Bethesda announces their plans for the Bethesda E3 Showcase 2016, their second annual E3 keynote. Expect details on Dishonored 2 and the future of Fallout 4.

January 2016 has come to an end and as February begins there's clearly one thing on everyone's mind. E3? Yes, with four and a half months left until the most hyped video game convention of the year, it's clear that planning and scheduling must begin now. Today's announcement comes from Bethesda, who revealed their plans for their Bethesda E3 Showcase 2016.

Fold those calendars all the way back to June and take out a marker. Bethesda is claiming the first spot on E3's "Day 0," June 12, meaning the day before the E3 show floor opens to attendees. This is typically the day when the largest publishers hold their keynotes, which for many years now have been Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Sony. Bethesda will be wrapping up June 12 with a 7:00PM PT event.

This will be the second official Bethesda E3 keynote, as they only began the practice in 2015. Suffice to say that the event was a huge success. The publisher debuted gameplay for the Doom reboot, announced Dishonored 2 and Elder Scrolls Legends, and then burned the house down by announcing a fall launch of Fallout 4. They have a lot of work to do in 2016 to one-up their 2015 show, but with the Showcase's announcement this early they clearly have big plans.

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The question then becomes what exactly Bethesda is likely to show during their 2016 E3 showcase. It's absurdly early to begin speculation, but there are probably a few assumptions fans can make. Dishonored 2 is definitely on the slate. Doom is tentatively planned to launch prior to E3, but Bethesda's been very quiet so it may have fallen back to post-E3. There's always more Elder Scrolls Online. Surprise announcements could be new games from MachineGames or Tango Gameworks. And Fallout 4 DLC is on everyone's minds.

What's probably not going to happen? The next big game from Bethesda Game Studios isn't going to happen. They're stuck on a three-year development cycle, meaning whatever is coming next won't hit until 2018. Brink 2 probably isn't going to happen, either. Beyond the franchises mentioned, there's really not much else Bethesda can be confidently said to be working on.

Considering how successful Fallout 4 has been, all Bethesda needs to do at E3 is show off expansion content. Though to be fair, they'll almost certainly have a DLC pack out prior to E3 ever arriving...or at least fans hope they will.

With Dishonored 2 to back up Fallout 4 DLC, plus a potential Wolfenstein or Evil Within sequel announcement, Bethesda already has their work cut out for them. The trap for Bethesda then is to end up being too predictable.

Bethesda's E3 Showcase 2016 is scheduled for June 12 and will start at 7:00PM PT.