All The Australian Times For Not-E3 2020

All The Australian Times For Not-E3 2020
Contributor: Alex Walker and Leah Williams

E3’s a lot more complicated this year. Sure, the event we know as E3 2020 was officially cancelled, but all the announcement and showcases you know and love haven’t been. Sort of. Here’s all the local dates and times to mark in your calendar.

This post has been updated since its original publication, most recently to include the Australian date and time for Xbox’s July showing.

Devolver Digital Direct – July 12 at 5:00am AEST

Devolver Digital will host their annual games showcase mid-July. It promises to be just as crazy as usual with Devolver planning on unveiling a slate of new games in their usual balls-to-the-wall style. You’ll be able to catch this showcase on Devolver’s Twitch channel or stay up to date via their Twitter page.

Ubisoft, Move Forward – July 13 at 5:00am AEST / 7:00am NZST

Rather than sticking to the E3 timeframe from prior years, Ubisoft’s replacement event will take place in July. The publisher is still calling it an “E3-style showcase” though, and says it’ll include reveals of new games. In addition to finding out more about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla we will hopefully get a release date for Watch Dogs Legion. It was originally set to arrive in March but Ubisoft delayed it until sometime before April 2021.

Microsoft, Xbox 20/20 – July 24, 2:00am AEST / 4:00am NZST

Finally, Microsoft’s real gameplay showcase is coming. After skipping June entirely and the whole E3 window, Xbox has announced that they will provided “a proper look into the first-party titles that Xbox” is developing for Xbox Series X.

A lengthy showing Halo: Infinite is expected, but there should also be more from Microsoft’s first-party studios. Expect more on Hellblade 2Microsoft Flight Simulator, the work coming out of Obsidian Entertainment, a new Forza MotorsportPsychonauts 2, the Battletoads remake (or reimagining?), Rare’s Everwild and whatever’s happening with Relic’s Age of Empires 4.

DC Fandome – August 23, 3:00am AEST

While not strictly a gaming event, DC Fandome promises to be a replacement E3 showcase exploring everything DC comics, films, TV shows, games and more. It’s likely we’ll hear more about the rumoured Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights games here, but very little has actually been confirmed about the event. Stay tuned for more info.

Past Events

IGN’s Summer of Gaming – Starting June 11

This event featured new game announcements, interviews and gameplay from publishers and developers like 2K Games, Square Enix, EA, Devolver Digital and more. A bunch of showcases planned across a two week period highlighted the best new and upcoming games as well as a bunch of surprises.

Freeplay – June 10 through 14

An Australian festival, 2020 will mark Freeplay’s 16th year of highlighting indies, alternative and experimental video games. The five-day festival was held exclusively online this year, with the keynote being delivered by Bahiyya Khan, creator of the FMV game HOURS.

The Escapist Indie Showcase – June 12

A collaboration between GOG and The Escapist website, the indie showcase featured over 70 indie titles in total. It was followed up by two days of interviews and discussion.

Sony’s PlayStation 5 Showcase – June 12

After initially cancelling the livestream, Sony rescheduled their show. It showcased a range of brand new and upcoming PS4 and PS5 titles including new entries for the Ratchet & Clank and Spider-Man franchise.

You can catch up with the exciting livestream above.

Guerrilla Collective – June 14-16

Guerrilla Collective was a multi-day showcase focused on indie and mid-sized studios hosted by Kinda Funny co-founder Greg Miller. It was originally due to run across June 6 to 8, but the Black Lives Matter protests convinced organisers to push the event back a week.

Some of the studios the showcased games included 11 Bit Studios, makers of Frostpunk, Larian Studios, makers of Baldur’s Gate III, and Versus Evil, the people behind The Banner Saga and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.

PC Gaming Show – June 14

This year’s PC Gaming Show was once again hosted by former StarCraft pro Sean “Day9″ Plott and esports broadcaster Frankie Ward. Big, unexpected announcements are rare, but the PC Gaming Show can be perfect for hearing fascinating insights about passion projects from the developers themselves.

The show was originally scheduled for June 7 Australian time, but was then pushed back to June 14 as a result of the ongoing riots in the United States.

Future Games Show – June 14

The Future Games Show was another event postponed as a result of the turmoil in the United States. Running Sunday morning Australian time, the showcase featured “a mixture of exclusives, deep dives and developer interviews”, featuring console, mobile and “streaming games of 2020”.

Steam Game Festival – June 16 through 22

The Steam Game Festival showcased a bunch of upcoming indie games and demos.

EA, Play Live 2020 – June 18

Traditional EA Play events let members of the public play demos and mingle with influencers, but this year’s showing was obviously online. It showcased the new Star Wars: Squadrons game and Apex Legends on Switch.

Day of the Devs – June 23

The Game Awards and iam8bit partnered with Double Fine on a digital Day of the Devs event showcasing indie games and “larger scale projects.” The first leg of it was in late June, followed by another on July 21. Both feature the likes of studios such as The Behemoth, Sabotage Studio, Team17, thatgamecompany, and Tribute Games and include gameplay previews and new indie game debuts.

Sega, New Game+ Expo – June 24

Sega joined with Koei Tecmo, Nis America, and a bunch of other publishers from Japan and North America to share new game announcements, interviews, and gameplay demos in a digital showcase it’s galling New Game+ Expo.

CD Projekt Red, Night City Wire – June 25

The makers of Cyberpunk 2077, originally supposed to come out in April, announced a livestream all about the now-upcoming game. We got glimpses of Night City, more information about gameplay and other great reveals.

 


Other publishers like Square Enix and Warner Bros. haven’t confirmed any individual digital replacement events yet (but may be involved in IGN’s Summer of Gaming and Summer Game Fest respectively), while Bethesda previously stated it would not be holding a digital showcase in June.

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