Japan was expecting a lot of folks coming to its backyard this year, with the Olympics as the centerpiece attraction this summer. As the old line goes, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” And so they did when the COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement of the games to 2021.
Among the many events in Tokyo to be canceled, postponed, or moved to digital was BitSummit 2020. However, today the organizers of BitSummit laid out some details for the recently announced online event:
BitSummit Gaiden will be held online June 27-28, 2020. From the press release, the organizers, explaining their approach to the online event, from the name to the spirit they hope to invoke, that:
“Gaiden loosely translates to ‘side-story’ in Japanese and while this new incarnation has a different format, we’re bringing back all the things that make BitSummit special,” John Davis, BitSummit Organizing Committee. “BitSummit Gaiden will still have great indie games, amazing music, thought-provoking talks with game industry luminaries, and a thriving community eager to check out the fun and innovative titles.”
BitSummit Gaiden event will showcase over 75 indie games from Japan and the world. How? A newly launched permanent BitSummit Discord server and the BitSummit Twitch channel, will present streamable demos hosted on Utomik. The games hosted on Utomik, will be available for free from June 26 to July 11. To access the games on display (and the Utomik catalog of 1000+ games), visit the Discord page for the links. Besides links to the games, the Discord server will host To check out a conveniently, neatly compiled assemblage of these games to be shown at BitSummit Gaiden, stop by this link to the official site’s list to explore these games, the Discord server
Besides hosting links to the games, the Discord server will also host live dev chats, Let’s Plays, as well as giveaways for the duration of the event on the BitSummit Twitch channel. the Discord server will remain online year-round for gamers and developers to visit. The games and companies will be divided into five teams (sorted by BitSummit Heroes groupings) on the Discord channel, with the idea in mind to make it easier to find games, to build community and engagement.
The official video goes beyond text, explaining a bit more about what to expect from this event in June.
More information is to come — such as special guest speakers, influencers, and sponsors — which will be released into the month of June, as the event kickoff date approaches.
BitSummit Gaiden is produced by Japan Independent Games Association (JIGA), along with the City of Kyoto, and Kyoto CMEX (Cross Media Experience). For more information, check out the the BitSummit website and Discord server or follow BitSummit on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
