks, IGN! Nic Reuben 15:58 pm UTC The next Dragon Age game is named The Veilguard, and its apparently getting a 15 minute gameplay reveal next Tuesday, June 11th. So spaketh Geoff. Nic Reuben 20:54 pm UTC

Here's a full post on the new games coming to Game Pass in June.

Graham Smith 20:55 pm UTC

And here's a full post about Dragon Age 4 getting a name that reflects its protagonists, not an antagonist.

Graham Smith 20:55 pm UTC

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League failed for all the reasons you guessed it failed, a new report says.

Graham Smith 08:19 am UTC

FOR FRIDAY!

I did it all for the Friday! The Friday! So you can take that tray-tray, and shove it in the Maw! Shove it in the Maw! Shove it in the Maw! Nic Reuben 10:29 am UTC Esquire ran an article about Geoff fest and the Geoffies. According to one anonymous source, "running a trailer during Summer Game Fest’s main show this year cost $250,000 for one minute, $350,000 for one and a half minutes, $450,000 for two minutes, and $550,000 for two and a half minutes. They also say that last year’s edition of the Game Awards featured the same pricing tiers." Nic Reuben 10:32 am UTC Sony, in their quest to earn my personal ire, have basically said "lololol no Bloodborne for u" by releasing an Astro Bot Bloodborne costume, via IGN. There is no chalice dungeon low enough, honestly. Nic Reuben 10:36 am UTC If someone mails me an egg butty I will 100% write about ur Next Fest demo. I don't care about collusion or whatever I just really want a fried egg. Nic Reuben 10:40 am UTC Huge big large Fallout 4 mod project Fallout: London has a new release date, although the devs aren't saying what it is yet. Look, if the industry at large can announce announcements for announcements still to come, I say let the modders do it too. In other news, I know exactly what day you're going to die on. Stay tuned for more. Nic Reuben 18:22 pm UTC

Dusk publisher New Blood have shelled out the big, based bucks for this downtown L.A.billboard tribute to some of the studios shuttered recently:

“We love you. We miss you. We hate money.”

An electronic billboard from New Blood Interactive in downtown LA mourns the closure of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roll7, Sony’s London Studio, Volition and more

“Gone but not forgotten” pic.twitter.com/1zCeD4KEEw

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 7, 2024

To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Nic Reuben 20:51 pm UTC

As teased yesterday, Nightdive Studios are remastering 2002's The Thing video game, with Steam and GOG pages live now. No date yet, but as someone who has replayed it twice (!) in the last year, I'm delighted to see one of the best movie-to-game adaptations get a proper re-release.

🩸❄️ Get ready to rejoin Cpt. J. F. Blake at Outpost 31 because The Thing is BACK with… The Thing: Remastered! ❄️🩸 pic.twitter.com/ok2iYtbA40

— Nightdive Studios (@NightdiveStudio) June 7, 2024

To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Matt Jarvis 21:24 pm UTC

Opening Summer Geoff Fest, Lego Horizon Adventures follows Forbidden West with a co-op spin-off - and we won’t have to wait for it on PC.

Matt Jarvis 22:21 pm UTC

The Wholesome Direct 2024 showcase happened with dozens of delightful, colourful games to peruse.

Graham Smith 22:22 pm UTC

The Finals' third season takes players to 16th-century Kyoto and adds katanas, bows and Scorpion-from-Mortal-Kombat's big get-over-here chain on June 13th.

Graham Smith 22:23 pm UTC

Lost And Found Co. is a delightful, animated hidden object adventure in the Where's Wally/Waldo mode, and there's a demo to play now.

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