With the Xbox Games Showcase in the past, you may expect some downtime in the year without E3, but it seems the month ahead will be just as busy as those before. While several shows have already been announced for the next few weeks, ranging from game-centric conventions to publisher showcases, other shows have yet to be officially unveiled.
Therefore, you can take some of this with a grain of salt, but given the source - VentureBeat's reliable Jeff Grubb - it's safe to trust these are legitimate plans from gaming companies right now, albeit subject to change. Here's what's ahead in the "Summer Game Mess," as Grubb likes to call it.
Later this week on August 1, TennoCon 2020 kicks off, this time entirely online. TennoCon is an annual celebration of the free to play loot shooter Warframe, which has been going strong for years now, exceeding all expectations.
A week and a half later, on August 11, the Frontier Showcase will be held online. Developer Frontier will be showing off its latest games, including the Elite Dangerous sequel and the console port of Planet Coaster.
Sometime in August, rivals Microsoft and Sony will each have more to showcase, though neither show has been given a date publicly. It'll be interesting to see which goes first as it feels like this is when both platforms will finally have to reveal prices, even as no one seems so eager to do so yet. It seems Xbox is determined to undercut PlayStation on price, but can the latter do the same should they go second?
This is also rumored to be the show where Microsoft shows off the Xbox Series S (or similarly named device) which is meant to live alongside the Series X as a more affordable but less powerful option for next-gen upgraders.
On August 22, DC Comics' FanDome event will happen online and has serious implications for the gaming world. It's long been assumed, and later reported, that this will be when we finally see WB Montreal's Batman game. They began teasing it almost a year ago, but then went quiet, possibly because marketing plans shifted.
On August 27, Geoff Keighley will host Gamescom Opening Night Live, featuring more reveals from the European sibling to E3. Of course, it's entirely online this year too. For the next few days after that, there will be daily shows featuring more news from Gamescom as well.
In September, Ubisoft will host a second, likely still Splinter Cell-less Ubisoft Forward. Details on that one are almost nonexistent right now, but it's perhaps safe to expect to see some of the games we haven't seen in a while, such as Gods and Monsters and Rainbow Six Quarantine.
Microsoft is also planning to unveil its full Project Cloud roadmap including a full release. It will be included for no extra charge for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
We expect even this doesn't cover everything, but it's everything we know about today. Look for more surprise reveals from the likes of Nintendo and Call of Duty soon too, among whatever else the Summer Game Fest/Mess bring us.
