Summer Game Fest’s Eye-Watering Trailer Prices Convince Fans Independent Showcases Are Better

Highlights

While E3 may be gone, SGF continues as a costly affair for publishers, with trailers costing up to $550,000 for 2.5 minutes.
PR pros say SGF pricing is reasonable for AAA studios, but indie devs struggle to afford the event, overshadowed by big companies.
Fans express shock at the expensive showcase, questioning the value as layoffs occur, some suggesting price tiers for inclusivity.

Even though the much-anticipated and must-see gaming show of the year is dead and buried, E3 still lives on in all of our memories as the highlight of our video game calendar. The legacy of those times now lives on through the livestreaming event, the Summer Games Fest, hosted and created by Geoff Keighley, and if you ever wondered how much those trailers set publishers back, well, it’s a hell of a lot.

E3 may have been hugely expensive and, due to the pandemic, things went from bad to worse, but it seems as though Keighley’s Summer Games Fest isn’t saving publishers much more, leaving some viewers to understand why some studios do their own independent showcases.

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In a new report from Esquire which has outlined the rough costs for running each gaming trailer throughout Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, it turns out that publishers are forking out around $250,000 for 1 minute of airtime, $350,000 for 1.5 minutes, $450,000 for 2 minutes, or $550,000 for 2.5 minutes of exposure. So, just by adding up the various 1 to 2.5 length trailers shown at SGF 2023, it would roughly work out at $9.65 million.

While that’s more money than most of us can conjure up in our minds, PR professionals think that the pricing isn’t too bad for AAA studios, but that independent studios would find it a struggle.“PR folks at larger studios say these trailer premieres are worth the spend”, but “the current pricing tiers make Summer Game Fest an unattainable goal for most indie developers and publishers”.

According to Kotaku, who did their own digging, companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft get a free pass to display their trailers, while a handful of “free slots” are dished out to some indie gaming studios.

It is certainly easy to see why some indie studios may not be able to afford to showcase their games at such an expensive event and the concern is real when these much-needed non-AAA games fall through the cracks as they become overshadowed by bigger, more financially stable companies. As fans of SGF take in the reported figures, many are shocked at how much money is needed in a time when lay-offs are prevalent and belts are supposedly needed to be tightened.

In a post by Rino, a popular Twitter/X account that highlights trending gaming news, many of the comments on this issue state that it’s a crazy price to pay, and it’s clear why many studios decide to do their own shows. “No wonder they do their own showcases.” said one comment. “People wonder why announcements are disappointing at these events” said another, while someone suggested that SGF should introduce various prices so that no one feels left out. “They should have price tiers. So, small indie devs don’t have to pay the same as an AAA studio.”

“That’s insane… you are better of saving half a million dollars and doing your own event.”

As yet, Keighley hasn’t commented on Esquire’s report and is likely far too busy making last-minute preparations for the start of Summer Game Fest, but it will be interesting to see how viewers will look upon the SGF knowing this information and the cost that’s actually involved.