Future plc has just announced the launch of a new games show, quite logically called The Future Games Show, though actually that’s more ‘future’ as in upcoming rather than a direct call out to the parent company, as Future’s Gamesradar+ brand will be taking centre stage.
On stage meanwhile, or possibly from home given how things are, will be Uncharted stars Nolan North (Nathan Drake and many more) and Emily Rose (best known as Elena). With them having worked together across the recent games, it’ll be a draw for fans to see them together again.
On the choice of its presenter, Daniel Dawkins, Content Director Games and Film at GamesRadar+ told MCV/DEVELOP:
“We were keen to partner with hosts who needed no introduction to a global audience and represent the feelgood potential of games – so we couldn’t be more delighted to confirm Nolan North and Emily Rose, aka Nate and Elena from the Uncharted series. Their warmth and wit is perfect for the tone of the Future Games Show, which will focus on game reveals, updates and interviews – from upcoming AAAs to inventive indies – in a celebration of everything that’s great about games. It’s been a real pleasure to work with our new friends, Barcroft Studios, who recently joined Future and helped us set up the connection, along with our fantastic Head of Video, James Jarvis.”
The hour-long show will happen on the 6th of June at 14:30 PDT / 17:30 EDT / 22:30 BST on Twitch, Facebook, YouTube and GamesRadar, straight after the PC Gaming Show. And was conceived after the E3 cancellation Dawkins explains:
“We’ve been thinking about how we scale up our video presence for a while – especially around big events – and the cancellation of E3 felt like the right time to take the plunge. I’m not going to lie: this was barely an idea, let alone a one-hour show hosted by two of the world’s most famous video-game VO artists, about three months ago, but it’s been thrilling (and gently terrifying) to bring it all together so quickly, thanks to our talented team. I cannot thank everyone enough who’s had the courage to take a leap of faith and support us.”
“I’m really pleased with what we’ve put together in such a short time. I watched the first 20 minutes of the show the other day and couldn’t stop smiling.”
The showcase promises to include over 30 new games with content from publishers and studios such as “Square Enix, Team 17, tinyBuild, Deep Silver, Curve Digital, Merge Games, Red Thread Games, Walkabout Games, Raw Fury, Hi-Rez Studios, TeamKill Media and Devolver Digital.”
Dawkins expands: “It’s packed full of exclusive world premieres, new trailers, developer interviews and deep-dives from studios big and small. We’re thrilled to be taking a closer look at what the next generation of gaming means for the way we play, exploring everything from machine learning to NPC intelligence – and how technology will transform the games of tomorrow.”
There’s some strong names in there but we’ll have to wait to see the level of announcements the participants are willing to dedicate to the new show. As always there’s quite a bit of competition to secure such announcements, which Dawkins is well aware he told us:
“This is our first year, so I’m trying to keep expectations grounded – we’re not major platform holders, so can’t call on a raft of first-party exclusives, obviously – but I’m really pleased with what we’ve put together in such a short time. I watched the first 20 minutes of the show the other day and couldn’t stop smiling.”
And is the show the first of many we wonder?
“I hope so! But we’re conscious this is our first step and we’ve got a lot to learn. We’re a games showcase, obviously, but – as a new entry in Future’s great gaming portfolio including GamesRadar, Edge, OPM, Retro Gamer and PC Gamer – we’re also keen to develop a sense of editorial voice. The Future Games Show will explore what the future of gaming really means through a series of developer interviews, editorialised by the GamesRadar team.
“If people like the show, we’re hoping to expand to other events, and take some learnings into the Golden Joystick Awards, to give the industry another way to share reveals and updates with Future’s huge engaged audiences.”