What you need to know
- Xbox has an annualized showcase in June where the latest games are revealed and detailed.
- Microsoft has officially confirmed that its next showcase is ready to go, for June 9, 2024.
- Microsoft also teased a mysterious [redacted] Direct following right after the Xbox Showcase.
It's that time again! E3 is back! Wait, no, it's time for the Xbox Games Showcase 2024!
Every June, Microsoft and Xbox gear up to showcase the latest and greatest titles from its internal teams and studios. Previously, this was part of the E3 Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, but E3 has since shuttered its doors. Now, Microsoft holds a smaller event in and around its Microsoft Theatre in LA, complete with a live stream to showcase its titles.
In the blog post, Microsoft doesn't reveal too much, save for the above image. Microsoft emphasized that the show will be available live across all of its usual channels like YouTube.com/Xbox, on Sunday, June 9, 2024 at 10AM PT.
"Today, we announced that this year’s Xbox Games Showcase will take place on Sunday, June 9 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Like our double-feature last year with Starfield Direct, immediately following the Showcase we’ll be airing a special deep-dive into the next installment of a beloved franchise. We can’t say much, so for now we’ll call it the Xbox Games Showcase followed by [redacted] Direct.
This will also be our first Showcase featuring games from our portfolio of studios across Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda, and Xbox Game Studios, in addition to titles from our third-party partners.
You’ll be able to enjoy both of our June 9 livestreams live through a variety of channels and in over 30 languages, including American Sign Language and English Audio Descriptions. We'll share more details, including on-site accessibility, at a later date."
What to expect from Xbox, and [redacted]
Microsoft's big showcases have usually been a highlight for the Xbox brand, offering insights into known games on top of big reveals. There are tons of upcoming Xbox games that have been shrouded in darkness for far too long, from Perfect Dark, to Fable, to State of Decay 3. Anything and everything could show up at this event, given how long they've been in development, and Microsoft is facing increasing pressure to begin delivering content from many of its big acquisitions.
The [redacted] iconography is almost certainly for the next Call of Duty: Black Ops. At first glance, I wondered if it was perhaps in partnership with Ubisoft for The Division 2, given the orange theme and Washington D.C. background, but that's unlikely. I also wondered if it might be for State of Decay 3, again with the orange theme, and the 3-headed hound to symbolize the game's third instalment. But Call of Duty makes far more sense here, given the Black Ops-style redactions. This year's CoD is expected to be a Treyarch-made Call of Duty Black Ops, set in the Gulf War, and it will be one of the longest development cycles on a Call of Duty title in recent memory.
Microsoft noted above that this is the first event bringing together Activision, ZeniMax, and Xbox under one roof, so expect an absolute glut of new content from every corner.
The showcase event comes at a bit of a weird time for Xbox. These events are typically watched by Xbox's biggest fans and most hardcore players, but Microsoft's strategy to begin moving its exclusive titles to other platforms will cast a shadow over this particular show. Every game announced will come with the question of "when," not "if" it comes to PlayStation or Nintendo consoles. It will be interesting to see how this show is received by fans both inside the Xbox ecosystem, and outside it.
