June 15, 2026

The View from Summer Game Fest

Rebekah Nicodemus, Bastion America Managing Director

I often struggle to explain Summer Game Fest Play Days to people who haven’t attended. It feels more like a block party than a convention. That’s by design: It does, after all, take place on a literal city block, with game demos set up in restaurants and shops. It’s curated and intimate, sun-drenched and celebratory, and over the last several years it’s become one of my favorite events.

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This year was no exception. Bastion America had the pleasure of supporting the Amazon Game Studios, Crystal Dynamics, and Flying Wild Hog teams as hundreds of press and creators got their first hands-on look at Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. It was quite the first event for our newly formed team: equal parts challenging, fun, and rewarding. And as always, I had a great time strolling the campus and getting a glimpse at some of the other great games—ranging from legendary IPs to hand-drawn indies—on display and chatting with the talented and creative people who make up this industry.

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E3, for all its ups and downs, was a game industry institution. So when the pandemic put the final nail in its coffin a few years back, it was hard to imagine what could possibly fill the void. Play Days hasn’t quite done that. Its unique setting is one of its best qualities, but it also means that short of a major format change it will never reach the singular scale of E3.

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I think that’s ok, though. The week around Summer Game Fest has become a summer games variety platter, with new flavors added every year. The first-party showcases are packed full of splashy AAA announcements, indie games get the spotlight in Day of the Devs, and specialized broadcasts like Wholesome Direct (cozy games) and Thinky Direct (puzzle games) precisely target their genres’ fans. Meanwhile, IGN Live welcomes consumers to their own SGF-adjacent event, and The Game Business Live is endeavoring to fill the B2B gap.

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Some games thrive at Summer Game Fest, but for many others one of the other showcases will be far more effective (not to mention cost-efficient) venue for a June announcement. The E3 game industry monoculture gave us some amazing moments, but in summer events, as in so many things right now, we’re trying something a little different: a little more personalized, a little more targeted. And I think we’ll be better for it.

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