E3 2021 is now in full swing with yesterday’s showcase (Elden Ring included), and Microsoft has now announced its second Summer Game Fest Demo event. Last year, as part of Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest promotion, Microsoft offered up loads of playable demos to its gamer base via the ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo event, and it will be making a triumphant return again this year. Starting next week, there will be over 40 demos for gamers to try out, almost like being on the show floor at E3. Head below for more details.
E3 2021 Summer Game Fest Demo event
(Update 6/15 9:25 a.m.): The Microsoft Summer Game Fest Demo event is now live with 40+ free game demos to try out. You can view the entire list of titles alongside more information here and on the Microsoft digital game store.
Apparently, Xbox fans loved last year’s event, so Microsoft and Keighley are back at it again with this year’s Summer Game Fest Demo bonanza. While we don’t have the complete list of titles that will be on tap, we do know everything will go live starting next week on June 15 — the same day as Nintendo’s scheduled E3 2021 showcase. They will be available until June 21, and while some of them will move over to the Microsoft Demo channel thereafter, many of them will disappear forever on that day.
According to Microsoft’s blog post on the event, we will be looking at “over 40 demos” across Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One, all of which are of “upcoming unreleased games.”
Some of the highlights Microsoft has unveiled thus far (it will “announce the full list closer to June 15”) include titles like Sable, Lake, The Riftbreaker, Echo Generation, and the isometric action-adventure, Zelda-like experience known as Tunic.
Microsoft wants to make sure gamers understand these are not the “normal game demos” you see on its Demo channel and will not represent the final product. You can think of them almost like show floor demos of early builds (in most cases) that allow gamers to get a quick taste of what’s to come. “What that means is that you’ll get to experience these games early – some way early – which is awesome, but you should also note that these games will continue to evolve and be polished as they near release.”
Microsoft also said:
These demos will only be up on the Xbox Dashboard for a week. Some might be re-published to the Demo channel later, but many will simply evaporate at the end of the week, so make sure to check them out while you can.
The Microsoft Summer Game Fest Demo event kicks off on your Xbox Dashboard next week on June 15.
9to5Toys’ Take
Well, this is great news — no physical E3 show floor or otherwise. This is a great way for gamers to get the E3 experience from the comfort of their own homes and makes for an even more interactive experience for the world’s biggest gaming event of the year. While it would seem as though most of the games on tap will be smaller, indie experiences, there’s nothing like getting to play some early demos directly on your console with no strings attached.
Stay locked to 9to5Toys all weekend long for all of the biggest announcements from E3 2021. The E3 Summer Game Fest showcase kicked things off in a major way yesterday with a shocking gameplay/trailer reveal for FromSoftware and George R.R Martin’s long-awaited Elden Ring alongside a host of never-before-seen games.
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