Now that everything from E3 to Gamescom has been cancelled, Microsoft and Sony are having to rethink how to give the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 their first proper showings. On the bright side, though, this could mean these showings could come sooner than they would have in a normal year.
The two companies have been varying degrees of forthcoming in recent months when it comes to their next-gen consoles, with Microsoft showing off much of the XSX itself while Sony has so far only revealed the PS5’s controller. It was generally assumed up until a few weeks ago that E3 would be where the consoles would get their full reveals, and since E3’s cancellation, there’s been speculation that the companies would fill the void with digital events of some sort at around the same time.
However, industry analyst Daniel Ahmad claims that that won’t be the case. In a tweet from earlier today, he talked about how “a lot of the planned reveals / announcements” for E3 are being rescheduled, with some now slated to come “much earlier, others much later.” Although he didn’t go into much detail, he did add that the “first proper next gen console/games showcase is much earlier too.”
It’s late April now, and since E3 2020 was originally going to take place from June 9-11, Ahmad’s claim of “much earlier” could, in all likelihood, point to the first real glimpse at next-gen taking place in mid-to-late May, or around one month from now. This would fall around the time that a growing number of rumors are claiming will see Microsoft host a "proper console reveal" for the XSX, so it is possible that Ahmad might be onto something here.
That being said, Ahmad wrote in a follow-up tweet that nothing’s set in stone for the next-gen showcase just yet. “We are living through an unprecedented situation and this is the one time where external factors such as COVID-19 could actually change plans right at the last minute,” he warned. “But we'll see.”
At any rate, it’s clear that the typical rules for major video game-related announcements aren’t going to apply this year. Anything can happen at any time, and that could mean Microsoft and Sony may have to delay their plans for the next console generation. Here’s hoping that won’t be the case, though.
The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are slated to launch this holiday season.