Why it matters: With virtually all industry events having been canceled or switching to online formats, the way companies have been presenting new games and content to players has changed. Many are choosing to hold their own live streams, which is fine, but it's not the same as big events like E3, where its a smorgasbord of various offerings. It's lost the competitive glitz and one-upmanship that these tradeshows brought.

To make up for the lack of true industry gatherings, Geoff Keighley has come up with the next best thing. He calls it Summer Game Fest. In coordination with developers, platforms, and publishers, the festival will be a four-month-long series of video game industry showings. So it is not just a single event.

"Summer Game Fest isn't a singular show, but a whole season for events," said Keighley in his announcement.

It’s time to play the future. pic.twitter.com/JZiPToqpjM

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) May 1, 2020

Several big names have already agreed to coordinate with Keighley on the event, including Microsoft, Sony, 2K, Activision, Bandai Namco, EA, Bethesda, Square Enix, CD Projekt Red, Bungie, Blizzard, Riot Games, and Steam, with many more to come. Keighley promised there would be plenty of news and reveals as well as in-game events, playable content, demos, and "a bunch of fun surprises." It certainly sounds like a better idea than a randomly scheduled hodgepodge of press briefings.

Summer Game Fest starts On Thursday, May 7, with the Xbox Series X gameplay reveal. The second month will kick off with the Steam Game Festival from June 9 - 14. The season will end with Gamescom: ONL as the finale, which begins August 24.

A webpage for the festival is already live, but scheduling has yet to be posted. Keighley said in a Reddit AMA that a preliminary schedule would be added this Tuesday. In the meantime, there is a sign-up link to receive notifications when new events are posts.