With E3 2019 rapidly approaching, things may be a little different this year than fans are used to. The biggest reason is that Sony previously announced that the company would not be attending the event this year, leaving Microsoft and Nintendo as the remaining hardware representatives. This news opens an opportunity for both companies to steal some of the spotlight, a fact that Microsoft is likely going to try and use with promises of going big this year. During an interview with Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Xbox head Phil Spencer revealed a piece of Microsoft's plan for E3 2019.

When asked specifically about how he's feeling about E3 2019, Spencer directly referenced being one of the only platform holders to have a live stage show and feeling that responsibility to really represent gaming. If last year is any indication, Microsoft isn't afraid of making huge announcements at major events like E3. Not only did the company feature major third-party games like Devil May Cry 5 and Kingdom Hearts 3, but it also announced five studio acquisitions for Xbox Game Studios as well.

At that time, many of those teams had just come off of releasing games, so nothing was truly ready to be shown. This year appears to be a different story, however, as Spencer not only confirmed that the newly acquired studios would have new things t0 show off this year but also new surprises that no one has seen before. The Outer Worlds, Obsidian's newest IP was also heavily hinted at and will likely show off some new gameplay following its reveal at The Game Awards last December.

One rumor that wasn't confirmed during this interview was the possibility of new hardware being revealed. With xCloud and Microsoft's game-streaming service heavy favorites to be shown, recent rumors surrounding next-generation Xbox hardware have also been on the rise. With an expected launch sometime in 2020, many have come to believe that Microsoft could be showing the new AMD powered tech at E3 2019, which potentially includes three different SKUs codenamed Scarlet, Anaconda, and Lockhart.

Microsoft's E3 2019 event starts on June 9 at 1pm PDT/4PM EDT.