Summer Game Fest 2026: Hands Set to Revolutionize Gaming

Summer Game Fest’s Play Days showcased a wealth of fresh titles this year, with developers and publishers eager to let audiences preview and play a diverse array of upcoming PlayStation 5 releases. I spent the event exploring the new games firsthand, testing them in real‑time, and here’s a rundown of everything I experienced.

Set five years after the events of Aliens: Fireteam Elite, the sequel continues to deliver the tense, adrenaline‑filled atmosphere of being on the brink of being swarmed by sleek, lethal xenomorphs—an homage to the 1986 classic that inspired the series. In a mid‑campaign mission we navigated a derelict spacecraft infested with both alien creatures and hostile Weyland‑Yutani androids.

The game expands the cooperative squad from three to four players, yet the enemies scale accordingly, pitting teams against massive hordes. Our fireteam encountered familiar foes—standard xenomorphs, towering Drones, stealthy Prowlers, and synthetic enemies ranging from baton‑wielding models to rifle‑armed riot‑shielded variants. New threats also emerged, such as acid‑sac xenomorphs that detonate upon contact and armored, spider‑like robots that demand significant firepower to neutralize.

Cold Iron Studios is sharpening the arsenal for its next title, offering players a familiar array of tactical gear—sentry turrets, health packs, and a fresh suite of ammunition types such as incendiary, cryo, and electrical rounds. These specialized shells grant temporary tactical advantages against specific foes, adding a layer of strategic depth to every mission.

Class design has been overhauled to deliver unprecedented customization. In my playthrough, the medic class could deploy a portable healing pod that granted teammates a burst of health that gradually faded, while an Overclock ability accelerated reloads and weapon switches for nearby allies. Other roles showcased unique tools: the Machinist could launch a hovering drone, and grenades now offered freezing or electrifying effects, turning the battlefield into a dynamic playground of abilities.

Fireteam Elite 2 is poised to address long‑standing fan requests while preserving the relentless, high‑stakes combat that defined its predecessor. The game promises to keep players on the edge of their seats, ready to confront the galaxy’s most lethal adversary when it drops.

Meanwhile, Sega’s classic arcade franchise is getting a fresh boost with Crazy Taxi World Tour, which not only revives the high‑speed, point‑and‑shoot gameplay but also reintroduces iconic ’90s rock tracks that once defined the series’ soundtrack. Director Kenji Kanno hinted at a substantial expansion of the original’s chaotic fun, promising a nostalgic yet modernized experience for both veterans and new players.

In Crazy Taxi World Tour, the emphasis lies on the game’s story mode, which traverses five distinct locations across five diverse countries, hence the “World Tour” moniker. Sega producer Toshihiro Kanno refrained from disclosing extensive details, but it is evident that the narrative commences when the protagonist Axel’s vehicle gets stolen, initiating his worldwide quest to recover it. With World Tour, the development team aims to flesh out the characters of Crazy Taxi, delving deeper into their personalities and backgrounds, as well as enriching the series’ overall lore.

Much like in the original games, a significant aspect involves transporting passengers to their destinations while exhibiting the fastest, most exhilarating driving skills possible. Your taxi is equipped with new capabilities such as boosting and quick reversals using the back dash. However, the experience transcends mere CRAZY money accumulation. You’ll encounter various characters and assist them with unique tasks, like delivering a mountainous pile of pizzas without causing a mess on the street or aiding a fisherman to cast his line exceptionally far, followed by a swift reverse to reel in impressive catches. Some of these activities will be humorous, while others will carry a more serious tone, all contributing to Kanno’s vision of creating vibrant cities teeming with people as you navigate, drift, and crash through them.

World Tour serves as a platform for the Crazy Taxi developers to actualize features that were previously unattainable in past games, particularly multiplayer, which was impossible due to technical constraints in Crazy Taxi 2 and 3.

Though many details remain undisclosed, the presentation offered a glimpse into additional features we can anticipate, such as odd jobs to complete and a progression system that rewards leveling up upon successful fare completion and task accomplishment. Moreover, Kanno confirmed that this time, you can drive in the ocean.

In a captivating reveal during the SGF Showcase, renowned developer Fumito Ueda’s latest masterpiece, gen Atlas, unveiled its second trailer, maintaining an air of mystery that has surrounded it since its debut at The Game Awards last year. During a hands-off demo, I was privileged to gain insights into the game and had a conversation with Ueda about the player experience.

gen Atlas transports you into a world brimming with technologically advanced relics, where colossal, wrecked mechanical entities litter the landscape – a world seemingly deserted by humanity. The enigma surrounding this desolation and the reasons behind human disappearance is left for players to unravel, as hinted in the trailer through the discovery of a giant robot’s head. Preliminary glimpses suggest that this robot will serve multiple purposes: facilitating navigation and exploration, commandeering titanic robotic bodies for various tasks such as puzzle-solving, and engaging in combat with other colossal machines.

While Ueda was tight-lipped about specific details, he did confirm that players will have various methods to traverse and interact with the world, both with and without the aid of the robot, ensuring a harmonious balance between exploration and puzzle-solving.