Recent rumors suggest that Xbox is holding its own E3-style livestream showcase this June that will put the spotlight on upcoming games and new announcements. The last few years have been a trying and transformative time for major gaming events like E3, which was canceled outright in 2020 and returned in a virtual-only format in 2021 due to the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It is being suggested that E3 may be canceled once again in 2022, spelling further trouble for the once landmark gaming showcase that many feel is growing less and less relevant with each passing year.
Other virtual gaming showcase events have been filling the void left by E3. The most prominent of them is Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest, a summer-long series of livestream shows that has been confirmed to be returning this year. Meanwhile, Sony has avoided going to E3 in the past few years, instead choosing to show off its upcoming line of blockbuster first-party exclusives and smaller titles at its in-house PlayStation State of Play and PlayStation Showcase livestreams - the latest of which was held earlier this week and put the spotlight on multiple third-party games that are coming in 2022. Microsoft has been holding its own Xbox Games Showcase livestreams since 2020, but now it looks like there could be an even larger Xbox event on the horizon for this summer.
Gaming industry insider Jeff Grubb claims that Xbox is planning an E3-caliber virtual showcase, as reported by GamesRadar. While Xbox itself has not yet officially announced any such plans, Grubb says that the juggernaut console and gaming company is reaching out to major publishers to “get big games” to show off at this event. Grubb says that Xbox could be planning smaller events in either May or September, but the big event will certainly be held in June. “That is ongoing right now and it’s March, so it’s not like they can change that train or turn that big ship around,” Grubb noted in an episode of his YouTube show, Jeff Grubb’s Game Mess (via VGC).
2022 looks to be a wild year in terms of upcoming releases for the Xbox Series X/S. For example, newly acquired Xbox publisher Bethesda will release Starfield, a solar system-spanning sci-fi RPG that Xbox hopes will become the most-played title in Bethesda’s already impressive catalog of triple-A blockbusters. Other big Xbox exclusives slated to arrive sometime this year are S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chernobyl, Studio Wildcard’s Ark 2, and the Arkane Studios-developed, team-based survival horror title Redfall.
All of these titles and more could be shown off once again during Xbox’s hinted at summer showcase event, along with a few exciting new announcements from first-party studios and third-party publishers alike. 2022 already looks to be a packed and exciting year for gaming, and Xbox could be leading the charge in earth-shattering new announcements should the rumors of E3’s absence this year prove to be true.
Source: GamesRadar, Jeff Grubb's Game Mess/YouTube (via VGC)