As the dust settles on Summer Game Fest, many fans have registered dissatisfaction with the lack of major announcements and trailers from larger AAA game studios.
Summer Game Fest showcased an eclectic bundle of updates and reveals for all fans, including updates on Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero and Sonic X Shadow Generations and the announcement of LEGO Horizon Adventures.
However, this initial momentum didn’t persist. Viewers have instead voiced disappointment over the event featuring a severe lack of bigger name studios and instead focusing on smaller game studios and indie games.
On June 8, Geoff Keighley posted a poll on Twitter/X to get feedback after the show had finished. At the time of writing, over 220 thousand votes had been cast, to which 39.8% gave it the worst rating possible of “D or Below.”
Only 9.1% gave an A grade, with voters expressing their distaste in the comments.
How would you grade today’s #SummerGameFest live show?
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) June 7, 2024
Summer Games Fest gave the floor to many indie titles. While giving smaller teams a chance to shine on a large platform is always good, a lack of big triple-A titles at the event has not been well received. A fan stated: “feels like a big stage for small games.”
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Valorant finally announced it was coming to console, which had been a long-awaited port, but may have overstayed its welcome.”How much did Riot pay you to take up half the show for Valorant?” A viewer commented as the announcement lasted nearly 10 minutes of the two-hour showcase.
Another added: “It was a D for me but it’s not your fault, the games showcased just didn’t interest me plus you did warn us ahead of time.”
“I think people just expected more AAA titles from major developers, some people just don’t like indie games which sucks.” they continued, “I feel like developers should be able to announce their games over Geoff,” a fan chimed in.
Despite the Summer Game Fest criticisms, some defended the host: “I think this is the best ‘Geoff’ event from a show flow and pacing perspective, especially after TGA’s last year. Unfortunately, the content just wasn’t there.”
As the poll suggests, Geoff will need to put on a better show next year at Summer Game Fest 2025. That is, if the turnout and fan response this year didn’t affect the future of one of the few remaining major game presentation events.