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Day of the Devs stream shares new details on Axiom Verge 2 and more indies

The opening day of this year’s Summer Game Fest concluded with the Day of the Devs stream. The indie showcase featured trailers for over 20 games, including the recently delayed Axiom Verge 2.

Day of the Devs is an annual indie show organized by Double Fine and iam8bit. The event has previously highlighted indies that went on to become mainstream hits like Untitled Goose Game and Hyper Light Drifter.

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The show opened with some new information on Axiom Verge 2. Developer Thomas Happ shared some new details on the Metroid-inspired sequel. The game features more melee-based combat than its predecessor and includes a hacking mechanic. Happ says that it’s possible to complete the game without fighting a single boss in order to encourage player exploration.

While the game still doesn’t have a firm release date, Happ confirms that the title will come to PlayStation 4 and PS5 alongside Nintendo Switch and PC.

A boss fight featurign a giant robot in Axiom Verge 2.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As for newly revealed games, Vokabulantis was a particular showstopper during the event. Developed by the team behind Felix the Reaper, the puzzle platformer is being created with full stop-motion animation. The game is still early in development and isn’t set to launch until 2024.

Other highlights include Soup Pot, a cooking game that features more than 100 recipes from around the world, and The Wandering Village, a city-building game that takes place on the back of a flying creature. The event also gave a second look at some games recently revealed at Microsoft’s ID@Xbox show, including Moonglow Bay and Death’s Door. The latter is scheduled to receive a proper release date during Devolver Digital’s E3 showcase this weekend.

A giant creature with a city on its back in The Wandering Village.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The show ended with a new look at Last Stop, followed by a montage of publisher Annapurna Interactive’s upcoming games. Annapurna announced that it’ll be holding its own digital showcase at noon PT on July 29.

Here’s the full list of indie games that appeared during the show.

  • Axiom Verge 2
  • Behind the Frame
  • Death’s Door
  • Demolition Robots K.K.
  • Despelote
  • Elec Head
  • Garden Story
  • Last Stop
  • Loot River
  • Moonglow Bay
  • A Musical Story
  • Phantom Abyss
  • Road 96
  • Soup Pot
  • The Wandering Village
  • TOEM
  • Unbeatable
  • Vokabulantis
  • Walk
Giovanni Colantonio
As Digital Trends' Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran…
Summer Game Fest returns just before E3 2023 next June
The official artwork confirming Summer Game Fest's return on June 8, 2023.

Geoff Keighley has confirmed when Summer Game Fest will return in June 2023. It will begin with a live kickoff show on June 8, 2023, placing Keighley's game announcement alternative less than a week before E3's grand (intended) 2023 return.
Unlike past years, Summer Game Fest Live Kickoff 2023 will feature a live audience, like Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards. It will take place in the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park, with tickets going on sale in early 2023. It will still be livestreamed across platforms like YouTube and Twitch, though. It's currently unknown who's participating, how long Summer Game Fest will run afterward, or if it will feature a Summer Game Fest Play Days-like element for fans. Still, Keighley says all of that info will be revealed ahead of the event next year, teasing what people can expect. 
"In keeping with tradition, we'll have tons of exciting announcements from the developers that are pushing the games industry forward, and will once again highlight other publisher digital events, demos, and more surprises to be announced in the coming months," Keighley says in a press release. 
That June 8 start date, and the other Summer Game Fest events likely to follow, put Keighley's show just ahead of E3 2023. The ESA and ReedPop plan to bring E3 back between June 13 and June 16, 2023. With five days of lead time on E3, Summer Game Fest can coexist with the long-running gaming conference and encompass the plethora of publisher showcases that tend to precede E3.
Geoff Keighley made it clear that he wants Summer Game Fest and E3 to coexist for a while. "We've had extensive conversations with ReedPop about E3," he said in an interview with Epic Games Store. "I think it'll kind of fit together and flow kind of from what we're doing into what they're doing and stuff. E3, to me, is this kind of master brand that represents gaming news in June."
With the start date of Summer Game Fest confirmed, the coexistence of these two summer gaming events is a reality. Summer Game Fest returns on June 8, 2023.

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Don’t miss these eye-catching indies from Day of the Devs’ anniversary stream
Mina faces down a boss with its mouth wide open in Mina the Hollower.

Day of the Devs, a showcase dedicated to highlighting indie games, held a 10th-anniversary showcase today. The hourlong stream shined a spotlight on several anticipated indie games, including Mina the Hollower, Sea of Stars, and more.

Day of the Devs 10th Anniversary Indie Game Showcase 2022

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Here’s the full schedule of summer video game livestreams
Promotional art for Starfield.

E3 is not taking place this year, but a plethora of independently created video game announcement livestreams are popping up. From Sony to Geoff Keighley to THQ Nordic, a lot of people and companies are airing video game livestreams that gaming fans will want to tune into over the course of this summer.
These are the most important video game reveal-focused livestreams that you should keep an eye on between June and August 2022 via Digital Trends' Summer Gaming Marathon coverage.
June 2: State of Play
State of Play | June 2, 2022 [ENGLISH]
Sony is holding another State of Play at 3 p.m. PT on June 2. Similar to March's showcase, this one will feature multiple games, rather than being dedicated to one game like Sony's Gran Turismo 7 and Hogwarts Legacy State of Play streams. Specifically, Sony says in a PlayStation Blog post that its fans should expect "exciting reveals from our third-party partners, plus a sneak peek at several games in development for PlayStation VR2." It doesn't look like God of War: Ragnarok will show up here, but it will certainly be a welcome surprise if it does.
June 6: LRG3 Showcase
Physical game distributor Limited Run Games and Mega64 announced that they would hold the third annual LRG Showcase at 1 p.m. PT on June 6, 2022 on Twitch. The LRG3 Showcase will feature 30 games overall, mainly highlighting titles that Limited Run Games plans to give a physical release to over the next year. 
June 7: Sonic Central
June is a big month for Sonic as Sega continues to share new info on Sonic Frontiers and prepares to release Sonic Origins on June 23. As part of its June festivities for the blue blur, Sega is holding yet another Sonic Central livestream to reveal "project, partnerships, and events happening in 2022." It begins at 9 a.m. PT on June 7.
June 9: Upload VR Showcase
Fans of VR games will want to tune into the Upload VR Showcase at 8 a.m. on June 9. This presentation is solely focused on highlighting upcoming VR games from developers big and small. While Upload VR isn't teasing any specific games for the show, the article confirming the event claims that it will have "the most new game reveals we’ve ever featured at a showcase, including some from companies yet to release VR games."
June 9: Summer Game Fest
https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/1531666856989237253
At 11 a.m. PT on June 9, Geoff Keighley will host his second annual Summer Game Fest livestream dedicated to showing exciting games from publishers big and small. The re-reveal of Elden Ring happened during last year's stream, so this is definitely a stream that you'll want to keep an eye on. The tweet above confirms that major publishers like 2K, Activision, Capcom, EA, PlayStation, Sega, WB Games, and Xbox are participating. The showcase will last two hours. 
June 9: Day of the Devs: SGF Edition 
Summer Game Fest's showcase will be immediately followed by Day of the Devs: SGF Edition at 1 p.m. PT. This showcase will highlight a variety of upcoming video games. A press release for the event confirms that it will feature a new trailer for Bear and Breakfast and a new game from Monument Valley developer Ustwo Games, in addition to plenty of other independent developers. 
June 9: Devolver Marketing Countdown to Marketing
Devolver Direct 2022 Teaser | Watch June 9 @ 3PM Pacific
Devolver Digital will hold another satirical showcase at 3 p.m. PT on June 9. Titled the "Devolver Marketing Countdown to Marketing," expect this showcase to poke fun at how companies countdown to their main showcases with pre-shows and highlight some new games from Devolver. Cult of the Lamb is confirmed to be there, and Devolver is also promising to reveal some new games during the show. 
June 10: Epic Games Summer Showcase 
https://twitter.com/EpicGames/status/1534969752862478354
At 11 a.m. PT on June 10, Epic Games is holding its own video game showcase. It says the event will primarily be focused on "diving into new announcements and updates for PC titles on the Epic Games Store" that are launching both in 2022 and next year. 
June 10: The Outriders: Wordslayer Endgame Broadcast
At 11:45 a.m. PT on June 10, Square Enix and People Can Fly will hold yet another Outriders Broadcast. This livestream will be specifically focused on endgame content for Outriders: Worldslayer, a massive expansion for the sci-fi shooter that is launching on June 30. 
June 10: Tribeca Games Spotlight
As part of Summer Game Fest, Tribeca will highlight its 2022 game selections during a livestream at 12 p.m. PT on June 10. We know that Tribeca's game selections this year are A Plague Tale: Requiem, American Arcadia, As Dusk Falls, Cuphead - The Delicious Last Course, Immortality, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, The Cub, Thirsty Suitors, and Venba, so this livestream won't have much in the way of surprises. Still, it will provide updates on some of the industry's best-looking indie games.
June 11: Future of Play Direct
Future of Play Direct Livestream I Summer of Gaming 2022
IGN is getting in on the video game showcase fun with the Future of Play Direct at 10:30 a.m. PT on June 11. IGN promises that the event will have "new game announcements, trailers, musical performances, special guests, and more." While the event will likely be focused on indie titles, some cool new game may emerge during this showcase. 
June 11: Wholesome Direct 2022 
Wholesome Direct 2022 Teaser Trailer
Wholesome Direct is a yearly livestream that highlights cute indie games that are much more wholesome than violent. The event's organizers tease that this year's event will have "new game reveals, exclusive footage, and even games that will launch during the show," so it's worth tuning into if you want to see what cute indie games should be on your radar. 
June 11: Future Games Show
Future Games Show 2022
GamesRadar is holding yet another gaming showcase at 12 p.m. PT on June 11. Future Games Show livestreams often focus on highlighting cool indie and AA games, so don't expect the next major AAA bombshell to be here. But we can expect reveals from companies like Amanita Design, Team17, and Thunderful. Overall, GamesRadar claims that 40 games will be shown during June's Future Games Show. 
June 11 and 13: Guerrilla Collective 3
The Guerilla Collective is an indie showcase that takes place over the course of two separate days. The first presentation takes place at 8 a.m. PT on June 11 while the second one follows it up at 1 p.m. PT on June 13. You can see lists of many of the indie games participating in both the June 11 and June 13 events on the Guerrilla Collective's website. 
June 12: Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase

The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase (no Activision just yet) returns at 10 a.m. PT on June 12. Even though Redfall and Starfield were both recently delayed to 2023, this is still probably going to contain our best looks at these games yet! On top of that, there are plenty of other upcoming Xbox exclusives that Microsoft could show like Avowed, Fable, the new Forza Motorsport, Contraband, and Perfect Dark. Ultimately, Microsoft has a lot to prove with this year's showcase as it needs to demonstrate why 2022 will still be a compelling year for Xbox consoles and Game Pass without Redfall and Starfield. Check out everything that was announced.
June 12: PC Gaming Show
Just a couple of hours after Xbox and Bethesda's showcase, you can expect PC Gamer to hold an announcement-filled livestream of its own. The PC Gaming Show starts at 12:30 p.m. on June 12 and will contain over 45 upcoming PC games. Titles teased by PC Gamer so far include Arma 4, a Half-Life: Alyx mod called Levitation, Immortality, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Victoria 3, and unannounced games from Klei Entertainment and 11 Bit Studios. If you're a fan of PC Gaming, this is definitely a show you'll want to tune into. 
June 13: Capcom Showcase

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