Summer Game Fest 2026: All the news from gaming’s busiest week
Source: The Verge
Highlights
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The first Story-Rich showcase was packed with narrative-driven games
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More than a decade later, the team behind N++ is back with a multiplayer sequel
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Grand Theft Auto VI is warping the video game release calendar
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Final Fantasy VII’s remake trilogy will conclude with Revelation
A deep dive on the new Virtua Fighter.
Last night, Sega and developer RGG Studio aired a 25-minute video about Virtua Fighter Crossroads, including a look at its story mode and the actual battles in the game. Crossroads is set to launch in 2027.
The first Story-Rich showcase was packed with narrative-driven games
Image: SFB Games
Fellow Traveller, the publisher behind games like Titanium Court and 1000xResist, just wrapped up its Story-Rich Showcase, which featured a bunch of narrative-driven indie games. With more than 20 games on display, there was a lot to follow, but we’ve pulled together some of the most notable announcements below. You can also catch the full show on Fellow Traveller’s YouTube channel.
Ambrosia Sky, a sci-fi game about death where you have to clean up alien fungi, will be getting its second act as a free update on August 6th. The game was originally planned to have three acts, but developer Soft Rains announced in March that it would be brought down to two. When Act Two launches, the game’s price will go up from $14.99 to $24.99.
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Don’t worry: Queen’s Blood is back for Final Fantasy VII Revelation.
I want to expand on Queen’s Blood so that we are enhancing it, and giving you a more powered-up version of it when you see that third installment… Queen’s Blood is still going to be available in the third installment. We just want to expand on it.
Fellow Traveller’s Story-Rich Showcase is starting now.
It will feature “story-rich indie games” — which are my jam, so I’m excited. Tune in on YouTube.
The cutest games from the Wholesome Direct 2026 showcase
Image: Hidden Folks B.V.
Every year at Summer Game Fest, nestled in between the splashy blockbuster showcases, the Wholesome Direct provides a nice change of pace. It’s similarly packed with games — this year’s edition had more than 50 — but the vibe is more chill and, well, wholesome. As in years past, I’ve pulled out some of the more intriguing reveals and announcements, though you can watch the whole thing for yourself right here. And if you’re interested in checking out some of the games — a few are available now, and a bunch have demos — there’s a dedicated Steam page.
Way back in 2017, Hidden Folks helped usher in a new genre of seek-and-find games — and now it’s getting a sequel. There aren’t a lot of details yet, but Hidden Folks 2 will feature “hand-drawn, interactive, miniature landscapes in various new themes, together with more silly jokes, more mouth sounds, and various quality of life improvements.” It’s launching in 2027 on both mobile and PC.
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Yooka-Laylee is back as a karting game.
Super Yooka-Laylee Kart looks like a love letter to an older generation of the karting genre. But it also has some modern upgrades, like eight-player local splitscreen and rollback netcode for online racing. There will be a “deep” story campaign, too — maybe it will rival Diddy Kong Racing?
Wait, Tupac was in a Summer Game Fest Live trailer? In 2026?
Stranger Than Heaven, from *Yakuza *developer RGG Studio, highlighted Snoop Dogg as a cast member in a trailer last month, and there’s plenty of time for more reveals before its scheduled release in 2027.
1/5Image: Sega
The original Hitman trilogy is getting remastered.
Hitman Classic Trilogy Remastered will include updated versions of Hitman: Codename 47, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and Hitman: Contracts for modern platforms. It’s set to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and PC in 2027, and will add “enhanced visuals, improved performance, Photo Mode, and the ability to switch between classic and remastered presentations at any time.”
Monster Hunter Wilds is coming to the Switch 2.
A cozy interruption.
If you need a change of pace from the bombast of last night’s SGF Live, the Wholesome Direct, an indie-focused showcase, is streaming at 12PM ET. It’s always full of cute things to play.
Get your knives out for this one.
The team behind Duck Detective announced what they describe as a Knives Out-inspired mystery, which is really all I need to hear to be curious about Apple Crumble. It’s launching on PC at some point this year.
Screenbound, a game that can be both a 2D and 3D platformer simultaneously, launches in September.
I know Threads of Time isn’t newly announced, but it looks so cool.
I just introduced my 9-year-old to *Chrono Trigger, *possibly my favorite game of all time, and this love letter to it (and other JRPGs of the era) hits me just right. I might be as excited for this one as FFVII Revelation.
More than a decade later, the team behind N++ is back with a multiplayer sequel
Image: Metanet Software
Back in 2015, the two-person studio Metanet released N++, a brutally hard 2D platformer that was a decade in the making, building off of previous releases dating back to the freeware Flash title N. At the time, cofounder Raigan Burns issued some famous last words: “We hope it’s not another 10 years before we come up with a game.” But now here we are, more than a decade later, and N is getting another sequel. And this time the focus is on multiplayer.
The new game is called, absurdly, N Plus Infinity Times Two. Whereas N++ was meant to be the ultimate single-player version of the N concept, this game is described as “the ultimate virtual couch party game with a low skill floor and no skill ceiling.” That means the same slick, acrobatic platforming action and gorgeous graphic design-inspired visuals, but now built around playing competitively or cooperatively with pals across a handful of different modes. It’s launching on the PS5, Xbox, Switch 2, and PC at some point in 2027.
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Fortnite’s next season tests the extraction waters.
In Fortnite: Runners, you can seek out cute little sprites that give you powers, and if you extract them before a match is over, you can spend a special currency to start the next match with a sprite equipped. Not super surprising that Fortnite is trying extraction out, given the rise of games like Arc Raiders and Marathon.
Runners, which is expected to be playable later tonight, will also feature a comic book-style John Wick.
A bloody good announcement.
The studio behind cult classics Nidhogg and Wheel World is back with Blood Dungeon, a game described as a “2D platforming autoshooter with a killer soundtrack.” Even better, it’ll be out pretty soon, launching in the summer.
Grand Theft Auto VI is warping the video game release calendar
Image: Rockstar Games
Who’s afraid of the next GTA? Based on the last few days of Summer Game Fest, just about everyone. Grand Theft Auto VI hasn’t been present at any of the keynote events, but its presence was felt every time a release date was announced. The month of November, when GTA VI launches, is virtually empty. The rest of the fall, meanwhile, is absolutely packed.
It started at Sony’s State of Play showcase on Tuesday. Even before that show, we knew that Wolverine, the next big PlayStation exclusive, would be launching on September 15th. But now it’s joined by a bunch of major third-party titles: Dune: Awakening (September 22nd), Control Resonant (September 24th), Silent Hill: Townfall (September 24th),* Onimusha: Way of the Sword* (September 25th), and Ace Combat 8 (October 2nd). This is on top of other games launching before November that had already been announced, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in October.
Final Fantasy VII’s remake trilogy will conclude with Revelation
Square Enix has officially announced the third and final game in its Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy: Final Fantasy VII Revelation. It will release on multiple platforms simultaneously — PC, PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and Nintendo Switch 2 — in spring 2027.
In footage shown onstage at Summer Game Fest Live, there was a lot to take in: You’ll get to fly the Highwind airship, jump off it to land in the game’s open world, play as Vincent Valentine and Cid Highwind in battle (who weren’t playable in Rebirth), challenge the gigantic Weapons, and visit places from the original game, like Wutai. You’ll also get to dress up your characters with armors that have special movesets, in what’s actually called the “FITS” system (“Function Integrated Tactical Suitwear”) — it’s intended to be like a jobs system from classic Final Fantasy games.
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Tifa can kick Ryu’s ass, and now you can prove it.
Street Fighter 6’s next batch of characters includes a Final Fantasy VII favorite. The four new fighters will be released in stages, with Tifa dropping early next year.
The Wolf Among Us 2 isn’t dead yet.
It’s had a long development, but it’s apparently going to finally come out in 2027. The Wolf Among Us Remastered is also set to launch this holiday season.
For those following along at home…
By my math, we’re at four (4) puppet or puppet-adjacent appearances so far in the show: Studio MDHR, Billy the Puppet from Saw, the *Among Us *mascots, and then Capcom action figures. We’ve known Geoff likes puppets, but I’m excited at just how much he’s committed to it this year.
Palworld 1.0 launches in July.
After blowing up in early access in early 2024, Palworld’s 1.0 release is coming soon: July 10th.
Attack on Titan in its entirety.
If you liked Omega Force and Koei Tecmo’s 2016 hack-and-slash take on season 1 of Attack on Titan (or Attack on Titan 2, which adapted the first two seasons), good news! They’re back with Attack on Titan 3, and this time the game covers the anime in its entirety. It’s coming out July 1st on the PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Another look at Clutch.
Maverick Games revealed its first project, the Forza-like Clutch, earlier in the week. But the latest trailer really shows how much emphasis the racer will have on story.
Gotta go a little fast.
Sonic and friends appear to be getting their own, adorable Pico Park game. There are a bunch of new crossovers coming to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, too, including TMNT and Godzilla.