The Game Awards has become an annual tradition in gaming over the course of this generation. Evolving out of Spike TV’s VGAs, host Geoff Keighley has strived to make the show feel more vital than its TV cousin. To that end, he’s partnered with several developers and publishers to unveil The Game Festival, a self-described “completely digital approach to the consumer event space.” This online event will allow gamers to experience blockbuster experiences like a System Shock demo from the comfort of their own home.
Geoff further described his concept: “Let’s face it: Not everyone can attend a physical trade show or consumer event. The Game Festival is designed from the ground-up as an event without barriers, extending the benefits of a physical event to the global gaming community that watches The Game Awards.”
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Players on Steam will be able to access more than a dozen demos of upcoming titles for 48 hours preceding The Game Awards broadcast. These include a System Shock demo, a look at several games from Crawl developer Powerhoof, and another chance to experience CARRION before its full debut. The complete list of announced titles for the event are as follows:
- System Shock (Nightdive Studios, 2020)
- Eastward (Pixpil/Chucklefish, Coming Soon):
- Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus)
- Moving Out (SMG Studio/Devm Games/Team17)
- Röki (Polygon Treehouse/United Label)
- Chicory (Greg Lobanov)
- Wooden Nickel (Brain&Brain)
- Haven (The Game Bakers)
- Heavenly Bodies (2pt Interactive)
- Acid Knife (Powerhoof)
- The Drifter (Powerhoof)
- CARRION (Phobia/Devolver)
- SkateBIRD (Glass Bottom Games)
You’ll have a chance to try out the System Shock demo and the other titles this Thursday at 10 AM Pacific. They’ll then remain on Steam until Saturday at 10 AM Pacific. The Game Awards will start at 8:30 PM Eastern on Thursday, and Steam will present the broadcast in 4K Ultra HD as part of The Game Festival. They will also be hosting a Game Awards-centric sale and offering game giveaways and the chance to win a Valve Index VR headset to viewers of the award show.
