Fear Fest 2023’s Black Summer and Horror Game Awards: How to Watch and What to Expect

IGN is proud to partner with Feardemic for Fear Fest 2023, a two-day celebration of horror games that will not only showcase some of the biggest games in the scariest genre that are headed our way this year and next, but will also present the first-ever Horror Game Awards.

All things Fear Fest 2023 will be streamed exclusively on IGN’s YouTube, Twitch, and homepage, and this guide will provide you with everything you need to watch the events, including when they start and what you can expect from the frightful festivities.

Fear Fest 2023 Schedule

Fear Fest 2023 will kick off its two-day event with Black Summer, a showcase hosted by Feardemic and some of the most prolific horror content creators that will give fans a preview of the biggest spooky games headed their way in 2023 and 2024.

Fear Fest’s Black Summer 2023 will take place on Wednesday, September 6, at 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm BST. That translates to Thursday, September 7, at 4am AEST. The show is expected to last roughly five hours and feature approximately fifty games.

Day 2 will bring with it the first-ever Horror Game Awards. The event will celebrate the best games from July 2022 to July 2023 and the incredible developers who brought them to life. The show will be hosted by some of the most famous names in horror.

Fear Fest’s Horror Game Awards will take place on Thursday, September 7, at 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm BST. That translates to Friday, September 8, at 4am AEST. The show is expected to last around 1.5 hours.

Where to Watch Fear Fest 2023

If you’re interested in watching Fear Fest 2023’s Black Summer event and the Horror Game Awards, we’ll be hosting the stream here and on our YouTube and Twitch channels. Here’s the full list of places you can watch all the shows with us:

What to Expect at Fan Fest 2023

As we previously mentioned, Fear Fest 2023 will be headlined by its Black Summer event and the first-ever Horror Game Awards.

Fear Fest’s Black Summer will be a show filled with horror games that will be released in 2023 and 2024, and fans can expect to see about 50 exciting titles throughout the event. In addition to these world premiere trailers, the show will also feature interviews, special industry guests, and some of the most beloved horror content creators from all over the world.

The list of content creators include Sneevil, Walkrman, ItsPeepoHere, LuigiKid, Batkitto, John Wolfe, Otter Lady, 8BitRyan, JazzyGuns, Z0mbyte, Vallarys, MopGarden, and more.

While we don’t know all the games that will appear at Black Summer, Feardemic did tease that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Alan Wake 2, Alone in the Dark, and Slave Zero X will all be part of the show in some capacity.

Fear Fest’s Horror Game Awards will take place the next day and will honor the best games in the horror genre that were released between July 2022 and July 2023. There will be 14 categories that were previously voted on by fans, including Horror Game of the Year, Best Art Direction, Best Peformance, Lifetime Achievement Award, and more. Oh, and the winners will be presented with the prestigious golden bat trophy, and who wouldn’t want that?

As for which games will be competing for the ultimate prize at the Horror Game Awards, they include Amnesia: The Bunker, Bramble, Dead Space Remake, Dredge, Immortality, Faith: The Unholy Trinity, Resident Evil 4, Signalis, System Shock Remake, and The Callisto Protocol.

For more from the world of spooks and scares, check out our list of the 12 best horror games on PC and the winners of our best horror video game face-off.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.