Xbox and Bethesda not-E3 Games Showcase announced for this JuneGameCentral

June is still the month of previews (pic: Microsoft)

There might not be an E3 this year but Microsoft has announced its traditional preview showcase in exactly the same spot as usual.

There’s been no E3 event for three years in a row now and given the games industry’s decreasing support for it even before the pandemic it’s unlikely ever to come back in the way it used to be. Microsoft though seems to miss the old schedule, as their 2022 preview event is still exactly when it usually is.

Technically, the old preview showcases from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo were nothing to do with E3, they just took place a few days before it started, so in that sense the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase will be business as usual.

Microsoft has announced that the event will take place on Sunday, June 12, starting at 6pm BST. So you won’t even have to stay up late to watch it.

There’s absolutely zero hint as to what games will be present and, except for Bethesda’s Starfield in November, Microsoft currently doesn’t have a single game with a firm release date at the moment (although that’s still one more than Sony).

Nevertheless, fans will be hoping to get proper looks at the new Fable, The Outer Worlds 2, Obsidian’s Avowed, Hellblade 2, Arkane’s Redfall, MachineGames’ Indiana Jones game, the Perfect Dark reboot, and potentially many more.

None of those are guaranteed though, as while they’ve all been officially announced it’s still unclear how far along any of them are, especially games like Perfect Dark which seem to be in development hell.

The only thing close to an official hint is that the show will feature games from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and ‘partners around the world’.

The showcase will also feature upcoming games for Game Pass on Xbox and PC, but there’s no indication of whether the service itself is due any kind of revamp.

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There’s no mention of Activision Blizzard because the acquisition hasn’t gone through yet, and there’s still a small chance it won’t.

If it does though next year it could be the Xbox and Bethesda and Activision and Blizzard Games Showcase. Which given how rubbish Microsoft is at names is probably what they will call it.

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