When the long-running videogame trade show E3 was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, journalist Geoff Keighley launched the Summer Game Fest as an alternative event for game studios and publishers to showcase their creations for journalists and everyday gamers.
Five years later, E3 is gone for good, and the Summer Game Fest has become the biggest event of the year for early looks at upcoming video game announcements and trailers.
Heavy hitters like Sega, Bandai Namco, Capcom and Square Enix will be showing off their latest and greatest creations, while Xbox is hosting its own full showcase on Sunday, June 9, and Playstation will present the premiere of Death Stranding 2 on Sunday night.
The show kicks off at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, June 7, live from the YouTube Theater in Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California. Fortunately, you can catch all the non-stop gaming action right from your couch. Here’s how to watch Summer Game Fest 2025 live.
How to watch Summer Game Fest 2025 live
Summer Game Fest will be multicast on numerous streaming channels, but the official livestream will be shown on YouTube by The Game Awards. The channel will continue to show the trailer for Summer Games Fest 2025 until the live event begins at 5 p.m. ET Friday.
Summer Game Fest 2025 schedule
The Wholesome Direct showcase is dedicated to casual or “cozy” games.
Summer Game Fest
The official Summer Game Fest show kicks off at 5 pm ET (2 p.m. PT) on Friday, June 6, with two hours of Summer Game Fest Live, which should be chock-full of huge announcements from leading video game developers.
Immediately following the live kickoff event, the independent organization Day of the Devs hosts a showcase dedicated to indie games.
The weekend’s other big highlights include a Wholesome Direct showcase on Saturday at noon E.T. focusing on the biggest releases, trailers and announcements for “cozy games,” and the premiere of Death Stranding 2 on Sunday night, which will feature an appearance from legendary game designer Hideo Kojima.
Here’s the full schedule of broadcasts for Summer Game Fest 2025:
Summer Game Fest Live, 5 p.m. ET, Friday, June 6Day of the Devs, 7 p.m. ET, Friday, June 6Devolver Direct: “BALL x PIT: The Kenny Sun Story,” 8 p.m. ET, Friday, June 6Wholesome Direct, Noon ET, Saturday, June 7Women-Led Games Showcase, 1 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 7Latin-American Games Showcase, 2 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 7Southeast Asian Games Showcase, 3 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 7Green Games Showcase, 4 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 7Frosty Games Fest, 7 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 7Xbox Games Showcase, 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 8PC Gaming Show, 3 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 8Death Stranding 2: On The Beach premiere, 10 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 7Black Voices in Gaming, Noon ET, Monday, June 9
