Geoff Keighley, producer of The Game Awards has announced a new digital consumer event that “brings games to fans around the world during gaming’s biggest night”. It’s called The Game Festival and it is set to launch a digital pilot program on Steam where over a dozen game demos will be available to play for 48 hours. After the limited-time period, the games are removed from Steam. The Game Festival on Steam is set to begin from Thursday, December 12, at 10:00 am pT to Saturday, December 14, at 10:00 am PT.
Speaking about The Game Festival, Geoff Keighley said “six years ago, I bet everything I had to create The Game Awards as a way to celebrate our passion for gaming. Now feels like the right time to take the next step with The Game Festival, a completely digital approach to the consumer event space. Let’s face it: not everyone can attend a physical trade show or consumer event. The Game Festival is designed from the ground-up as an event without barriers, extending the benefits of a physical event to the global gaming community that watches The Game Awards.”
Some of the over a dozen games that will get a demo on Steam are System Shock, Eastward, Spiritfarer, Moving Out, Röki, Chicory, Wooden Nickel, Haven, Heavenly Bodies, Acid Knife, The Drifter, CARRION, and SkateBIRD.
Steam will also air The Game Awards live in 4k Ultra HD and feature The Game Awards Sale which will discount the nominated games at the show. Steam will also offer the chance to win a Valve Index VR headset and free game drops throughout the show. The Game Awards will take place on Thursday, December 12, at 8:30 pm et / 5:30 pm pt. Recently, Geoff Keighley revealed that 15 new games will premiere at The Game Awards including Ghost of Tsushima which was teased during the last State of Play for 2019. The nominees for Game of the Year at The Game Awards this year include Control, Death Stranding, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Resident Evil 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and The Outer Worlds.