E3's cancellation was officially announced today (and unofficially announced a bit earlier). So, now, it's up to the big publishers and developers to work out how to show off their hard work without the major stage of the LA conference.
The Xbox team wasted no time to reveal its E3 alternative. A tweet from Xbox chief Phil Spencer lays out the group's intention to hold an online event:
- Xbox Series X news and rumors
- Xbox One X review
- PS5 and Xbox Series X release dates may be sooner than you think
E3 has always been an important moment for Team Xbox. Given this decision, this year we'll celebrate the next generation of gaming with the @Xbox community and all who love to play via an Xbox digital event. Details on timing and more in the coming weeks https://t.co/xckMKBPf9hMarch 11, 2020
What has our interest peaked about this E3-replacing event is the phrase "celebrate the next generation of gaming". That certainly sounds like we should be hearing some more Xbox Series X news there. It makes sense that Microsoft would have some juicy news in store for the expo, as without Sony there to distract the press and the fans with talk of the PS5, it could go all out and make E3 2020 all about the new Xbox.
There's no specifics of what this all involves, but we imagine it will be something like the Microsoft GDC replacement event taking place next week on Mixer. While there are a number of talks going on at this event, some of them directly involve the Xbox Series X, and others could tell us more details about games that will be appearing on the system at or shortly after launch.
Analysts have predicted that the release dates for the Xbox Series X and PS5 will be slated for November 2020, and that the reveals for the specific dates releases will happen sometime between now and E3. This could be exactly the kind of news Xbox would drop at its own conference.
