Culture

Summer Game Fest announcements: all the biggest news including updates on Lost Ark and Prime Matter

Jun 11 2021
Written by Ed Nightingale

Elden Ring. (FromSoftware)

June is Pride Month, as we already know. It’s also gaming month, kicking off with the Summer Games Fest chock full of gaming goodness.

Plenty of new games were announced in a 90 minute presentation just ahead of E3 2021 and its big publisher presentations.

Here are the biggest Summer Games Fest announcements you need to know about.

Elden Ring gameplay reveal

After a two year wait, we finally got a gameplay reveal trailer of Elden Ring, the next game from Dark Souls creator Hidetaki Miyazaki and Game of Thrones author George R.R Martin. The game takes Souls-like gameplay to new heights in a beautifully grim open world complete with horseback combat and dynamic weather. Absolutely stunning stuff – check out the trailer below.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands announced

The Borderlands series is known for its LGBT+ representation, so we have high hopes for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands too. A standalone game from the same creators and featuring the popular Tiny Tina, Wonderlands has a similar cartoon style but a high fantasy setting with its own gameplay against giant dragons.

Death Stranding Director’s Cut coming to PlayStation 5

Gaming genius Hideo Kojima dropped in to the presentation to discuss life in the pandemic and how art will change, just like after 9/11… and other comments to that effect. He also announced that Death Stranding will be coming to PlayStation 5 in a Director’s Cut version along with a Metal Gear Solid inspired video. More details coming soon.

Call of Duty Season 4 launches 17 June

The next season of Call of Duty will arrive on 17 June with a whole load of new content across its various modes. Also announced was the World Series of Warzone, a new esports league that will be in partnership with Twitch Rivals.

New content coming to Among Us

Innersloth gave a look at what’s coming next to Among Us. That includes new roles (inspired by various mods), a new Hide and Seek mode, and of course plenty of new costumes. There’s also going to be a new map, though details were kept hidden for now.

Two Point Campus revealed

From the designers of Two Point Hospital comes Two Point Campus, a school spin on the strategy series. Design your own campus and fill it with fantasy lessons like Knight School and Gastronomy, balancing core lessons with extra-curricular activity. It’s filled with all the wacky humour we’ve come to know and love.

MMO Lost Ark coming in Autumn

Lost Ark, one of the biggest MMO’s in Korea, is being localised by Amazon Game Studios for the West. Action RPG gameplay looks to be influenced by Diablo, with raids and PvP to tackle in a stunning high fantasy setting. It’s due out this Autumn.

New publisher and developer announced

It wasn’t all game announcements. New publisher Prime Matter will be releasing a number of new titles, including Payday 3, a new Painkiller game, and a strategy take on the CrossFire series. Then there’s new developer Deviation Games who is working on a groundbreaking new title for PlayStation, though nothing was shown just yet.

Bloodhunt is a dream vampire game

Bloodhunt is a multiplayer take on the Vampire: The Masquerade universe. A free-to-play Battle Royale, it’ll see you as a sexy vampire battling against other sexy vampires using a variety of supernatural powers. There’s a closed alpha PC test on 2 July, you can sign up for it here.

New Dark Pictures Anthology horror game

House of Ashes is the next horror game in the Dark Pictures Anthology, following Man of Medan and Little Hope. It’s set in the Iraq War and sees a group of soldiers up against an unknown evil in a cursed temple. It’s releasing on 22 October.

Endless Dungeon gameplay shown

A roguelite tactical action game in a comedy sci-fi universe, Endless Dungeon received a new gameplay trailer to show off its co-op gameplay. In a mysterious space station you must group together to defend your crystal against endless waves of alien monsters.

Planet of Lana looks gorgeous

There are plenty of side-scrolling puzzle-platformers out there, but few look as gorgeous as the hand-painted Planet of Lana. The watercolour graphics show off a stunning sci-fi world, as well as a very cute cat-like companion.

Evil Dead: The Game could be the next Dead by Daylight

Clearly going after the multiplayer horror crown, Evil Dead: The Game is a campy 4v1 multiplayer game in which you choose to play as one of four survivors battling hordes of zombies, or the demon controlling those zombies. Expect plenty of gore.

Jeff Goldblum introduces new Jurassic Park game

Jurassic Park legend Jeff Goldblum introduced a new game in the franchise, Jurassic World Evolution 2. A sequel to the strategy game, it will once again task you with creating your very own dinosaur park and play around with genetics, of course.