X

Summer Game Fest 2025 Kicks Off Today. How to Watch the Biggest Gaming Trailers of the Year

There's a whole wide weekend of video gaming happening at the Summer Game Fest. Get the full scoop on how and when to watch.

Headshot of Peter Butler
Headshot of Peter Butler
Peter Butler Managing Editor
Peter is a writer and editor for the CNET How-To team. He has been covering technology, software, finance, sports and video games since working for @Home Network and Excite in the 1990s. Peter managed reviews and listings for Download.com during the 2000s, and is passionate about software and no-nonsense advice for creators, consumers and investors.
Expertise 20 years of editorial experience with a focus on software and the internet
Peter Butler
2 min read
the text Summer Game Fest on a brightly colored orange bubble on a pastel gradient background with other brightly colored blobs

Summer Game Fest Live starts the weekend gaming coverage at 5 p.m. ET, on June 6.

 Summer Game Fest

What started as a pandemic-related substitute for the long-running E3 trade show has turned into the one of the biggest video games event of the year. Fans and journalists will get early looks at the most anticipated AAA and indie video games, and we'll all get tons of new trailers.

Heavy hitters like Sega, Bandai Namco, Capcom and Square Enix will be showing off their latest and greatest creations, while Xbox is hosting its own full showcase on Sunday, June 8, and Playstation will present the premiere of Death Stranding 2 on Sunday night.

The show kicks off at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, June 6, live from the YouTube Theater in Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California. Fortunately, you can catch all the nonstop gaming action right from your couch. Here's how to watch Summer Game Fest 2025 live.

How to watch Summer Game Fest 2025 live

Summer Game Fest will be multicast on numerous streaming channels, but the official livestream will be shown on YouTube by the Game Awards. The channel will continue to show the trailer for Summer Games Fest 2025 until the live event begins at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) Friday. 

Summer Game Fest 2025 schedule

in a promo image for the Wholesome Direct 2025 games showcase, a cartoon reindeer tips its hat as it pilots a futuristic airplane in front of a backdrop of floating cartoon islands

The Wholesome Direct showcase is dedicated to casual, or "cozy," games.

 Summer Game Fest

The official Summer Game Fest show kicks off at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) on Friday, June 6, with 2 hours of Summer Game Fest Live, which should be chock-full of huge announcements from leading video game developers.

Immediately following the live kickoff event, the independent organization Day of the Devs hosts a showcase dedicated to indie games. 

The weekend's other big highlights include a Wholesome Direct showcase on Saturday at noon ET, focusing on the biggest releases, trailers and announcements for "cozy games," and the premiere of Death Stranding 2 on Sunday night, which will feature an appearance from legendary game designer Hideo Kojima.

Here's the full schedule of broadcasts for Summer Game Fest 2025. All times shown are ET. For PT subtract 3 hours.

Friday, June 6

  • Summer Game Fest Live, 5 p.m.
  • Day of the Devs, 7 p.m.
  • Devolver Direct: Ball x Pit: The Kenny Sun Story, 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 7

  • Wholesome Direct, noon
  • Women-led games showcase, 1 p.m.
  • Latin-American games showcase, 2 p.m.
  • Southeast Asian games showcase, 3 p.m.
  • Green games showcase, 4 p.m.
  • Frosty Games Fest, 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 8

  • Xbox games showcase, 1 p.m.
  • PC gaming show, 3 p.m.
  • Death Stranding 2: On the Beach premiere, 10 p.m.

Monday, June 9

  • Black voices in gaming, noon