If you were expecting a massive, world-shaking "E3 moment" from Summer Game Fest 2024, you probably walked away feeling a little... well, complicated. It’s been about a year and a half since Geoff Keighley took the stage at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on June 7, and honestly, the dust has finally settled enough to see what actually stuck.
The industry was in a weird spot back then. Layoffs were hitting everyone, and Keighley himself went on Twitch before the show to basically tell everyone to lower their expectations. He called it a "lighter" year.
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He wasn't lying.
The Big Hits and the "Wait, What?" Moments
Summer Game Fest 2024 wasn't about one giant megaton. It was more like a shotgun blast of mid-sized updates and a few very weird, very specific surprises.
The show kicked off with LEGO Horizon Adventures. Seeing Aloy turned into a plastic figurine was a choice, but the fact that it was announced for PS5, PC, and—shocker—Nintendo Switch was the real headline. A Sony-owned IP on a Nintendo console? That’s when you knew the old "console war" rules were basically in the trash.
Then we got the Civilization VII reveal. It was just a cinematic teaser, but for the 4X strategy crowd, that was enough to carry the whole week. We didn't get gameplay until later that August, but knowing Sid Meier was finally moving the needle again felt like a win.
The Games That Actually Mattered
- Doom: The Dark Ages: This was technically at the Xbox Showcase, but it dominated the SGF conversation. Chainsaw shields. Need I say more?
- Alan Wake 2: Night Springs: Remedy did the "available now" thing. They dropped the expansion basically as Sam Lake was walking off stage. It was trippy, weird, and exactly what people wanted.
- Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO: The hype for this was unreal. October 11 became a circled date for every Budokai Tenkaichi fan on the planet.
- Black Ops 6: The "Omnimovement" reveal. People spent weeks arguing whether being able to dive like Max Payne would ruin Call of Duty or save it.
Why 2024 Felt Different
Looking back, the vibe was less about "the future of gaming" and more about "how do we survive the present?"
We saw a lot of live-service updates. Valorant coming to consoles was a massive deal for Riot, even if the hardcore PC crowd groaned at the ten-minute segment during the show. Dark and Darker made a triumphant return to Steam. Even Palworld showed up with a big summer update.
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But there was a hole.
There was no Grand Theft Auto VI. No Hollow Knight: Silksong (despite the memes). No Kingdom Hearts IV.
Instead, we got Blumhouse Games. The horror movie giant decided to jump into the indie publishing space, showing off a slate of six weird, low-budget horror titles. It was probably the most "human" part of the show. It felt like someone was actually trying something new instead of just adding a "Season 4" to a battle pass.
The Xbox Factor
If Summer Game Fest was the appetizer, the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9 was the main course.
Microsoft really needed a win. They showed off Gears of War: E-Day, which took the series back to its roots. No more open-world experiments—just Marcus and Dom looking young and terrified.
We also got a real look at Perfect Dark. It looked like Deus Ex had a baby with Mirror's Edge. People were skeptical because the development had been a mess for years, but the gameplay trailer actually looked... competent? Maybe even good?
The "Must-Play" List from the SGF Window
- Metaphor: ReFantazio: The Persona team doing high fantasy. It looked gorgeous and somehow even more stylish than P5.
- Monster Hunter Wilds: Capcom showed a desert biome with dynamic weather. Seeing a sandstorm roll in while fighting a giant beast was the kind of tech flex the show needed.
- Astrobot: Technically part of the surrounding State of Play, but it became the unofficial mascot of the summer.
The Reality Check
Let’s be real for a second. Summer Game Fest 2024 was a bit of a slog at times.
There were ads for DoorDash. There were ads for Samsung TVs. At one point, there was a mobile game ad with a giant chicken. It felt like a variety show that occasionally remembered it was about video games.
Geoff Keighley has a tough job. He has to balance the needs of trillion-dollar corporations with the desires of a very angry internet. In 2024, he landed somewhere in the middle. It wasn't the best show ever, but it gave us a roadmap for a year that was mostly about refined sequels and indie gems.
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Moving Forward: What to Do Now
If you’re still catching up on everything that came out of that summer, don't just watch the trailers. The real value of Summer Game Fest 2024 is in the games that are actually out now.
Actionable Steps:
- Play the Alan Wake 2 DLC: It’s arguably the best thing Remedy has ever made.
- Check out the Blumhouse Indies: Games like Fear the Spotlight are short, punchy, and proof that budget doesn't equal quality.
- Go back to the Xbox Showcase VOD: If you missed the Gears: E-Day trailer, watch it again. The music choice (a cover of "Mad World") is a masterclass in nostalgia bait.
- Watch the "Day of the Devs" stream: This happened right after the main SGF show and featured games like Cuffbust and Neva. It’s where the actual "art" of gaming was hiding.
Summer Game Fest 2024 wasn't a revolution. It was a transition. It was the industry catching its breath after a brutal couple of years, and honestly? That was probably exactly what we needed.