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Another Summer Game Fest has come and gone. Like every year, though, Summer Game Fest 2025 served up a full course of emotional whiplash. Some announcements had fans losing their minds, while others had people collectively coughing and scratching their heads. Studios all over the world dropped surprise trailers, awkward reveals, and a few genuine jaw-droppers. Out of the 62 announcements, let’s dive into the biggest fails and wins that had gamers cheering — or screaming into the void.
5 Biggest Fails Among Summer Game Fest 2025 Announcements
1. Unreal Fest Event Ad: The Witcher 4 Tease That Went Nowhere
Despite how short the ad was, I just had to put this as the worst clip shown during the livestream. For a glorious few seconds, Ciri walked on the screen, and everyone thought The Witcher 4 was about to steal the show. There were loud claps, and I’m pretty sure I could even audibly hear the crowd gasp.
Then, poof. Other games and 3D animation footage rolled in. It was just a trailer for the Unreal Fest event that just ended a couple of days ago. No release window. No gameplay. Not cool.
2. Deadpool VR: Silksong Mentioned, Hopes Crushed
After the surprise Marvel Tokon reveal, one would think Marvel Games is on a hot streak. If you’re hoping for another Deadpool game, though, we have both good and bad news.
Wade Wilson and his snarky quips are back, but only in VR. Cool for Meta Quest owners, but for most gamers, it felt like ordering a huge T-bone steak and getting served a salad. Not exactly what we were waiting for.
To make things worse, Hollow Knight: Silksong got namedropped by the Merc with a Mouth himself. “Skip that Silksong trailer so you can pimp my revolutionary VR game that will shock the industry,” his letter to Geoff said. And guess what? The DLC is still a no-show at Summer Game Fest. What a shock indeed.
3. Game of Thrones: War for Westerwho…?
No doubt that RTS fans were happy to see the genre get a representation at this year’s Summer Game Fest. But seriously, who’s still excited for Game of Thrones? After that trainwreck of a series finale, the hype’s been six feet under. Game of Thrones: War for Westeros feels like a game meant for 2018, not a 2025 or even 2026 release.
4. Le Chiffre Update for Hitman: World of Assassination
IO Interactive finally unveiled its James Bond project during the State of Play yesterday. Today, it revealed that Hitman is also getting a crossover featuring Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre a target. Mads even appears on the show’s stage to announce this collaboration.
The problem? You’ve only got until July 6 to enjoy it. The limited 30-day FOMO event is disappointing despite the cool event. Although we can’t blame IO Interactive on this, considering how protective the Fleming’s estate is with its property.
5. Death Stranding 2 Boring Sneak Peek
It’s well-known that Geoff and Hideo Kojima have been long-time friends. So it’s no surprise that Death Stranding 2 has a slot in Summer Game Fest 2025.
What’s surprising, though, is that Kojima just showed up for a couple of minutes, dropped a rather short — and boring — trailer, and went away. The clip was just 3 minutes of talking by Luca Marinelli as Neil and Alicia Jung as Lucy, without any context whatsoever. As expected, the crowd went silent.
We get it, Kojima; you’re saving the good stuff for your own event tomorrow. Death Stranding 2 Game Premiere event is set for June 8 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, after all. Still, this ends up feeling like a 3-minute ad for that event instead of something that excites the fans.
5 Biggest Wins in Summer Game Fest 2025
1. Chronicles: Medieval World
With Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 getting high praise from critics and RPG fans alike, you’d think all future medieval games will follow its template. But Chronicles for PC might be bringing something different: massive, army-scale war with action-strategy flair. The gameplay tease was brief, but it has the potential to fill a huge Bladestorm and Kingdom Under Fire: Crusaders-shaped hole in strategy fans’ hearts.
2. Standalone LEGO Multiplayer Games Finally Breaking The Mold
As fun as the licensed-themed games by Traveller’s Tale are, it’s always refreshing to see LEGO let developers experiment with the medium again. This time, it broke free from its comfort zone with LEGO Voyagers and LEGO Party.
One’s a grand two-player co-op adventure, where we play as LEGO blocks, solving puzzles by assembling bricks. The other is a chaotic party game similar to Mario Party, which is perfect for couch sessions.
3. Scott Pilgrim EX and The Multiplayer Games Explosion
Speaking of co-op, Summer Game Fest 2025 went hard on multiplayer games. Instead of stacking the show with yet more cinematic single-player games, we got a buffet of PvP and PvE variety.
From action beat-em-ups like Scott Pilgrim EX, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny, and Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver. To deduction Killer Inn, survival-crafting SCUM, Sonic Racing Crossworlds, Mecha Break, multiplayer spacecraft boarding Wildgate, and competitive SplitGate 2. Multiplayer gamers are eating good this year.
4. Atomic Heart II is Getting an Expanded Universe
Many assumed Atomic Heart was a one-hit-wonder riding on its weird Soviet BioShock vibes. Instead, Mundfish is leveling up its game, not just with a sequel, Atomic Heart II, but also a spinoff called The Cube: Atomic Universe. From the looks of it, both releases will expand the gameplay scope and world of the atompunk universe. What started as a curiosity now feels like a legit franchise finding its groove.
5. Resident Evil Requiem Trolling Streak
Lastly, it’s the unexpected reveal of Resident Evil 9: Requiem. Truth be told, Capcom has been dropping hints throughout the stream. First, halfway through Summer Game Fest 2025, Maggie Robertson, the model for Lady Dimitrescu, appeared to promote the price cut for Resident Evil Village Definitive Edition.
Then, at the 1 hour 36 minutes mark, she appeared again alongside series executive producer Jun Takeuchi. Only to celebrate the horror game’s 30th anniversary. Then just before the show ends, came the bait-and-switch. Geoff smirked, and the Resident Evil 9: Requiem trailer was revealed at the last second. Bravo.
Capcom brought a troll game so strong that I was expecting it to showcase unrelated projects instead. Say, that rumored Dragon’s Dogma 2 DLC, for example.
At the end of the day, Summer Game Fest 2025 was exactly what you’d expect. Lots of games for everyone to talk about, good or bad. Whether you’re excited or disappointed with the reveals, one thing’s for sure: gaming season is officially in full swing. And we’ve still got the rest of the summer to go.
