The most exciting time of year on the gaming industry calendar is here again. E3 2018 begins at the end of the week and that means the announcement dam is about to break. For Australians, this typically means staying up late or getting up very early for the show’s eagerly-anticipated press briefings. 2018 is no different. Hit the jump to exactly when and where you’ll be able to see every press conference this year’s convention has to offer.
Sunday, June 10
Electronic Arts
When: 4am AEST/2am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/ea
EA have gotten out first every year since breaking away from E3 proper to start their own gaming conference earlier in the week. EA Play returns to Los Angeles for its third year. We’re sure EA will have lots more information about Battlefront V to share along with the usual barrage of EA Sports titles, but their real draw this year might be Bioware’s upcoming MMO shooter Anthem. Formally unveiled during last year’s EA Play and Xbox media briefings, Anthem remains a bit of a mystery and we look forward to seeing more of it.
Monday, 11 June
Xbox
When: 6am AEST/4am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/xbox
Our thanks to Xbox for not picking a time in the dead of night to hold their press conference. Australians can look forward to Xbox announcements over breakfast — will we see Crackdown 3 finally get a release date? Will there be a new Gears of War or Halo to talk about? Will Microsoft finally have some great new exclusives to talk about? Will they ever remember that they technically own Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie and Battletoads, and could make new ones any time they want? Time will tell. We expect this stream will also appear on Mixer, for those wanting to watch live on their own Xbox One console.
Bethesda
When: 11:30am AEST/9:30am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/bethesda
A good excuse to take your lunch break early, Bethesda’s mid-day conference promises a whole lot of information on their just-announced titles Fallout 76 and Rage 2, but the rest remains a mystery. Will Bethesda finally pull single-player Quake out of retirement? Will Fallout 4 turn up on Switch, as we all suspect? Could Bethesda announce a new Fallout title and a new mainline Elder Scrolls game in the same year? Wait and see, friends. Wait and see.
Devolver
When: 1pm AEST/11am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/DevolverDigital
A late-night affair for those in LA, Devolver’s presser will be an after-lunch pallete cleanser for Aussies. The publisher beloved for independent titles that push the envelope of good taste and creative design hosted one of the show’s best press conferences last year. This year they promise many new announcements and a lot more weirdness.
Tuesday, 12 June:
Square Enix
When: 3am AEST/1am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/squareenix
The start of the longest day of the show by far. Square’s first E3 presser in a little while, it should be obvious to everyone what this year’s big talking point will be — Kingdom Hearts 3. It’s finally happening, you guys. It’s not a myth, its not vapourware, it’s actually a real game you can maybe play at some point. Our prediction is a release date, but is this too much to hope for? What else does Square have to talk about? Shadow of the Tomb Raider? Probably. KINGDOM HEARTS 3, YOU GUYS.
Ubisoft
When: 6am AEST/4am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/ubisoft
Ubi had, in our opinion, the press conference of the year in 2017. It was everything you expect a Ubi presser to be — coarse, weird, extremely French — but it also had its heart in the right place. Go back and watch the devs reacting to Mario + Rabbids being demo’d and try not to get misty-eyed. What will they have on deck this year? Assassin’s Creed Odyssey certainly, but what else? Splinter Cell? Skull and Bones? Beyond Good and Evil 2 (again)? Wait and see.
PC Gaming Show
When: 8am AEST/6am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/pcgamer
Sean “Day9” Plott presides over the third PC Gaming Show presser in a row. This year promises more of what we’ve seen before — devs working exclusively on PC talking about what they’ve got in the pipe. There’ll be exclusives, there’ll be ports, there’ll be VR and there’ll probably be hardware reveals. PC Master Race, enjoy your breakfast.
PlayStation
When: 11am AEST/9am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/playstation
Sony closes Tuesday out with their usual show-and-tell at the Orpheum Theatre. This is gonna be a big one. Spider-man. Days Gone. The Last of Us Part II. If there’s one thing we know about PlayStation its that they like to have the last word. As E3 2018 heads into its final show day, expect this presser to go off.
Wednesday, 13 June
Nintendo
When: 2am AEST/12am AWST
Where: twitch.tv/nintendo
As much as Sony likes to have the last word, they rarely get it. Nintendo closes out the year’s press briefs at the eye-wateringly early hour of 2am on Wednesday with their now traditional E3 edition of Nintendo Direct. We’re hoping for more Mario + Rabbids and Metroid Prime 4, and we expect they’ll talk about the next wave of Nintendo Labo kits, but honestly? Take this show wherever you want, Nintendo. We’re going to be very sleepy and your presser is always a fun one.
So there you have it. That’s the entire E3 schedule, full of the usual big announcements, weird on-stage cringe and theatres full of sleep-deprived, over-caffeinated games journos. It’s the biggest week of the year and we can’t wait to get started.
———-
