After teasing that it has “big” plans for E3 2019, Microsoft has officially announced the date and time for its annual Xbox E3 press conference. It looks as if Xbox will be the only platform holder to hold a major event at E3 this year, as Sony announced that it would not be attending, and Nintendo will be opting for its “Direct” live stream.
In a post on Twitter earlier today, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox E3 Briefing would be taking place on Sunday, June 9 at 1PM PT, 4PM ET, and 9PM BST. Fans of Xbox will be able to stream the event live in 4K Ultra HD through their Xbox One, through the Microsoft-owned streaming platform Mixer, Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook.
In addition to the main Xbox E3 Briefing event, an Inside Xbox: Live at E3 livestream will be hosted on Monday, June 10. This livestream will offer more “exclusive” game announcements as well as game demos, giveaways, interviews, and “more.” Microsoft did not confirm the time that the Inside Xbox stream would begin that Monday or whether it would be an all-day affair.
Microsoft’s Xbox E3 teaser does not provide any real hints at what fans may expect from the company at the event. However, there has been speculation about the next-generation Xbox console and many will be wondering if Microsoft will use E3 2019 to unveil its new hardware. Analysts have suggested that the next Xbox could be released in 2020, so a reveal at E3 2019 would allow Microsoft to fan the flames and get people interested well ahead of launch.
An official announcement of the console would also come not long after Sony confirmed some features and the specs of the PS5. The next-generation PlayStation console (which has not officially be titled the PlayStation 5, yet), will have features such as backward compatibility with PS4 games. PlayStation’s lead system architect Mark Cerny has also teased that Sony is working on a game streaming service for the platform, but confirmed that it will have a disc drive, and would not be game-streaming only.
With people responding so positively to the PS5 details, Microsoft may want to swing things in its favor and get people interested in its next-generation console plans, too. A major announcement at the Xbox E3 event would be one way to do it.
Source: Twitter - Xbox
