What Disney games I’m hoping to see during the 2024 Summer of Game Fests….

It’s that time of year again! The time where what used to be basically 2 or 3 jam-packed days with showcases for upcoming games has turned into multiple weeks, heck possibly multiple months because there are just so many games to show off during this period. The grandest of them all is of course, Summer Games Fest which will have games big and small for pretty much all platforms but Microsoft and Nintendo (which is confirmed for June but does not have a date yet) have their own showcases as well as Ubisoft and several smaller companies and collectives and more could be announced before all is said and done.

And with all those showcases, we are bound to see at least several titles bearing the name of a Disney property. Games like Star Wars: Outlaws, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, and Marvel 1943 Rise of Hydra are likely to be there and already on everybody’s radar. But we’ve already also seen a fair amount of these games already, we have a pretty good idea of what their deal is.

What I’d like to focus on for this entry is games that we have heard little or nothing about, and ones that may or may not be happening but seem within the realm of possibility. So without further ado, here are some things I’m hoping to see in the next couple weeks (and possibly months) during these many showcases:

Something related to Spider-Man or Wolverine from Insomniac

Hey, games take a long time. Especially something on the level of Insomniac Marvel games. But we haven’t seen anything new on Wolverine in three years, and nothing in terms of any spin-off or DLC related to Spider-Man. I’m not asking for anything unrealistic here. A trailer with more footage for Wolverine and a 2026 date. A game starring Venom that’s like Spider-Man: Miles Morales (or even another Miles Morales game) with a 2025 date on it. Just some kind of peep from the only studio making good and financially successful Marvel games these days.

A new Disney classic games collection or remaster

The Disney Afternoon Collection and Disney Classics game collection are great. We’ve got a great remaster in Star Wars: Dark Forces already this year and Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is looking surprisingly solid. So yes, 2024 has Disney remasters. But I’m greedy and want more, especially more classic stuff that is core Disney and not tied to IPs they have purchased in the last decade or two. Another collection of games, something getting the same treatment that the very mediocre Gargoyles game got last year at the very least. Ideally, Digital Eclipse or Limited Run games giving something a “Gold Master” treatment of sorts whether it’s a single game or a collection of them.

Retro is super in at the moment (because new games are expensive and take a long time) so hopefully someone is talking with Disney about putting out more of their fondly remembered games of years past on current platforms in some manner.

A follow-up to Disney Illusion Island

Disney Illusion Island was such a pleasant little surprise last year. Just a fun Metroidvania starring Mickey and his buds full of fun and joy and humorous little touches. I don’t know if developer Dlala Studios is working on a follow-up, but hopefully, they are.

‘Honestly, even if we never get another one of these, I want more Disney games like this in spirit. Just fun little video game adventures starring Mickey and/or his friends. There are tons of possibilities, many smaller developers who could take these characters into various genres and make wonderful games with them.

I hope Disney was happy with Disney Illusion Island (I’m not sure how well it sold but it did win various critics’ awards) and that they’ll continue to let smaller devs make these kinds of games with their beloved characters in the future.

The Disney/Fortnite collaboration

Fortnite has already had many crossovers with Disney IP, but this previously announced collaboration is claimed to be something entirely different. But what does that mean exactly? Is is just the characters integrated into Fortnite on some long-term basis? Is this just Disney Infinity without all the plastic figures? Is this some weird combination of Fortnite and some kind of virtual hangout?

The brief trailer that dropped last year (which showed nothing) promised the ability to let us “play, watch, create, and shop”. What does that mean in the game of Fortnite though? What does this partnership bring to the table to create a new and unique experience? I’m genuinely curious and as someone who is not into Fortnite is it something that will get me into Fortnite? Hopefully, we’ll see something on this soon, if not during Summer Games Fest, almost certainly during this year’s D23 Expo in August.

The Star Wars strategy game from Bit Reactor and Respawn

I love a good strategy game. Specifically, turn-based strategy games. So when this Star Wars strategy was announced I was extremely excited. But now it’s been about two and a half years, and aside from the sigh of relief that the game was not canceled along with the recently announced layoffs at Electronic Arts, we have heard nothing else. I’m sure making this game isn’t easy and takes a while, but it’s also not something on the level of a AAA action game starring one Cal Kestis. Hopefully, we’ll at least get some kind of first look sometime this Summer along with a solid release window (2025 maybe?). If it’s the first great Star Wars strategy game since Empire at War (which is an RTS anyways, very different type of game), It’ll easily be one of my favorites of all time, which is why I’m potentially so excited for it.

That’s all for today. Hopefully, this Summer of many game fests is full of fun surprises because not gonna lie, the rest of the year is looking pretty light for releases, especially for big games on your favorite consoles.

The festivities have sort of already started with a Sony State of Play earlier today, but they start in earnest next weekend. I might slip in a post before then that probably won’t be related to the showcases so see ya real soon!