Indie publisher Devolver Digital’s yearly showcase, Devolver Direct, will be returning once again this year as part of Summer Games Fest on June 8 at 3PM Pacific time (11PM GMT).

The showcase, which this year is themed around fictional (and so far unseen) Devolver mascot “Volvy”, looks set to feature the usual eccentric and theatrical production that the company is known for. A trailer has also been released, although it doesn’t yet indicate what may be featured, we can expect new games being announced and other surprises.

Summer Games Fest has essentially taken the place of cancelled E3 this year, offering a more bespoke, tailored way for developers and publishers to reach their audience directly, cicumventing the vast expense and less intimate nature of the huge games media blowouts of old. With too many big names vying for the attention of the same over-worked outlets, huge shows have fallen out of favour, with the Covid-19 pandemic being the final straw that broke the industry's will to play ball and take part.

Now, beyond the shackles of floor space at E3, creatives such as Devolver Digital get to put their stamp on every strand of digital media to get their unique message across direct to their audience.

Devolving on mobile

Although Devolver is known for its PC and multi-platform games the publisher still has a strong presence in the handheld world. Their recent partnership with Netflix Games saw Devolver bring Reigns: Three Kingdoms to the platform, and they also launched Devolver Tumble Time, a satirical take on mobile gaming, earlier this year.

So there’ll certainly be things to watch out for, such as any more information on their work with Netflix Games or new titles coming to mobile. Devolver has an impressive back-catalogue of hit games within the indie niche, and has also been on a recent acquisition spree acquiring developers such as Doinksoft.