Enlarge image
Xbox Game Pass: Microsoft's presentation is probably the most eagerly awaited
Photo: Microsoft
What highlights for Xbox owners have Microsoft's gaming studios in the pipeline?
Is there anything new to say about the next The Elder Scrolls RPG at Bethesda?
And does Nintendo finally provide details on the successor to "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild"?
Game fans from all over the world are currently speculating about such questions.
For them, this weekend is one of the most exciting of the summer, with numerous new announcements and prospects for publications in the near future.
The reason for this is the video game fair E3.
Because of the pandemic, this - like the Cologne Gamescom in August - will only take place digitally.
Many companies from Gearbox to Bandai Namco to Capcom take the fair from Los Angeles as an opportunity to present their innovations in video streams.
You can find an overview of the most important streams here.
However, the following four product shows are likely to attract the greatest attention:
1) Ubisoft Forward
Ubisoft recently revealed "Far Cry 6", the action game is due to appear in early October.
But what are the studios of the French company still working on?
That will be revealed on Saturday at 9 p.m. German time, at an event called "Ubisoft Forward".
The show can be viewed on Ubisoft's website, promises are "audience favorites, new announcements and also a few surprises".
There will be a pre-show starting at 8 p.m. with content for fans of games such as “For Honor”, “Watch Dogs: Legion” and “Trackmania”.
2) Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase
In 2020 it became known that the Xbox manufacturer Microsoft was taking over Zenimax Media, the mother of game studios such as Bethesda ("The Elder Scrolls", "Fallout") and id Software ("Doom", "Wolfenstein"). The 7.5 billion dollar deal surprised many players: They are accordingly excited to see what the newlyweds will see at the upcoming "Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase". Microsoft's event starts on Sunday at 7 p.m. German time, links to streams on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube can be found here.
New information on the Bethesda space game "Starfield" is expected, as well as future highlights for Microsoft's game flat rate, the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Its game streaming function can also be used in a web browser in a few weeks, as the company announced.
Microsoft also announced that it has the goal of releasing at least one new title every quarter from one of its more than 23 own game studios.
These titles, which could come from renowned studios such as Ninja Theory and Obsidian Entertainment, should then be playable from day one via the Game Pass.
3) Square Enix Presents
Shortly after the Xbox show, game fans can join Square Enix: The Japanese company starts its product presentation entitled "Square Enix Presents" on Sunday at 9:15 pm German time.
Among other things, it attracts with the world premiere of a new game by Eidos Montréal, a studio that has developed, for example, “Shadow of the Tomb Raider”.
In addition, viewers will be given the prospect of news about “Life is Strange: True Colors” and “Babylon's Fall”.
You can watch the stream from Square Enix on YouTube and Twitch.
4) Nintendo Direct
On Monday evening at 6 p.m. German time, Nintendo also joins the great struggle for attention: its “Nintendo Direct” stream is supposed to be about new products for the Switch.
Most of the games shown will appear this year, announced the Japanese company.
His product show is scheduled to last 40 minutes.
This is followed by three more hours of “Treehouse Live”, with live game scenes to be expected.
Both events can be seen on the company's YouTube channel.
Editor's note:
An overview of the most exciting games announcements of the weekend can be found on SPIEGEL.de on Monday afternoon.
mbö