Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Nintendo announces its E3 plans, including a 40-minute Direct

Add as a preferred source on Google

Nintendo has finally revealed its E3 2021 plans. The company’s strategy this year is largely the same as it has been in previous years, with a main Direct presentation and a Treehouse stream featuring demos afterward.

While this year’s E3 is different than previous installments thanks to the move to all-digital, not much is changing for Nintendo. The company has long ditched physical presentations in favor of digital showcases, so it’s right at home with the format change.

Recommended Videos

Nintendo will make its E3 appearance on the final day of the show: Tuesday, June 15. It’ll air a Nintendo Direct at 9 a.m. PT on that day, which will run for 40 minutes. The company says that the video will mostly focus exclusively on software, most of which is launching in 2021. That kills any hopes that the rumored Switch Pro will be at the show this year.

🗓 Nintendo at #E32021: 6/15, 9am PT!

Tune in for a #NintendoDirect with roughly 40 minutes of info focused exclusively on #NintendoSwitch software, mostly releasing in 2021, followed by around 3 hours of gameplay in #NintendoTreehouseLive | E3 2021.
https://t.co/TMjlZ5G37G pic.twitter.com/Hh1l6y0WVh

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 2, 2021

Following the Direct, Nintendo will air a live Treehouse presentation featuring demos and deep dives into specific games. The presentation will run for roughly three hours following the Direct.

It’s a somewhat sparse showing for Nintendo. The company usually has a full presence at E3 with Treehouse streams throughout the expo. This is a much shorter content plan by comparison.

Details on E3 2021 are still shockingly sparse considering the digital expo is just over one week away. While Microsoft has confirmed its conference timing, we still don’t have an idea of the full schedule, which is unusual for the event.

E3 2021 begins on Saturday, June 12, and will run until Tuesday, June 15. Fans can register for the event, which will take place through a digital app.

Giovanni Colantonio
As a veteran of the industry who first began writing about games professionally as a teenager, Giovanni brings a wealth of…
Epic is throwing $50,000 for vibe-code games. What could possibly go wrong?
Epic is rewarding vibe-coded games with real money
Epic MegaJam 2026

Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.

Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”

Read more
Monster Hunter Outlanders arrives on Android and iOS next week with four-player co-op
The free-to-play spin-off launches October 29 with open-world exploration, mobile-focused combat, and a building system.
Monster Hunter Outlanders poster

It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.

Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.

Read more
Phantom Blade Zero makes me think Sony might have a point about going all digital
Physical games still matter, but when the disc isn't a complete copy of the game, the argument for keeping it becomes harder to make.
Phantom Blade Zero Featured Image

I'm a big supporter of physical games. There's something satisfying about owning a disc, lending it to a friend, or grabbing a bargain without waiting for a digital storefront to approve the price. But Phantom Blade Zero has me questioning one of the biggest arguments in the physical-versus-digital debate. The game's digital version launches on October 29, 2026, while its physical PS5 editions, including Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate versions, won't arrive until 2027.

And there's another wrinkle: the digital version reportedly needs up to 134GB of storage, raising questions about how much of the game can actually fit on a standard Blu-ray disc. A standard PS5 Ultra HD Blu-ray disc maxes out at 100GB, so Phantom Blade Zero may need to ship across multiple discs or require players to download additional data to finish installing it. Either way, the idea of popping in a disc and having the complete game ready to play gets a little murkier.

Read more