And Now, Your Zombie E3 2022 Press Conference Schedule
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Ari Notis
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Image: Kotaku / Superstar (Shutterstock) / Charley Gallay (Getty Images)
E3? More like E0! That’s the sort of total groaner you could expect to hear at an E3 press conference—y’know, if the games industry’s historically biggest marketing event was actually happening in 2022.
This post was originally published on May 19, 2022. We’re republishing it today as more events have been announced.
Yes, for the second time in three years, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has called off its flagship event. In 2020, event organizers declined to host an E3, citing the covid-19 pandemic. Last year, it returned, but as a purely digital charade. Rumors around E3 2022’s cancellation swirled as early as January, and the ESA officially called off the event in the spring, saying it would return next year.
But the show(s) must go on. In fact, without an E3 to suck up all the oxygen in the room, the roadmap for video game buzz is looking a lot like 2020’s: a series of disparate conferences sprinkled throughout the summer. Yay? Anyway, here’s the schedule of press conferences planned for summer 2022, which we’ll update accordingly as more companies announce their not-E3 plans.
Sony State of Play – Thursday, June 2; 6:00 p.m. ET
The first major conference of the season is a 30-minute showcase from Sony. For what it’s worth, the next big PlayStation exclusive, God of War Ragnarök, does not currently have a release date. Neither does Square Enix’s PS5-exclusive Final Fantasy XVI. Sony has a bunch of other irons in the fire, including two Marvel games developed by Insomniac (Wolverine and a sequel to Spider-Man) and an entire virtual reality machine (PSVR2). (Update, 6/7/2022: Sqaure Enix indeed revealed gameplay and a release window for FFXVI.
Sony didn’t tease any first-party games.)
Summer Game Fest – Thursday, June 9; 2:00 p.m. ET
Not-E3 season kicks into high gear with Summer Game Fest, a digital showcase wherein games industry hype man Geoff Keighley gets on stage to talk about “world exclusives!” and “world premieres!” in between a slew of trailers for games we’ve seen before. Pretty much every publisher on the planet—from bigwigs like 2K and EA to slightly less-big, uh, wigs like Annapurna—signed on board for last year’s event. This year’s partners are TBA, so it’s unclear what exactly to expect.
Devolver Digital’s Event — Thursday, June 9; 6:00 p.m. ET
Without an E3, the event historically held in the parking lot across from E3 can’t. Instead, Devolver Digital, the indie publisher behind games like this year’s Trek to Yomi and Weird West, will host its event digitally. As usual, the publisher announced the showcase with a cheeky trailer (replete with a Suda51 cameo).
Guerrilla Collective – Saturday, June 11; 11:00 a.m. ET
Guerrilla Collective, now on its third year, is a showcase focused on indie games. The past two years have been quite fun, featuring games from the likes of Neon Doctrine, Akupara, and other offbeat publishers. No reason to expect this year will be any different. It’s immediately followed by…
Wholesome Direct – Saturday, June 11; 12:30 p.m. ET
If typical video game pressers are metal concerts, Wholesome Direct is an all-acoustic open mic at your local coffee shop. Rather than big-budget bombast, the event showcases lighter fare from typically independent developers. Last year’s event featured a handful of smaller games that hit it big, including the placid fishing sim Moonglow Bay and the emotional gut-punching puzzler Unpacking.
Future Games Show – Saturday, June 11; 3:00 p.m. ET
Future Games Show is an hour-long showcase put on by GamesRadar+. The publication says it’ll spotlight 40 games, mostly from mid-sized publishers like Team17 and Thunderful.
In any case, in terms of its game-to-time ratio, expect quite the sizzle reel!
Starfield, an ambitious RPG about finding sandwiches in the cosmos, is the first new IP from Bethesda in ages.Image: Bethesda
Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase – Sunday, June 12; 1:00 p.m. ET
Bethesda is now just one of Xbox’s 8,170 first-party studios, but it’s the only one with top-billing for Microsoft’s not-E3 presser, the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase. Microsoft’s two big exclusives for 2022 were games published by Bethesda: the spacefaring RPG Starfield, and the Arkane-developed vampire shooter Redfall. Both were recently delayed into the first half of 2023. Bethesda hasn’t shown gameplay off for either. Hmm, I wonder what’s going into this press conference… (Update, 6/6/2022, 12:20 p.m. ET: As if one 90-minute showcase isn’t enough, Xbox will host a follow-up “Extended Play” event on Tuesday, June 14, at 1:00 p.m. ET. It’ll feature “new trailers” and “deeper looks” at stuff from the Sunday event.
)
PC Gaming Show – Sunday, June 12; 3:00 p.m. ET
PC Gamer’s aptly named PC Gaming Show kicks off immediately after the Future marquee event. It’s billed as a double-header with the Future Games Show, with promotional text saying it kicks off exactly 24 hours later.
Capcom Showcase – Monday, June 13; 6:00 p.m. ET
Capcom will host a 35-minute showcase on its YouTube and Twitch channels about “news and in-depth updates on previously announced Capcom titles.” Early this month, at Sony’s State of Play, Capcom officially revealed the long-rumored Resident Evil 4 remake. Also, for what it’s worth, it’s currently the 10th anniversary of fantasy action RPG Dragon’s Dogma.
Overwatch Showcase – Thursday, June 16; timing TBA
Blizzard will host a showcase for its “is that really a sequel?” sequel to Overwatch. It’ll cover details about what’s coming to Overwatch 2, including the next PvP beta.
THQ Nordic Showcase – Friday, August 12; timing TBA
Over the past year and change, the Embracer Group has quietly become a major gaming publisher. No word yet on if Embracer will start doing its own splashy pressers to cover everything, but one of its subsidiaries, THQ Nordic, will host its own late-summer event. It’ll spotlight updates on existing games—the ad spot for the presser showed a glimpse of last year’s extremely average BioMutant—as well as pull back the curtain on some new games.
Gamescom Opening Night Live – Tuesday, August 23; timing TBA
So it begins, so it shall end. Geoffstravaganza Summer 2022 wraps up with Gamescom Opening Night Live. Last year, announcements during Opening Night Live almost single-handedly teed up February 2022 as one of the most packed months for blockbuster games ever (RIP reviewers and guides writers). Please, Geoff, don’t do the same thing again this year. I’m sorry for making fun of your sneakers that one time!
Ubisoft Forward — Saturday, September 10; 3:00 p.
m. ET
Ubisoft, which all but skipped the typical June video game marketing season this year, will host its big showcase in September. During a livestream that could’ve been an email, Ubisoft said it’d talk about the future of Assassin’s Creed in September. Other tentpoles could appear, though don’t expect much for troubled pirate game Skull and Bones. Ubisoft will show that off during a dedicated showcase on July 7 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Correction, 5/27, 10:30 a.m. ET: An earlier version of this post misstated the date of Opening Night Live.
With E3 2022 canceled, these are the summer gaming events to watch
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By
Tomas Franzese
We learned this week that 2022 will be the second year since 1995 to not have any kind of E3 expo.
While the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) says E3’s physical and digital cancelation this year enables it to “devote all our energy and resources to delivering a revitalized physical and digital E3 experience next summer,” it also raises questions regarding how game announcements will happen this summer. Companies like Microsoft and Nintendo often tie big reveals to E3, so what is the industry’s plan now that E3 2022 is officially canceled?
Contents
- What’s not happening
- What is happening
- What might happen
So far, we only know of a couple of events that will take place, though there’s still time for a lot more to be announced. For those wondering how E3 2022’s cancelation will impact summer 2022’s game reveal landscape, we’ve broken down everything that is and isn’t happening — and that might happen — in the coming months.
What’s not happening
E3’s absence leaves a crater in the usual gaming hype cycle.
Typically, the yearly event took place for a week in Los Angeles and served as a spot where game publishers could announce and advertise their upcoming slates of titles and game-related products. In 2020, the ESA canceled the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it returned digitally in 2021 with mixed results.
On March 31, the event organizers at the ESA confirmed that there would be no digital or physical E3 event this year. That was quite surprising as more and more in-person events are returning, and the ESA even demonstrated that it could hold the event digitally before. The event may return in 2023, but this year the E3 event that typically consolidates many gaming announcements to one week in June won’t play out like normal.
Outside of E3, we also know that EA won’t hold its yearly EA Play Live event this summer. Typically, the publisher has its own events outside of E3, but chose not to this year because “this year things aren’t lining up to show you everything on one date.
” That means that if we get new information on titles like the Dead Space remake or the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect, it won’t be at an E3-adjacent event.
What is happening
There are still some major gaming events that will take place this summer. This June, the biggest one is Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest. The creator of The Game Awards plans to hold a Summer Game Fest Kickoff Livestream full of new trailers and announcements. Last year’s event featured the release date of Elden Ring, so there are certainly high expectations surrounding the showcase, especially as E3 won’t be drawing away any reveals. An indie-focused Day of the Devs presentation and other Summer Game Fest-branded events are also expected to take place this June. Keighley tweeted that Summer Game Fest festivities “will be less than one month this year.”
IGN confirmed that its Summer of Gaming event would also take place in June and feature exclusive trailers, gameplay, and interviews.
Bethesda has also teased that it will show Starfield this summer, and we’re supposed to get another look at Final Fantasy XVI soon.
As for in-person events, a couple of them are happening later in the summer. Gamescom, a European gaming expo equivalent to E3, will happen in person in Cologne, Germany. In Japan, the Tokyo Game Show will be the final big in-person summer event between September 15 and 18. While E3 might not be happening, it’s clear that some digital showcases will happen this summer and that events outside of America are still on track to take place in person.
What might happen
Digital Trends reached out to multiple publishers for comment on their plans now that E3 2022 is canceled. We only got one response, and it was Devolver Digital sending us an upside-down face emoji, so the current event schedule outside of major events like Summer Game Fest and Gamescom is clearly quite nebulous.
Reached out to Devolver Digital to ask how E3's cancellation would effect its summer plans (like its infamous E3 showcase), and its 100% official statement is "🙃"— Giovanni Colantonio (@MarioPrime) March 31, 2022
Although they haven’t announced anything officially, it seems likely that companies like Microsoft, Square Enix, and Nintendo will still hold presentations this summer if they have things to promote. Sony is also a wild card that hasn’t been connected to E3 since 2018, so it could also hold an event around then. We have no idea how close to each other these shows will take place.
If 2022 plays out anything like 2020, expect the whole summer, not just June, to contain lots of exciting gaming events. E3 2021 was a disjointed and sloppy event, but the return to form for industry announcements was refreshing after a challenging 2020. Now, the industry will either rally around Summer Game Fest or spread out once again.
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e3 — all materials of the game portal Goha.ru
E3 returns to offline mode in 2023
E3 will take place offline next year 2023. The organizers report a revision of the approach to organizing the event. Maybe something interesting will turn out
September 26, 2022
0
Forum
Xbox is going to host an E3-style gaming expo in June 2022
According to VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb, Microsoft is currently in talks with publishers for a major E3-style game show in June.
March 13, 2022
0
Forum
E3 organizers had to beg for forgiveness after the list of games for women was published
From Overwatch and The Sims 4 to Tetris and Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. What are the girls playing these days?
August 19, 2020
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Forum
Major publishers are doing just fine without E3
2020 has been a special year. The global pandemic has forced people into isolation, which has led to the cancellation of almost all conferences and exhibitions. It would seem that this should have had a negative impact on the promotion of games. But the situation is a little different.
August 2, 2020
four
Forum
nine0002 [COVID-19] IGN to host Summer of Gaming online event instead of E3
Due to the coronavirus, almost all mass events have been canceled or rescheduled, including the main gaming exhibition, E3, will not be held in Los Angeles in June.
April 4, 2020
2
Forum
E3 all, now official. ESA plans to hold an online conference in June
Rumors confirmed: The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has officially announced the cancellation of the largest and most important event for the gaming industry — E3, which was to be held in Los Angeles, California, 9-June 11th.
March 11, 2020
thirty
Forum
[Rumors] The cancellation of E3 will be announced today, the exhibition may be held online
It would seem that the organizers of E3 still have a few months left. Even after the state of emergency was declared in Los Angeles, California due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, the ESA hoped to hold the event as usual.
March 11, 2020
12
Forum
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[Translation] E3 — the history of the very first event
On the eve of the last E3, Polygon published an article revealing the history of the birth of the most famous exhibition in the gaming industry, familiar to almost any gamer.
The GoHa.Ru editors invite you to familiarize yourself with the difficulties that almost killed the barely born project.
June 18, 2019
6
Forum
[E3 2019] Final Fantasy VIII Remaster Announced
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2019, Square Enix announced the long-awaited remaster of Final Fantasy VIII, the original version of which was released in 1999.
June 11, 2019
32
Forum
[E3 2019] Square Enix Reveals Trailer for Outriders
At the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, Square Enix announced a mysterious project called Outriders, which is being developed by People Can Fly studio, the developers of the beloved Painkiller and Bulletstorm. nine0003
June 11, 2019
nine
Forum
[E3 2019] Rebellion’s Evil Genius 2 Strategy Announced
An important premiere of PC Gamer’s PC Gaming Show press conference at E3 was the announcement of Rebellion Developments’ RTS Evil Genius 2, the sequel to the original game from Elixir Studios and Vivendi Universal Games, released in 2004.
June 10, 2019
6
Forum
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[E3 2019] GhostWire: Tokyo director Nakamura Ikumi becomes E3 and network star
which introduced the horror GhostWire: Tokyo.
June 10, 2019
22
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[E3 2019] Cyberpunk 2077 — Game process teaser
It was known in advance that two shows of ARPG Cyberpunk 2077 from the Polish studio CD Projekt RED will take place within the framework of the E3 exhibition. As it turned out, behind closed doors, the chosen ones will be shown the gameplay of the project.
June 10, 2019
8
Forum
[E3 2019] Watch Dogs Legion poster photo
One of the main points of the program at the Ubisoft press conference at E3 will be the presentation of the Watch Dogs Legion action. It was not possible to keep all the details secret due to an oversight by Amazon UK, intentional or not.
nine0003
June 10, 2019
6
Forum
[E3 2019] DOOM Eternal — Collector’s Edition will feature a 1/1 helmet
As expected, Bethesda’s E3 press conference went without The Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield. The DOOM Eternal shooter from id Software studio brightened up the situation a little, visitors and viewers saw two trailers at once and found out the release date.
June 10, 2019
8
nine0002
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[E3 2019] Marvel’s Avengers Coming to Google Stadia
One of the highlights of E3 will be the debut of the Marvel’s Avengers action game, which is being developed by Eidos Montreal, Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix and Marvel Entertainment. The game will be presented tomorrow, June 11, at 04:00 Moscow time at a press conference.
June 10, 2019
1
Forum
nine0002 [E3 2019] Cyberpunk 2077 — Collector’s review encrypted server access data
One of the most powerful presentations during the last Microsoft press conference was the showing of Cyberpunk 2077 ARPG from CD Projekt RED.
After all, Keanu Reeves himself introduced the game, who got a role in the project and the honor of announcing the release date.
June 10, 2019
85
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[E3 2019] Elden Ring announced by Miyazaki and Martin
One of the highlights of E3 is the ambitious project Elden Ring from FromSoftware, which Bandai Namco presented at the Microsoft press conference. It’s about the joint brainchild of Miyazaki Hidetaka and George Martin
June 10, 2019
25
Forum
[E3 2019] Psychonauts 2 got a gameplay trailer, Double Fine went under the wing of Microsoft
More details about the Psychonauts 2 platformer will be told as part of the E3 Coliseum, where Tim Schafer and Jack Black will perform, but at a Microsoft press conference it became known that that Double Fine Productions became her in-house studio. nine0003
June 9, 2019
3
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[E3 2019] Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Saw Guerrera stole a walker in a trailer Gameplay premiere time Saw Guerrera hijacks an imperial walker.
June 9, 2019
8
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[E3 2019] Ninja Theory’s team-based online action game Bleeding Edge announced
Another project that could not be kept secret until the official announcement at Microsoft’s press conference was the team-based online action game Bleeding Edge from Ninja Theory, the studio that created DmC: Devil May Cry and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
June 9, 2019
6
Forum
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[Leaked] Cyberpunk 2077 — Collector’s Edition
Yesterday, an image of one of the Cyberpunk 2077 ARPG editions from the Polish studio CD Projekt RED appeared, which will be shown today, June 9, at a Microsoft press conference starting at 23:00 MSK, and now the collection version has appeared on the network.
June 9, 2019
eleven
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[E3 2019] Xbox Game Pass Available Now on PC for $9.
99/month
Microsoft’s press conference will be held today, June 9, starting at 23:00 Moscow time. However, the launch of Xbox Game Pass on PC has not been delayed, so it is already available for just $10/mo, which is half the price of the Xbox One console.
June 9, 2019
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[E3 2019] Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Gameplay Premiere
A cinematic trailer for Respawn and EA’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, released in April, caught the attention of Star Wars fans. Will the story of Padawan Cal Kestis resonate with the gaming community? nine0003
June 8, 2019
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[E3 2019] Stormland — Insomniac Games VR action game got a trailer Particular attention will be focused on the adventure action game Stormland from the studio Insomniac Games.
June 8, 2019
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E3 2023 — Schedule
June 12,
• [E3] Ubisoft Forward — 22:00 Moscow time
Where to look: Twitch | YouTube
What to expect: Far Cry 6 gameplay, Rainbow Six: Quarantine full reveal, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake gameplay trailer, The Division Heartland snip-off premiere, Roller Champions gameplay and release dates, and Riders Republic, announcement of a major expansion for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Hopefully, we will see the gameplay of Skull & Bones and Beyond Good & Evil 2.
• [E3] Devolver Direct
Watch: Twitch | YouTube
What to expect: judging by the teaser of the press conference, the possible announcement of Hotline Miami 3, and besides that, dozens of other memorable indies. Basically, we are waiting for the continuation of the crazy story with the host Nina Struthers.
• [E3] Gearbox
Where to watch: Twitch | YouTube
What to expect: is rumored to be the announcement of a Borderlands spin-off about Tiny Tina and something else.
June 13
• [E3] Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase — 20:00 UTC
901itch Where to watch YouTube
What to expect: a new Forza Motorsport and/or Forza Horizon, a significantly improved gameplay of Halo Infinite with a final release date, as well as new indies and updates on service games like Sea of Thieves.
Bethesda should show Starfield and a new game from Prey at Arkane Studios, and maybe a new Wolfenstein, or, even less likely, The Elder Scrolls VI gameplay. nine0003
• [E3] PC Gaming Show and Future Games Show
Where to watch: YouTube
What are the same: Set of the Ten-IG. or full Epic Games Store exclusives. Perhaps another presentation of the Humankind strategy and a couple of surprises.
• [E3] Square Enix World Premiere — 10:15 PM UTC
Where to watch: Twitch | YouTube
What to expect: a new Eidos Montreal game (rumored to be Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy project), and Babylon’s Fall and Life is Strange: True Colors trailers. According to numerous rumors, the presentation will also present Final Fantasy Origins, an action-RPG in the setting of Team Ninja’s first Final Fantasy.
• [E3] Warner Bros. Games / Back 4 Blood
Where to watch: YouTube
What to expect: perhaps only an extended presentation of co-op zombie shooter Back 4 Blood.
June 14,
• [E3] Take-Two
What are waiting for: If we believe a downstream list, spin-off tin’s spin-off, strategy in the XCOM-FIRAXIS SPEC action from the authors of Mafia and NBA 2K22.
• [E3] Capcom
Where to watch: Twitch | YouTube
What are we waiting for: is unknown.
June 15,
• [E3] Razer — 01:00 MSK
Where to look: Twitch
What are waiting for: Announcements of the Gamers’ peripherals, possibly, of some then services.
