E3 is coming soon! You know what that means: game announcements of various sizes, big and small. The dearth of new information this past few weeks are all culminating here where the biggest game companies show off their games (and probably hardware this year) in the biggest gaming trade show.
Well, that is how it used to be. This year, looks like more companies are shying away from going full-on with their announcements during the show floor, which is geared a bit more to the media rather than the public.
But least the fans at home can now follow along the news of the bigger game announcements by watching livestreams of it. Here’s what to expect from the bigger livestreams, and when and where to catch it when the stream goes live.
All times have been converted to local time (+8 GMT).
Pre-E3 Announcements
Right out of the gate, we have so many pre-E3 announcements just this week!
We have Horizon: Zero Dawn with a new release date, Yooka-Laylee, Cosmic Star Heroine, Volition’s new IP based in the Saints Row universe Agents of MAYHEM, a Kingdom Hearts 2.8 trailer, a World of Final Fantasy trailer, leaks of Watch Dogs 2, Injustice 2 and Dead Rising 4, a Deus Ex Mankind Divided livestream, and many more we probably missed.
We will do our best to cover the news as it arrives.
EA Play
When: Monday, June 13, 4.00AM
EA’s press conference isn’t technically start during the E3 show floor starts. Apparently, they are doing their own event outside of E3 called EA Play where the public gets to have some hands-on time with all the games they are showing.
What to expect: More FIFA and the rest of EA Sports titles news, a hint of single-player gameplay of Battlefield 1 (they are doing a seperate event for the multiplayer), Titanfall 2. Some info of the many Star Wars games being developed. Maybe some Mass Effect: Andromeda and that new game by Criterion?
Bethesda
When: Monday, June 13, 10.00AM
This is the second time Bethesda is holding a press conference, at the same time slot before E3 begins proper. Last year we had Fallout 4 and Doom, their biggest games that have now been released. So what’s next in their list of announcements?
What to expect: More Dishonored 2 info, rumours speculating that a Skyrim remaster for the new consoles, a new Wolfenstein and maybe the reappearance of Prey 2, but we can’t be so sure.
Microsoft
When: Tuesday, June 14, 12:30AM
Microsoft is up first against rivals Sony, and we will probably see more information of how they are trying to tie the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs into one unifying platform. Hopefully there’s first-party games on show to those that don’t care about their new agenda, after the failure of pushing the Xbox One as an entertainment hub. And maybe a surprise or two.
What to expect: Gears of War 4 is coming soon, so we probably see more of that here. Rare’s Sea Of Thieves have not yet been shown off so far. Maybe news confirming the slim Xbox One, the more powerful version (codename Scorpio) and instead of another Hololens demo, maybe an Oculus Rift demo instead.
The PC Gaming Show
When: Tuesday, June 14, 2.00AM
Can we call this a press conference? The PC Gaming Show is an odd one, as it’s not done by one company, but it is technically a show to round-up PC gamers to look forward to E3. Their odd talk-show format is returning, but promises to be a better showing than last year. While interesting news will happen here, it may not be worth a full watch if you don’t have the time.
What to expect: It could be anything, but at least we have a Steam Speedrun to look forward to. It’s as silly as it sounds. Trailer below:
How many games can you buy with our money in three minutes? #pcgamingshow https://t.co/PBOiDYdT22
— PC Gamer (@pcgamer) June 7, 2016
Ubisoft
When: Tuesday, June 14, 4.00AM
Ubisoft is a huge player now, with lots of different games coming down their pipeline. Host Aisha Tyler is back to keep the presentation level high, hopefully not pushing something to be a meme again. But to their credit, it’s an enjoyable show.
What to expect: For Honor, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Watch Dogs 2, and many more unannounced games. New Assassin’s Creed for next year maybe?
Sony
When: Tuesday, June 14, 9.00AM
Last year, Sony arguably won E3 with three of the hypest announcements that made people in tears of joy: The trifecta of The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue III Kickstarter. Will Sony promise us more dreams? We’re not sure, but probably we are expecting if the long-rumored Neo a.k.a. the PS4.5/PS4K is real or not.
What to expect: Some Playstation VR, some more Horizon: Zero Dawn to alleviate the delay news, more The Last Guardian, the new Neo console, maybe a bit more of Gran Turismo Sport?
Nintendo Treehouse Live
When: Wednesday, June 15, 12.00AM
Lastly, we have Nintendo. By way of Twitter, Nintendo announced earlier on that their new console codenamed the NX is not coming to E3, but they will be showing the new Legend of Zelda. That’s it. No fun stuff like last year’s Nintendo World Championships, not even a Nintendo Direct, their version of a press conference. It will be just the Nintendo Treehouse guys livestreaming the new Zelda. Though some reports saying that Pokemon Sun & Moon will get shown off as well.
What to expect: Livestreams of the new Legend of Zelda, maybe some Pokemon.
Conclusion
That’s all the big livestreams that are coming, and we are expecting a few more game announcements form other developers and publishers that do not host a press conference. What do you look forward to the most this E3? Sound off in the comments below.