Skip to main content

Xbox and Bethesda detail (non-E3) summer showcase

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.

Save the date!

Related Videos

Catch the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12: https://t.co/dmANSvXrbE | #XboxBethesda pic.twitter.com/AMFhrLhAtC

— Xbox (@Xbox) April 28, 2022

At first glance, it’s a little strange that Xbox and Bethesda are once again being differentiated in the event’s title seeing as how they’re essentially one and the same. Since ZeniMax Media’s acquisition by Microsoft in 2021, Bethesda has been under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. But leaving its name separate is a tell; Microsoft wants viewers to know that Bethesda will definitely be presenting games that it’s working on.

Currently, the blockbuster studio has two titles in the works, both of which will whip fans into a frenzy with any trailer: Starfield, which is set to launch on November 11, and The Elder Scrolls VI, a long-awaited sequel to Skyrim.

Of course, the showcase will also feature “amazing titles coming from Xbox Game Studios” as well, according to the event’s announcement post on the Xbox Wire. It’s certainly not as clear what viewers can expect from those studios, simply because there are so many with games in development. Obsidian’s own Elder Scrolls-like game, Avowed is still in development, as is a new Fable game from Playground Games. We haven’t seen anything about either title for quite a while, so they’re primed for a showing.

Regardless of what Microsoft has planned for the showcase, fans will have to wait just over a month to see what the massive company has in store. The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase is set to air on Sunday, June 12 at 10 a.m. PT and can be caught on Xbox’s various social media pages, as well as its YouTube and Twitch channels.

Editors' Recommendations

Xbox Game Pass new games: what’s new and what’s leaving in March 2023
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty characters

While Microsoft was been hit with criticism for the Xbox Series X's slow-growing exclusive lineup -- several highly anticipated titles like Bethesda's Starfield and co-op shooter Redfall have been pushed to later in 2023 -- the company is still delivering one of the best deals in gaming: Xbox Game Pass.

Game Pass gives gamers access to a massive library of games that includes throwback hits, brand new titles on release day, and indie darlings. These games can be played on Xbox consoles, PC, mobile, and even Steam Deck.

Read more
You can compete in the Olympics eSports Series by playing a $1 baseball game
A pitcher holds a ball in WBSC Baseball Power Pros.

A $1 baseball game shadow dropped by Konami during a Nintendo Direct, WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros was a very odd release in February. That said, the purpose of its launch and low price point is becoming clearer as the International Olympic Committee revealed that it's one of the featured games in its Olympic Esports Series 2023 lineup.
WBSC eBASEBALL: POWER PROS - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Starting this month, players can start competing in featured games like  Power Pros to qualify for the Olympic Esports Finals 2023, which will take place at Singapore's Suntec Centre between June 22 and June 25. A more arcade-like and low-poly take on the sport than something like MLB The Show 23, Power Pros was a fairly small-scale and simple game that mainly stood out because of its low price point. Clearly, its international baseball focus and approachability enticed the IOC, who've decided to elevate its esports status.
Esports has been popular for quite a while, although the most popular esports titles are games that can't really be emulated in real life, like Starcraft 2, League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Fortnite. The IOC is taking a decisively different approach with its esports competition, instead choosing to include games that emulate real-world sports, with the IOC calling it a "virtual and simulated sports competition." That ultimately results in an unexpected esports game lineup that also consists of Tic Tac Bow (archery), Virtual Regatta, Virtual Taekwondo, Zwift (cycling), Gran Turismo (motorsport), Just Dance, Tennis Clash, and Chess played on Chess.com.

This unorthodox approach to esports is why a Konami game like Power Pros, which came out less than a month ago, isn't the most in-depth baseball simulation out there, and only costs $1, made the cut. Still, there is something exciting about the barrier of entry for an official Olympic competition being this low.
WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros is available now for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. 

Read more
Nintendo confirms that it won’t be part of E3 2023
Pikmin and Bulborb in Pikmin 4.

Nintendo has confirmed reports that it won't be participating in E3 2023, meaning the gaming trade show will be missing one of its key vendors when it returns in-person this June.
"We approach our involvement in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans," a Nintendo spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge. "Since this year’s E3 show didn’t fit into our plans, we have made the decision to not participate. However, we have been and continue to be a strong supporter of the ESA [Entertainment Software Association] and E3."
After taking 2020 and 2022 off and being digital-only in 2021, this year was supposed to mark the grand return of E3, which was once a dominant game industry trade show that attracted every big video game company. Although Sony hasn't participated since 2019, it still came as a shock in January when IGN reported that both Nintendo and Microsoft would not be attending E3 this year as well. It appears that the report is true, as Microsoft has not confirmed any E3-related events outside of its independently run Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase.
Nintendo skipping E3 2023 not only takes away a vendor that dominated the show floor in previous years, but also raises questions about whether or not the company will hold an exciting Nintendo Direct around then. While Nintendo typically holds a big showcase with lots of first-party game announcements around June every year, in 2022 it only held a third-party driven Partner Showcase in June. Now that we know it won't be at E3 2023, we're left to wonder when exactly then next big Nintendo Direct will be. 
E3 2023 will take place between June 13 and June 16, but don't expect Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft to have a big presence there.

Read more