What are you looking forward to at Summer Game Fest 2024?

Summer Game Fest starts this week! Over the last few years SGF has become the major event for new video game announcements and previews, and the amount of coverage has expanded dramatically. A lot of the news is being kept under wraps until it starts, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have hope that some of our favorite franchises will be represented.

It’s also the first SGF where Blizzard is a part of Microsoft, and between the Opening Ceremony and the Xbox Gaming Showcase I’m expecting some important news. For World of Warcraft I’m anticipating that The War Within release date will be announced (I’ll be sad if it isn’t), and while I don’t expect the same for Diablo 4‘s next expansion Vessel of Hatred I do hope to see a preview of the new class as well as some of the enemies we’ll be encountering.

One game I hope to see a lot of coverage of is Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, which was already formally announced — and received a release date — last month. I’m expecting that the Ubisoft Forward will have an extended preview of the gameplay, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if a new trailer dropped for it during the Opening Ceremony.

Probably the best aspect of Summer Game Fest is that Indie game companies are better able to get their newest titles into one of the several presentations that include or even focus solely on Indie studios. While that can sometimes be a little overwhelming — Wholesome Direct promises to showcase 70+ games — it’s great to see so many smaller teams get their moment in the spotlight. I’m sure there will be a couple dozen or more Indie games I add to my wish list this weekend.

The final thing I’m hoping to see is the announcement for the long-rumored Persona 6, or in the absence of that a new spinoff from the franchise. There’s some disagreement as to whether Atlus would be willing to steal coverage away from their forthcoming Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance and their new IP Metaphor: ReFantazio by announcing anything in the popular Persona series, but they haven’t hesitated to have multiple products in the hype pipeline (hypeline?) before. I am trying to keep my expectations low, but I am fully prepared to geek out if there is a new game announced.

What about you? Any game in particular you’re looking forward to? Do you expect Blizzard to have a presence at SGF, and if so, in what capacity? How insane do you expect Devolver Digital‘s newest showcase to be? And what’s your favorite part of the event?