Skip to main content

Microsoft E3 landing page leaks Kinect upgrades, Halo 4 news

landing pageMicrosoft’s E3 press conference starts in a mere 20 minutes, but one of the company’s biggest announcements has already begun making the rounds. This morning, Microsoft’s E3 landing page prematurely launched and clued us in to some new features coming to Xbox Live and upgraded Kinect capabilities, as well as a few new Kinect titles. More traditional Xbox fanboys will also be thrilled to hear there are not one but two new Halo titles coming to a console near you. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will be available in HD, maybe even 3D. The site also reads “Halo 4 is one the way,” and we’ll hear soon enough the details about this title.

As for the new Xbox Live features, Microsoft is altering the UI and adding voice search, something Steve Ballmer touched on at CES earlier this year. For the Kinect, users will be getting new titles like Dance Central 2, Kinect Star Wars, Sesame kinect sparklersStreet: Once Upon a Monster, and Kinect Sports Season 2. Kinect won’t only be getting some added games but some upgraded features. SlashGear was able to get a longer look at the landing page before Microsoft took it down, and has some details on these improvements. Users will be able to create custom avatars and share them with friends. There’s also Kinect Sparklers, will takes your photo and then lets you wave digital sparklers in the air around you.

We’ll be on location at the Microsoft press conference this morning at E3 to confirm all the details and bring you more updates as they are announced.

Editors' Recommendations

Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
Xbox and Bethesda detail (non-E3) summer showcase
The Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase takes place on June 12.

With this year's E3 conference completely canceled, companies are taking the season for game reveals and showcases into their own hands. To that end, Xbox has revealed its own E3-season presentation, the purposefully-named Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase.

https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1519662855892594689

Read more
With E3 2022 canceled, these are the summer gaming events to watch
E3 logo

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?
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. 

Read more
Xbox Games Showcase: 6 highlights from Microsoft’s E3 follow-up
Parris hosts an Xbox showcase.

With E3 behind us, Microsoft decided to delve deeper into its recently announced updates and titles at a post-event Xbox Games Showcase.

Not only did we see more gameplay from upcoming Xbox games, but we also got more information on the decisions and work behind the scenes on certain titles, along with a few release date reminders and some surprises. Microsoft also went into more depth on games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Battlefield 2042, and more. Here are six highlights from the broadcast.
Forza Horizon 5 early access
Forza Horizon 5 - Game Overview | Xbox Games Showcase

Read more