Summer Game Fest predictions – What to expect from the big E3 2022 showcase

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

What video game reveals will host Geoff Keighley have a hand in this year? It's a good question, that we've chosen to answer with some Summer Game Fest predictions.

Ever since the digital showcase made its debut in 2020, Summer Game Fest has acted as an alternative venue for publishers looking to escape the boundaries set by the ESA. And with E3 2022 technically canceled (but still going ahead as far as we're concerned, with every major publisher making announcements throughout June), we are anticipating that many leading developers will use Summer Game Fest 2022 as an opportunity to show the world what they have been working on.

Summer Game Fest 2022 showcase is set to take place on June 9 – the first event before we launch into the Tribeca Games Spotlight on June 10, the Future Games Show on June 11, and the Xbox + Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12. You can get more information on timings in our E3 2022 schedule.

What games will be revealed at Summer Game Fest 2022? Ah, well that's half the fun, isn't it! When Bandai Namco opted to use last year's event to showcase the world's first look at Elden Ring gameplay, it signaled that anything is possible. Now with that all said, I wouldn't come into Summer Game Fest 2022 expecting any details on GTA 6 – that's still a ways away. Instead, we are going to place our bets and make six big Summer Game Fest predictions that feel reasonable.

Let the Summer of Hype begin.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora takes flight

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora screenshot

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

There will be no Ubisoft Forward in June. Given how prominent Ubisoft typically features around E3, it feels unlikely that the publisher would let June pass without any kind of announcement or reveal. That's why I'm putting my money on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora getting its time to shine at Summer Game Fest 2022. It just makes sense: Geoff Keighley loves to bring figures from wider pop culture into his orbit, so I wouldn't be surprised to see director James Cameron brought out on stage to introduce Frontiers of Pandora – before giving us a little spiel on his new movie, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The Division developer Massive Entertainment has been working on its Avatar game for five years and we've seen precious little of it. Given that Ubisoft maintains Frontiers of Pandora will release before March 2023, it seems only natural that the development team would follow up on its in-engine reveal from last E3 with our first look at the open-world adventure in action.

BioShock 4 is finally detailed

games like Resident Evil - Bioshock — (Image credit: 2K)

A new BioShock game was revealed back in 2019 and there have been few details since. Developer Cloud Chamber Studio was formed by 2K to build a new installment to the famed first-person shooter series and, when we spoke to studio head Kelley Gilmore, she would only tease what the team is up to: "BioShock defined what a compelling narrative and immersive world can bring to a video game. Players interact with it in their own unique ways and have unforgettable experiences. That will remain at the core of our design vision for the next BioShock, and we have a myriad of ideas on how best to achieve it."

With rumors continuing to suggest that BioShock 4 will be set in an open-world Antarctic city, trapped in the 1960s, we're desperate to see what Cloud Chamber is cooking up. And given that it's been close to a decade since the release of BioShock Infinite, expectations are running sky-high. A full BioShock 4 reveal feels long overdue – and if it's going to appear anywhere in 2022, it'll be the Summer Game Fest.

PS5 and Xbox Series X go head-to-head

God of War Ragnarok — (Image credit: Sony)

PlayStation just hosted an explosive State of Play, and Microsoft is preparing to host a Xbox and Bethesda Showcase this Sunday, but that doesn't mean the two platform holders will let one of the biggest stages of the E3 2022 period pass without incident. The truth is, Summer Game Fest will have a lot of platform-agnostic viewers, and it's a great chance to set an agenda to a large group of players still on the fence over which new-gen console to invest in.

So I'd expect to see Microsoft try to own the conversation coming out of Summer Game Fest, particularly as it tries to push people into its conference at the weekend. Similarly, I'd expect Sony to try and draw as much attention away from that conference as is feasibly possible. What might that look like? Starfield and Redfall may have been delayed until 2023, but we are still yet to see gameplay for either… and could Sony opt to reveal a God of War Ragnarok release date for Fall 2022, or reveal the long-rumored The Last of Us Remake? Anything is possible during the summer of gaming.

Dead Island 2 returns from the dead

Reports have indicated that Dead Island 2 will launch before March 2023, which gives developer Dambuster Studios a relatively small window to reset the conversation around the long-awaited co-op shooter. Dead Island 2 has, after all, had a messy development cycle. It started life under Yager and got far enough through production that a demo was made available to the press in 2014; while that first look was promising, publisher Deep Silver ultimately decided to go in a different direction. Yager was dropped from the project in 2015, Sumo Digital took control of the game in 2016, and in 2019 development was handed over to Homefront: The Revolution developer Dambuster.

But Dead Island 2 is set to emerge from its development hell this year, and Summer Game Fest feels like the perfect stage for it. Keighley has a tendency to mix gameplay presentations with short, on-stage developer interviews – given that Dead Island 2 has been in some form of production for over eight years, that could be the perfect 1-2 punch to remind the world of this series' appeal.

Creative Assembly's new FPS is revealed

Creative Assembly FPS teaser image — (Image credit: Creative Assembly)

Remember Alien Isolation? Eight years old but never forgotten, Alien Isolation set a new benchmark for horror, shooters, and artificial intelligence back in 2014 and we've been eagerly awaiting a new game from that team ever since. Will this be the year that the FPS team at Creative Assembly finally breaks cover and shows us what it has been working on since 2018? It better be.

Creative Assembly has said its new sci-fi shooter will be an "ambitious multiplayer title" with a "fresh take on the FPS genre that will allow players to embrace a variety of creative playstyles", and offered little else to the public. The studio sparked excitement last year when it teased the first screenshot from the game, sparking hopes it would be a part of E3 2021, which sadly never came to be. Still, I have a good feeling about the new Creative Assembly shooter and Summer Game Fest. We've been waiting long enough, SEGA, it's time to get this game out into the world.

Team Cherry delivers Hollow Knight: Silksong

If it's going to happen anywhere, it's going to be here. A Hollow Knight: Silksong release date has been a long time coming – as has any new information on the game. Team Cherry revealed this thing back in 2019, and development updates have been limited. Given the massive success of 2017's Hollow Knight, it makes sense that the studio would want to keep this thing under wraps until it's truly ready to show, but that hasn't helped to make the wait any easier.

Now, rumors have already started to circulate around a Hollow Knight: Silksong appearance in Summer Game Fest, and many are holding out for both a new look at the game in action and a 2022 release date. I'm cautiously optimistic on this front, but given SGF Geoff Keighley propensity for a big 'One More Thing' reveal during his events, I'd say Hollow Knight: Silksong closing out the showcase isn't out of the question.

Summer Game Fest leaks

That's if for our Summer Game Fest predictions, but we thought it be only fair to give you a head's up about all of the Summer Game Fest leaks and rumors that we're hearing. Below you'll find quick links to all of our news stories covering the recent Summer Game Fest rumors and, either way, we'll know for sure what's happening soon enough!

Josh West is Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 18 years of experience in both online and print journalism, and was awarded a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Josh has contributed to world-leading gaming, entertainment, tech, music, and comics brands, including games™, Edge, Retro Gamer, SFX, 3D Artist, Metal Hammer, and Newsarama. In addition, Josh has edited and written books for Hachette and Scholastic, and worked across the Future Games Show as an Assistant Producer. He specializes in video games and entertainment coverage, and has provided expert comment for outlets like the BBC and ITV. In his spare time, Josh likes to play FPS games and RPGs, practice the bass guitar, and reminisce about the film and TV sets he worked on as a child actor.