Not-E3 2023 Summer Showcase Schedule
It's Not E3, But It Still Kinda Is
E3 season used to be such a fun time of year for video game nuts like myself. Sadly, the age of having one centralized show to obsess over in a single week is over, but while much of that show’s unique energy is gone, something interesting has taken its place.
We now have dozens of individual online game showcases to pay attention, and they’re spread all throughout the summer. It may not be the same thing as E3, but it’s similar, and it can certainly be fun to follow along. The problem is keeping track of all of it. Since there’s no singular banner these showcases fall under, it can be hard to keep track of everything that’s going on. Believe me, I know. I’ve been trying my best to do it myself!
Below is a list of everything that I’ve found that could constitute as a part of what I call “Not-E3.” Since this is posting on June 7th, a few of these will have already happened by then, but they’re still important, so I’ll call attention to them anyway in case you want to go back and catch up. All times are EST. Let’s get started.
Humble Game Showcase. May 18, 1pm
This is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a showcase of indie games being published by Humble Bundle. Is the publisher actually called Humble Bundle? Whatever. The show was pretty neat overall with a total of eight games shown off. You can video the showcase here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/7-2HdaPuGaU?feature=share
INDIE Live Expo. May 20, 12pm
I had honestly never heard of this one until way after it aired, which is crazy because it covered I think 200 indie games! It’s quite a lengthy stream, but it’s well done, and featured live commentary. You can view the whole dang thing here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/pq98_h4V3_s?feature=share
EON Gaming. May 22, 12pm
This was promoted as something that seemed like it was going to be a lot more than it was. It wound up as just an announcement of a single product, but a pretty neat one at that. They announced the XBHD, which you can pre-order now at Stone Age Gamer. You can check out the announcement video here:
PlayStation Showcase. May 24, 4pm
Here we go. This was the first genuinely major showcase and it was quite a doozy. More than just another State of Play, the PlayStation Showcase showed off a ton of games. Granted, a lot of them were just CG trailers, but there were some pretty big bombs dropped, especially if you’re a fan of Metal Gear or Spider-Man. You can watch the full video here. It’s pretty long.
https://www.youtube.com/live/D4EKydVVvHk?feature=share
Marvelous Showcase. May 25, 6pm
Marvelous Entertainment publishes some great stuff. Most of that stuff is extremely Japan oriented though, so if you’re not into anime-esque stuff, there’s probably not much here for you. But if you like Harvest Moon and Rune Factory, enjoy! It’s also worth pointing out that this showcase had a fun/weird personality to it, so big points for that.
Evercade Showcase. May 31, 3pm
Boy, the Evercade folks just keep bringing the hits, eh? This was a really cool showcase which included some Amiga stuff, a collection from one of my favorites Sunsoft (including Blaster Master Boy!), and a shocking amount of Duke Nukem. Give it a look!
https://www.youtube.com/@EvercadeRetro
Meta VR Gaming Show. June 1, 1pm
Facebook’s whole Metaverse thing crashed and burned, but they’re still hitting the whole VR thing pretty hard, and this showcase I guess will be all about what’s next for the world of VR. I’ve honestly never been much into VR myself, so this holds little luster for me. Still, it’s a thing that’s happening, and you should know about it.
https://www.youtube.com/@MetaQuestVR
MIX Guerilla Collective. June 7, 12pm
This is an interesting one because it’s actually a couple of showcase grouped together, including Black Voices in Gaming, and the New Dames 4 Games show. The official description is “New summer showcases to reveal fresh announcements, trailers, gameplay and more from many of the world's top developers and publishers!” Should be a good time.
https://www.youtube.com/c/guerrillacollective
Summer Game Fest. June 8, 3pm
And here we come to our second “big” showcase. Geoff Keighly’s E3 killer itself, Summer Game Fest. This show is typically filled to the brim with super edgy trailers and a whole lot of pomp and circumstance, but there’s a better than evening chance that it will also include some games that are genuinely exciting. There are a bunch of other smaller shows that fit under its umbrella too, which is nice for keeping track of what’s going on in the world. The first big segment can be seen when it airs here.
https://www.summergamefest.com/
Day of the Devs. June 8, 5pm
This is an interesting little showcase presented by Double Fine and iam8bit. They’ll be showing off various indie games that they and others have in the works, and presumably talking a lot about their development. Previous showcases have been pretty fun, though a lot of what’s been shown has also been seen in other indie showcases. Still, this is a good time, and a great way to give a spotlight to some indies on Geoff Keighly’s massive stage.
https://www.summergamefest.com/
Devolver Direct. June 8, 6pm
Devolver’s annual showcase is consistently one of the most bananas things every year. These presentations are completely insane, and sometimes hilariously gruesome. This year’s event seems to be cartoon themed? There’s some sort of cute mascot character named Volvy and I can’t shake the feeling that the whole thing is going to be incredibly disturbing. I can’t wait.
https://www.youtube.com/@DevolverDigital
Access-Ability Summer Showcase. June 9, 11am
Here’s a new show that I’m glad exists. This is a showcase that hopes to become an annual thing that’s focused on accessibility in gaming. The games shown off will be created by disabled developers, and they’ll be diving into their accessibility options as well.
https://www.youtube.com/@LauraKBuzz
Tribeca Games Spotlight. June 9, 6pm
I think this is only the second or third one of these and I have to say, I don’t remember a single thing about this show. I remember being surprised to hear that Tribeca had a gaming branch, but that’s about it. I don’t think this show has much in the way of actual announcements. It’s more a deep dive into specific upcoming games. Also part of Summer Game Fest.
https://www.youtube.com/@TribecaFestival
Future of Play Direct. June 10, 11am
Apparently this is their 4th one of these, but I don't think I’ve heard of it before today. I’m also not entirely sure I understand what to expect. It seems to be focused on indie games and somehow related to Toonami? Sounds weird, but one of the games highlighted on their site is Unpacking, which is awesome. I’m in.
https://www.youtube.com/heyglitch
Wholesome Direct. June 10, 12pm
While I can’t say I’ve ever been blown away by this showcase, the idea behind it is neat. It’s a bunch of indie games that aren’t hyper violent or anything. They’re “wholesome” and the show typically features some pretty joyous stuff. They’re all rolled into Summer Game Fest now, but I don't imagine that changes much other than getting more eyes on their presentation.
https://www.youtube.com/@WholesomeGames
Future Games Show Summer Showcase. June 10, 1pm
This is one of those shows I’m not sure I entirely understand. It’s going to be hosted by the voice actors starring in Spider-Man 2, but that game isn’t going to be at the show, I think? It’s brought to us by GamesRadar and it’s going to have video games in it. Which games and from which developers? That’s anybody’s guess as all the actual info on the show is pretty vague.
https://www.youtube.com/@FutureGamesShow
OTK Games Expo. June 10, 3pm
Hey look, it’s another show I’ve never heard of before! Boy this stuff is hard to keep track of. It certainly seems like some sort of indie thing, but it’s got some spiffy sponsors behind it like Razer. I’m completely unfamiliar with the OTK Network, but they seem to have a fairly large audience, and this showcase is going to be massive. As in over 3 hours long covering over 30 games massive. I’m a little unclear on where exactly it’s streaming, but this is their YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/@OTKVODS
Xbox Games Showcase. June 11, 1pm
And here we have the second of the big three. Xbox is going into this year with a lot to prove as both PlayStation and Nintendo have a ton of momentum right now. However, it’s no secret that Microsoft has basically been buying as much of the video game industry as they can get their mitts on, and they’ve got some seriously heavy hitters to show off this year, including an entire second show immediately following this one all about Starfield. Definitely one to keep an eye on.
PC Gaming Show. June 11, 4pm
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s usually pretty long and is positively bursting at the seams with PC games.
https://www.youtube.com/@pcgamer
Capcom Showcase. June 12, 6pm
Even though the last Capcom event wasn't all that long ago, they're ready for another one, and this time it's 40th anniversary themed! Considering the person in charge of Mega Man just left the company, maybe we'll hear something reassuring about the Blue Bomber? I guess we'll see. "Will feature the latest Capcom updates, including new information about Capcom’s upcoming releases and future titles."
https://www.youtube.com/@CapcomUSA
Ubisoft Forward. June 12, 1pm
This is Ubisoft’s annual showcase where they don’t share new information on the Prince of Persia remake or Beyond Good & Evil 2. It will probably have a bunch of Tom Clancy and Assassin's Creed stuff though! Oh, and Just Dance. Can't forget Just Dance. Jokes aside, Ubisoft is kind of a big deal, though I’d be lying if I said I’ve been interested in their output much over the last decade or so. But bless their hearts, they’re still making showcases!
https://www.youtube.com/@Ubisoft
Xbox Games Showcase Extended. June 13, 1pm
This is neat. While the main showcase is all about stuffing new trailers into your eyeballs, this one is a followup show where they go more in-depth on the games they announced. Sort of like Nintendo’s Treehouse Live stuff. Neat!
Dames-4-Games. June 13, 4pm
This is another new showcase that is focused on women in gaming. It promises interviews and behind the scenes stuff related to upcoming games. This is their first one and there isn’t a whole lot more information than that. I guess we’ll just have to tune in and see!
https://www.youtube.com/c/guerrillacollective
Black Voices in Gaming. June 13, 5pm
This show has been going on for a couple of years now, and it focuses on POC developed games. However, I can’t find any sort of actual confirmation that it exists at this time. IGN has it listed as happening after Dames-4-Games, but that’s the only place I can find that info. If it does air, it will be here:
https://www.youtube.com/c/guerrillacollective
Upload VR Showcase. June 14, 2pm
If you care about VR, I’m told this is the one to watch. I personally don’t know much about VR so I don’t know what to expect, but I’m always interested to see what people are coming up with in the VR space.
https://www.youtube.com/@Uploadvr
RGG Summit. June 15, 11pm
This is a showcase from the Yakuza/Like a Dragon developer. It’s very Japan centric, though it will apparently be shown with subtitles on their YouTube channel. If you’re a Like a Dragon fan, this one’s for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG4HE9Q3wek
Nintendo Direct. TBD
While you can never properly predict Nintendo, we know very little about their plans past July of this year, and they almost always have some sort of thing going on around this time. I’d be shocked if we didn't see anything from them in June or July.
Limited Run LRG3. TBD
Limited Run Games has a history of doing E3 shows, but they’ve been pretty quiet about it this year. I’m hopeful that they’ll announce something soon though because it’s something I look forward to every year.
And that about wraps things up. There are a few more showcases coming up in August, but that’s leaning up against Gamescom territory which is kind of a different animal. This is a LOT of game showcases, but thankfully it’s pretty well spread out, so it should be a lot easier to digest than E3 used to be. I’ll do my best to update this list as new information comes to light and shows get scheduled. Which one are you most excited about?
