IamA Geoff Keighley, video game event guy, AMA!

Was the Summer Game Fest thought up because of Covid-19, or were you always planning on hosting this event?

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Either way, looking forward to it!

COVID-19 accelerated the plans, but the idea of doing a big global, digital, interactive festival has always been a dream of mine. We sort of started this last year around TGA with The Game Festival.

Is Kyle Bosman taking part in this ?

He is welcome to be a part of it! Hopefully he will work on gamescom with us.

will nintendo be there?

Nintendo is always welcome!

Hi Geoff! Thanks for keeping the spirit of E3 alive during this crazy time. I was just wondering, how difficult was it to convince developers to take part in this event? Were studios eager to have an event to show off their projects? Thanks again!

Well it was an ongoing conversation -- I only really wanted to do this if we could get full alignment from all the game publishers and platforms around a central idea. And that took time, especially given the current global pandemic. I wanted to be sensitive to everyone's current situation. But yeah, it's not easy getting all the companies to align around one idea....there are always days when it feels like it's falling apart, or difficult conversations to have with people. But all that matters is that we got there, and that's the best thing for the industry and its fans.

You've shared an image which shows all the partners who'll be participating in the Summer Games Fest. What exactly does Phase 1 mean? Are there going to be more phases over the summer?

There will be more phases of partner announcements to come, yes.

Will Reggie be involved?

I was texting with Reggie yesterday and we were talking about some ideas. We'll see, I'd love to get him involved. I'm going o be on his new podcast with the New York Critics Circle soon.

So how is the Final Hours of half life Alyx coming along?

I finished writing it, it's the longest Final Hours I've ever written -- over 25,000 words. We're in the middle of production on it now and hope to share it with you soon. We're doing some really cool, interactive things around it and it's taking a bit longer than I wanted. But it will be COOL

Will it also be released on Steam like the other reports you did?

Yep! It's coming to Steam.

When will the specific schedule for this be announced?

On a rolling basis.

Will there be any playable demos for big AAA games?

That's a great question! There will be playable content, and maybe some big surprises. There are also things like alpha and betas on big games. I would not expect that every major game is going to be doing a demo for you -- maybe eventually, but also let's be realistic about the world we are in right now. Work from home is challenging for studios and they need to finish their games too. But I see a day when yes, all major games have playable trailers or slices.

How will the schedule for this work? Will it be each publisher hosting their own events or events with many together?

Correct, it's four months of events that start this month and the finale is the big gamescom show I will do on August 24. We are just supporting/amplifying each publisher's individual events.

Hey guys!! The iam8bit crew is hanging out here too. Happy to answer any questions you have about producing this event with Geoff, or really anything that's on your mind. We're stoked to be collaborating on this.

Proof: https://twitter.com/iam8bit/status/1256251233997737984?s=20

Welcome guys! Excited about what we are cooking up!

Would you consider the official use of the phrase "Keigh3" in marketing ?

Absolutely!

When is Warner Bros conference?

Each publisher will decide to share news when they can -- and note that we aren't saying everyone on that list has a "conference" per se, each publisher will likely have different approaches this year to how they communicate news. Many folks may have multiple "beats" across the summer.

Are you hiring? :) Honestly, you are doing amazing stuff for this industry Geoff! Keep it up.

We're always looking to work with talented people. Email us at [email protected]

When will we see more of From Software's new upcoming masterpiece, Elden Ring?

You'd have to ask From that question.

What games have you been playing during quarantine?

A lot of Half-Life: Alyx, also Doom Eternal and Valorant. I want to play AC soon too.

How do you even organize this stuff seems like its takes a lots of effort?

It's really just a lot of listening to people and trying to build consensus. And I'm highly motivated because as a fan this is something I want to see happen.

Will we see Elden Ring there?

No specific title announcements today.

How big is the presence from Playstation? 😚

We'll let each publisher and platform share their plans when they are ready.

How will this we visible, streamed for free for everyone to watch?

Correct, all free to watch/stream!

Do you like jalapeños in your popcorn?

Nope

When can we expect reveal dates for these companies ?

They will be revealed as publishers are ready to share their dates -- and we'll have a schedule on the website that launches on Tuesday.

One thing that your announcement didn't make clear was how an event spread over a third of a year is any different from these companies doing their own unaffiliated events. What is Summer Game Fest bringing to the table in terms of a unified experience?

Summer Game Fest is a central hub for all the programming -- you'll be able to watch all the events from the website and see a schedule/set reminders etc.

Would you consider yourself the Ryan Seacrest if video games?

Ryan's a great guy and businessman so sure, I'd be honored to have the comparison.

How long will each "phase" roughly be?

Phase 1 refers to the publishers -- there will be a phase 2 with more publishers added. The Phase doesn't mean a specific time period really for the events.

Any updates on new Batman and Middle-earth games? Thanks in advance.

Best to direct that question to the game publishers or developers.

Will we finally get some gameplay of Ghost of Tsushima?

Since the game is coming out in July, I feel relatively confident you will see gameplay by end of August ;)

Hey Geoff, who would you like to see added to Smash Bros Ultimate?

Doom Guy

Hello Geoff,

To which email should we contact if we work at a Studio/Publisher and wish to be present at the Summer Game Fest?

[email protected]

Opinion on next gen consoles?

It's a really exciting time when a new console cycle starts! The things I've seen....it's going to be an AMAZING summer!

Starting TODAY?

YES!

how many of ps5 and xsx games will be shown ?

I have no idea.

Super excited about this! Have you been in discussion with Nintendo? I know they are a proud partner during the Game Awards. Also - you mentioned Phase 1 - when does Phase 1 end? How many Phases?

Phase 1 is the first phase of publishers -- not tied to a specific time period for the events. Yes, certainly have been talking with Nintendo and would be happy to welcome them as well when/if we can be helpful.

Hey! Will the event just be a direct source for events planned by companies involved or will it all be hosted and shown by Summer Game Fest?

It will be a directory -- we aren't producing these events for publishers. But we'll have some fun programming in the mix too!

What did you mean by playable demos!? Like we can download from home? Or you’ll play the demos and then tell us about it?

Did you see The Game Festival on Steam last December or around GDC? There will be another one in June with games. And Xbox will also be doing a playable festival. More platforms to be announced. You can download and play from home!

If you had to pick one of the companies or publishers you are excited for on the phase 1 list based on what they are announcing, who would you pick?

Hard to pick! Obviously this is a new console launch year so it's exciting to see what Xbox and PlayStation have in store.

Will Ubisoft be there in phase 2?

You'd have to ask them! We're happy to include Ubisoft if it wants to participate.

Hey Geoff, I am very glad to see you are doing this. How did you even come around to getting this whole event set up?

I did a lot of listening over the past few months -- and it just seemed like publishers, fans, and the industry needed some kind of central organizing principle this year. I started talking with the iam8bit guys, all the major publishers, developers, and streaming/media sites.

This is a different approach -- it's not a show, but more of a TV guide to what's happening. And we'll have some unique programming inside of it too with developers, and LOTS of playable content for you at home too.

Hi Geoff! Have a massive amount of respect for your work on the Game Awards and Opening Night Live at Gamescom. With Summer Game Fest, is the upcoming Inside Xbox showcase for Xbox Series X games a part of what you're doing, or is Xbox involved in a different way?

Thanks!

Yep, Inside Xbox is one of the events. Xbox will be sharing more next week on their overall plans, but it's safe to say they have multiple events planned inside Summer Game Fest.

When will the schedule release on the website?

We'll start listing things on Tuesday, and update it as dates are announced.

What ties everything together? Are we to expect streams full of news? Or random news on random days?

There will be a schedule on the website with links to the events!

Playable events by this do you mean demos of some sort for the upcoming games?

Correct, and also in-game content and events

Can you tell us if Nintendo will take part in this, and if not why?

Nintendo was not announced as part of today's announcement, but we're happy to welcome them to SGF when/if it makes sense for them!

Hey Geoff, how is this event going to be done. Like is it gonna be a livestream for individual reveals of upcoming games or will you have a big stream to showcase all the new Games and Announcements?

It won't be one "show" -- it's a season of events from publishers that we are helping coordinate. Inside of it I will also host some special events to be announced, and we'll have a big industry-wide finale with the gamescom: ONL show on August 24.

When is the schedule gonna be revealed if there is gonna be one?

Yeah the schedule will start to be populated on Tuesday! Sign up on the website to see it

Hey Geoff, thanks for all your hard work!! Any demos coming to consoles over the next four months or will it only be steam again?

Xbox has been announced as a new partner for the demos. And we'll be announcing more platforms soon!

Hey, Geoff! In what form will these announcements be presented? As articles or video packages with multiple announcements together, or will individual companies drop information on their own under the Summer Game Fest banner?

Each company will develop its own strategy! We are happy to support however we can.

How often can we expect to see new content - will it be daily videos, weekly live streams etc? And will it be dropped in large chunks or drip fed?

Won't be daily, it will be spread out when publishers have news to share.

Can you give any list pf any specific games that will be showcased?

Not yet!

When does it start and what evwnts can gamers partake in, specifically?

It starts this weekend and will run through end of August. We'll update events soon on the website.

Will Nintendo be involved in any way? I heard they canceled their June Direct, so will they be doing anything with this event to make up for it?

Great question for Nintendo, I'm not familiar with their internal plans but obviously love Nintendo and its role in the industry.

If you're allowed to answer, then how will these "phases" be divided? Will there be 4 phases, one for each month, or will there be more/less? Is the method for dividing each company's presence in phase 1 decided yet, or are you still in the planning stages? Will it be solely in livestream format, or are there other plans for announcing game related news as well?

the PHASE 1 is the first announcement phase -- which means those publishers will have news to share between May - August. PHASE 2 will be an announcement of more partners and events joining the party.

Hi Geoff! What are the most difficult part you've face while initiating this Summer Game Fest?

The most challenging part is getting all these big companies to agree to work together around a central idea -- I was up until 3am last night getting the final sign-offs....

Will this be a one year thing or do you plan on continuing this for upcoming years as well?

Just for 2020 right now. We'll see how it goes!

What inspired this format? Is this mainly a result of isolation or are you planning to continue this for the foreseeable future?

Honestly this is kind of the way I see things going in the future anyway.

How many "phases" are there?

Infinity.

Hi Geoff, would you ever consider naming your daughter Keighley Keighley?

What an interesting question. Why? I don't have any kids, but if I did I would consider the choice. I do know a few women named Kayleigh.

What do you mean by "phases"? Is there going to be a Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4?

Yes