Summer Game Fest 2025: The most impactful announcements from the gaming event of the year
The eyes of the gaming world were focused on Los Angeles, United States, this weekend. Major video game companies, studios, and creators were all present at Summer Game Fest 2025 , the industry's most anticipated annual event, where trailers, bombshell announcements, and more than one surprise set the internet alight.
With both in-person and virtual events, companies such as Xbox (Microsoft) and PlayStation (Sony) showed off some of the arsenal they will launch in the coming months and throughout 2026. It was a celebration of gaming in all its forms: from the return of iconic franchises like Resident Evil and Call of Duty , to new consoles, promising indie games and long-awaited gameplay like Death Stranding 2 .
Over the weekend in Los Angeles, Microsoft's gaming division held its special Xbox Games Showcase event, where it revealed its exclusive games. The flagship and a yearly classic, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, showed its first gameplay trailer and confirmed its setting in the year 2035, with David Mason leading the protagonist squad.
The game will be a direct sequel to Black Ops 6 (2025) and promises an innovative co-op campaign, new multiplayer, and the long-awaited return of Zombies mode.
It will be available from day one on the Game Pass subscription service.
Norman Reedus leads a constellation of Hollywood figures in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
The sequel to the game released in 2019, which marked the debut of Japanese director Hideo Kojima with his company Kojima Productions, was also the protagonist of Summer Game Fest 2025. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach revealed more details of its gameplay before the official launch, which will arrive on June 28 exclusively for the PlayStation 5 console.
The futuristic open-world game, which this time will be set in Mexico and Australia, is packed with established actors, such as Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) , Léa Seydoux (Midnight in Paris), Elle Fanning (Maleficent), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool 2) and director George Miller.
On a technical and artistic level, Yoji Shinkawa returns as art director and mechanical designer, Ludvig Forssell as musical director, and Kyle Cooper as title designer.
The ninth installment of a video game horror classic that had a film counterpart, Resident Evil Requiem, was the grand finale on Saturday at the Summer Game Fest 2025.
Developer Capcom announces the ninth main installment, set in Raccoon City, for release on February 27, 2026.
Marvel Tokon.
There's a new team-based fighting game from PlayStation Studios that, this time, fuses Marvel superheroes with anime graphics. It's also a 4-on-4 game.
While the character roster hasn't been confirmed, the presentation trailer shows that you'll be able to play as Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, Storm, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord, and Ghost Rider.
Coming to PS5 and PC in 2026.
Project Defiant, Sony's first controller designed for fighting games.
PlayStation unveiled a wireless fight controller ahead of Summer Game Fest 2025, dubbed Project Defiant. A gaming accessory designed for tournaments and intense sessions, it includes ultra-low-latency connectivity thanks to PlayStation Link technology for PS5 and PC, as well as a USB-C cable option.
The first Xbox handheld consoles.
In a collaboration that had been rumored for several years between ASUS and Xbox, Sunday finally saw the announcement of the first ROG Ally Xbox Edition handheld console, a special edition with official branding from PlayStation's rival video game console.
Apparently, the machine promises to include Game Pass and is shaping up to be Microsoft's workhorse to compete in the portable gaming arena, where the Nintendo Switch - now with its second model - Steam Deck, PlayStation Portal and further behind the Lenovo Legion Go S and Logitech G Cloud predominate.
Two versions were announced, although they will share a 7-inch screen with 1080p resolution.
The base version comes with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage, while the "X" version has 24GB of memory and double the storage. The most powerful version also has a larger battery and an AMD Ryzen AI processor.
In an unexpected twist, a new game inspired by cinema's most famous secret agent, IO Interactive, has announced the title, called 007 First Light.
It is a prequel focused on the origin of James Bond, scheduled for release in 2026.
The Outer Worlds 2 has reappeared with a new trailer that reaffirms the satirical and lighthearted tone of Obsidian's saga. Although a specific release date was not revealed, it was confirmed that it will arrive exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and will be available from day one on Game Pass.
Clarin
