There was not an E3 show this year in Los Angeles for the console and PC game industry (and there"s a good chance there will never be an E3 ever again). However, that didn"t stop Microsoft from holding an online Xbox Games Showcase in mid-June to show off some upcoming first and third-party games for its Xbox console and the PC.
This year, the company combined the Xbox Games Showcase with a Starfield Direct event to go deep into the making of the upcoming sci-fi RPG from Bethesda Game Studios. Today, the company announced that both events had a total of over 92 million views in the first seven days following those events.
Microsoft stated this was "a 38% rise in viewership over last year’s show. It’s become the highest rated and most-viewed show for Xbox, ever!" The company added that the online events were joined by "in-person FanFest events in Los Angeles, Mexico City, São Paulo, Melbourne, and Warsaw."
While there was no E3 this year, Microsoft will be exhibiting at the Gamescom 2023 gaming convention in Cologne, Germany. It will be held from August 23-27 this year. Microsoft says it will "be setting up our biggest ever booth to show off the incredible games we have coming to you."
There"s no word yet on if Microsoft will hold a Gamescom version of the Xbox Games Showcase. However, today"s blog post did say, "We’ll have more news in the next few weeks about our presence at the show – stay tuned!" Hopefully, we won"t have to wait that long to learn more about its next big Xbox event.
Gamescom will be holding its own online live-streaming event from the show, Opening Night Live, which promises to include some new game announcements, new trailer debuts, and more. It will be hosted by Geoff Keighley, who also hosted this year"s Summer Game Fest, and will host this year"s Game Awards in December.