Xbox is the latest big gaming brand to officially say that it won’t be on the E3 show floor, confirming the decision to IGN on Friday. And according to The Verge, Microsoft has announced the June 11th date for its annual Xbox showcase and a dedicated Starfield show.
“We can’t wait to host our Xbox Games Showcase on June 11th and will share more details later,” an Xbox spokesperson said in a statement to IGN. “We also look forward to co-streaming our event as part of E3 Digital and will not be on the E3 show floor.”
Xbox joins a growing list of big game companies to eschew E3 this year. In February, Nintendo confirmed that it wouldn’t be a part of E3, which now means that both Nintendo and Microsoft won’t have booths at the convention itself. Don’t get your hopes up for Sony being there: the company skipped E3 in 2019 and hasn’t been back since, and IGN reported in January that Sony would be passing on 2023 as well. Sony didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
In a statement, ReedPop owner Reed Exhibitions US said that news about exhibitors is forthcoming. “Alongside the upcoming announcements from other AAA companies regarding their own participation, we look forward to sharing more of the publishers that will be part of our digital showcase series and exhibiting on the show floor in the lead up to the return of E3,” Kyle Marsden-Kish, the global VP of gaming at Reed Exhibitions US, said.
The E3 convention is set for June 13th to the 16th, with the E3 “Digital Week” kicking off on June 11th with Microsoft’s Xbox show. Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest is returning just a few days before all that on June 8th.
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