Ever since E3 2020 was canceled due to the worldwide effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many studios and publishers have been collaborating to create their own online events that would attempt to fill in the massive Summer gap. This includes those associated with gaming, such as Geoff Keighly and his Summer Games Fest. However, the biggest one that has everyone’s attention is easily IGN’s Summer of Gaming event. With just little more than a week to go, IGN has officially unveiled its complete schedule for the Summer of Gaming, and it’s jam-packed full of reveals, demos, special segments, and their very own gaming showcase; the IGN Expo.
The IGN Expo will commence on Friday, June 5, and reconvene for Monday, June 8, and Tuesday, June 9. On the first day alone, three brand new IPs will be announced, as well as a few gameplay premieres which will consist of Mortal Shell, Observer: System Redux, and Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time. The second day will showcase two more reveals and an exclusive trailer for the much-anticipated Wasteland 3. Other trailers/previews that will be shown include Second Extinction and Borderlands 3‘s upcoming DLC Bounty of Blood. The third day will feature brand new gameplay from some upcoming titles such as New World, Everspace 2, and Total War: Troy.
In addition, IGN will also play host to a select few legends in the gaming industry during this Expo with special interviews. Dubbed the Special Icons Interviews, we’ll be hearing from the likes of David Hayter, the voice of Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series, and Brian Fargo, the founder of Interplay and worked alongside the founders of Blizzard Entertainment. Chris Avellone, a writer from Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, will follow soon after, as will John Romero, one of id Software’s founders and one of the creators of the original Doom.
While this is already a large amount of content to look forward to, IGN also mentions that there will be a special CD Projekt Red livestream which will focus on what is arguably the most anticipated game of the year; Cyberpunk 2077. The company states that the livestream will include “new reveals” for the game, but what exactly these reveals will be is anybody’s guess. We’ve already been made privy to a plethora of information for the game in this year alone, so we’re very excited to see what else they have in store for us.
Lastly, IGN will be hosting some charity events, with all proceeds going to the World Health Organization in the continuing battle against COVID-19. One of these, called the Speedrunner Countdown Challenge, will take place during the pre-show on each day of the IGN Expo and will feature some of the world’s best speedrunners as they attempt to break world gaming records. This will be accompanied by commentary by the Games Done Quick organization, which also gives to charity during their livestreams.
The other charity event is called the Animal Crossing: Celebrity Islands Tour, which will consist of some well-known names in the industry. From there, both these guests and some lucky fans will dive into the actual Animal Crossing: New Horizons game and visit some unique islands made up just for this day-long event. Part of the event will include a segment called Animal Talking, which is hosted by Gary Whitta and regularly livestreams the segment on his own Twitch channel. Guests in this event will include Felicia Day, Shannon Woodward, Cliff Bleszinski, Mathew Mercer, and Austin Creed.
As we said earlier, this is absolutely filled to the brim with content. IGN has gone above and beyond to keep our E3 appetite satiated, and we won’t have to wait long for the Summer of Gaming. The IGN Summer of Gaming will begin next week with the pre-show on June 4, followed by the IGN Expo on June 5, 8, and 9. No time was given for when this all starts, but since this begins next week we’ll more than likely find out those specifics very soon. You can check out IGN’s official Youtube and Twitch channels here.