If you had told me five years ago that I’d be looking forward to Summer Game Fest more than I ever did the bloated corpse of E3, I’d have called you delusional. But after soaking in Summer Game Fest 2025-the most ambitious, decentralized, regionally diverse, and genuinely accessible event in gaming history-I’m ready to say it: E3 should stay dead. This is the future I want as a gamer, and frankly, anyone still pining for the old ways just isn’t paying attention.
Look, I’ve been gaming since before the original PlayStation. I lived through the rise and fall of E3’s hype machine, the smoke and mirrors, the cringe-worthy stage acts and “live” demos that crashed mid-sentence. I’ve spent hundreds of hours poring over press conferences, waiting for that one indie reveal buried between two AAA shooters. This year, for the first time, I felt like an event was actually made with me—the deeply invested, critically minded gamer—in mind. It wasn’t just corporate spectacle. It was a real celebration of the global, messy, beautiful gaming culture I love.
Let’s call bullshit on nostalgia for E3. For years, it was a closed-off industry circle jerk, pretending to be about “the fans” while really just flexing publisher muscle. Sure, we got legendary moments—the PS4 $399 mic-drop, the first Breath of the Wild tease—but for every jaw-dropper, there were hours of scripted, soulless marketing presentations. And forget about meaningful representation: If you weren’t in LA, if you weren’t a AAA publisher, if your game didn’t fit a narrow vision of “hype,” you barely existed.
SGF 2025 flips that script. Regional showcases—like the Latin American and Southeast Asian blocks—shoved incredible devs onto the main stage, not as diversity window dressing, but as core programming. After years of watching underrepresented scenes get ignored, seeing games from Chile, Vietnam, Indonesia, and more get prime billing was genuinely emotional for me. Hell, I found myself Googling half a dozen new studios, adding their games to my wishlist before the Xbox showcase even started. That sense of discovery—the raw, unpredictable energy—is what I play games for.
Let’s talk about accessibility. I’m not disabled myself, but I care because a couple of my close co-op buddies are—one has partial vision loss, another uses adaptive controllers. I’ve watched them bounce off games I love because some dev couldn’t be bothered to add remappable controls or colorblind options. When SGF 2025 opened with the Access-Ability Showcase, I texted them: “You’re finally not an afterthought.” For once, accessibility isn’t a tiny slide at the end of a keynote. It’s literally the first thing on the schedule, setting the tone for the whole event.
And the Green Games Showcase? I’ll admit, I was cynical. “Great, more carbon-neutral PR fluff,” I thought. But seeing real conversations about sustainability in game dev—practical stuff, like renewable-powered server farms or eco-friendly swag bans—made me reconsider. I’m the guy who collects physical editions, but after hearing developers talk about eliminating unnecessary packaging, even I started feeling the weight of all that plastic on my shelf. I’d rather support a studio that’s actually trying than one who’s stuck in 2005, “because that’s just how it’s done.”
Call me jaded, but I’m bored of $200 million games that burn out faster than my “to be played” backlog. What got me hyped at SGF wasn’t the next “live service” shooter. It was the flood of AA projects: inventive, ambitious, but not crushed under the weight of investor spreadsheets. There’s a rawness to these games—a willingness to take risks. I saw it with my own eyes at Play Days last year, when a mid-sized co-op roguelike drew a bigger, more passionate crowd than the latest franchise reboot. This year, with megabudget titles wisely holding back, the spotlight shifted in a way E3 never allowed. And for the first time in ages, I saw hands-on demos from games I actually want to play in 2025, not just “add to the pile and forget.”
I know the arguments: “E3 brought the whole industry together,” “it was the Oscars of gaming,” blah blah blah. But ask yourself—did that industry buzz ever benefit you, the gamer, or did it just make execs feel relevant? Summer Game Fest is chaos, yes. It’s less polished, more scattered, and sometimes you have to dig for the good stuff. But it feels real. Every year, there’s a sense that you, the audience, matter. That indie darling from Brazil? They get a shot. That accessible controller? It’s front and center. The old-school gatekeepers are gone, and that’s a net positive for anyone who loves games, not just for shareholders chasing the next Fortnite.
I’m not naïve. Publishers will always chase safe bets. The industry can still be a cynical place. But SGF 2025’s structure—the decentralization, the focus on regional and thematic showcases, the genuine push for accessibility and sustainability—proves that the old E3 playbook is dead and buried. Good riddance. Smaller studios, weird genres, global perspectives—these aren’t just token slots anymore. They’re the main course. And I’m here for it.
For gamers like me—and like you, if you’ve ever rolled your eyes at another churned-out AAA sequel—this is a turning point. I’m more excited about the next wave of games than I have been in a decade. I’m paying attention to creators I would have missed in the E3 years. I’m spending my money on games that actually reflect my values. And I’m proud to watch gaming finally realize it doesn’t need a single, corporate-controlled tentpole event to thrive. The future is messy, diverse, and decentralized—and that’s exactly how it should be.
I care about this stuff because games aren’t just products to me—they’re art, community, and a lifelong obsession. SGF 2025 proves we don’t need one company, one city, or one vision dictating the industry’s future. Regional showcases, true accessibility, and a focus on the voices we used to ignore—that’s the future. If you’re still stuck mourning E3, you’re missing the best era of gaming yet. Don’t let nostalgia blind you. This is where games finally grow up.