Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest event will be getting some help from YouTube as their latest partnership was announced.
The collaboration will also add a variety of pre-shows, commentary specials and post-event programs with appearances from online streamers. It also expands the Game Fest’s goal in hosting studios for special announcements as COVID-19 resulted in the cancelling of major annual events. Without in-person presentations at E3, Gamescom or SXSW in 2020, Keighley launched Summer Game Fest and delivered announcements for games such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 Remastered, the Unreal Engine 5 reveal and the release date for Valorant.
In a release, YouTube stated the Summer Game Fest will be a part of the YouTube Gaming platform while connecting original programming with its core announcements. There would also be shows made with long-time gamers such as Ali-A, JackSepticEye, Laurenzside, Lamarr Wilson, MatPat and Valkyrae (with more to also appear with Keighley as host and interviewer).
“Summer Game Fest Live on YouTube is new, exclusive content available for free that strengthens YouTube’s commitment to provide high quality content for gaming fans globally,” YouTube wrote.
“These livestreams, in addition to creator tournaments and charity livestreams,bring together gaming creators and the gaming community at large, particularly during this time when they need it the most.”
For Keighley, he maintained his online presence as a games industry host for decades. His annual The Game Awards was also streamed live over YouTube for years while he previously provided a voice over E3 before gravitating to other projects. On February 2020, Keighley stated he was skipping E3 2020, months before the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the event.
The first YouTube Gaming event with Summer Game Fest happens as soon as June 11, with a pre-show and post-event commentary coming for Sony’s widely anticipated PlayStation 5 Future of Gaming reveal.