Summer Game Fest: Kick Off Live’s Blockbuster Announcements
Summer Game Fest: Kick Off Live delivers 30+ game announcements, special guests and musical acts. My run down of all the news.
Geoff Keighley took the stage today to launch Summer Game Fest in what could only be described at the gaming industry’s quasi-Woodstock. In a hybrid of 30+ game announcements, special guests and musical debuts the summer celebration kicked off in style. Here are my top picks from the event!
Elden Ring Makes a Triumphant Return
Let’s get the biggest announcement out the way first, Elden Ring is alive and well and arriving in 2022.
Keighely used the megaton announcement to close out the show revealing a new trailer and release date. Elden Ring will arrive January 21, 2022 on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on January 21, 2022. Publisher Bandai Namco has confirmed that the next-gen upgrade for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S will arrive as a free update.
4K Elden Ring Image Gallery
Before today’s event many were questioning if the game would ever see the light of day. Afterall, Elden Ring had gone completely silent since its initial reveal during E3 2019. Thankfully, the high-profile collaboration between Dark Souls’ Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has returned and will release next year.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Coming in 2022
Bullets, magic, and broadswords collide in this new adventure lead by none other than Tiny Tina herself. It’s not a Borderlands game but it does feature some of the series best characters, stylization and over the top weapons. The game is a full standalone experience featuring a co-op campaign for up to four players, as well as repeatable end-game content.
2K and Gearbox showcased the game’s medieval themes, fantastical setting, and all-star celebrity cast kicking off the Summer Game Fest event.
One very exciting early detail is the amount of star power included in the line-up. Captain Valentine will be played by Andy Samberg, rule-obsessed robot Frette by Wanda Sykes and Ashly Burch will return as Tiny Tina. You’ll be in an epic quest to defeat the Dragon Lord who is voiced by Will Arnett.
The game will arrive on the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store in early 2022.
Death Stranding Director's Cut Coming To PS5
Hideo Kojima joined Keighely virtually on stage to announce that Death Stranding Director's Cut is coming soon to PS5. The teaser was incredibly Metal Gear Solid-esque to the point that I thought this was a remake by Kojima productions. That was not to be, but I am really looking forward to see what new content and features Death Stranding Director's Cut brings to the table. We were given a brief glimpse with a full reveal on the slate in “a matter of weeks.” Could this be hinting at an upcoming State of Play? Only time will tell, but for now we have a trailer to dissect for now:
Jeff Goldblum Announces Jurassic World Evolution 2
Jeff Goldblum made an appearance and commanded the stage only like he knows how. After riffing with Keighley about Geoff vs. Jeff he moved on with the big announcement: Jurassic World Evolution 2, the direct sequel to Frontier Development's 2018 park builder sim is in the works. The game will be released on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One but no timeframe for release was given.
Let me know what your favourite announcement of the Summer Game Fest: Kick Off event was in the comments below.