Though it's moved to an all-digital event, the E3 hype remains potent. The ESA has put out its official schedule of E3 showcases to watch, and we've got it all right here. As you can expect, not all shows likely come with the same amount of excitement built into them - you'll be hard-pressed to find someone anticipating the Verizon show, for example, but it does help give off the showfloor experience of trying to get to the good stuff in a sea of straight-up advertisers.
Yes, yes, all trailers are essentially ads, but don't tell me you're as excited for the next Forza as you are for Verizon's new mobile and internet bundle pricing. That's not how this works. Here's the full E3 lineup with our emphasis added for the most eye-catching shows. Note: all times are listed in the Pacific time zone.
E3 2021 Schedule
Saturday, June 12
| 10:00 a.m. | Broadcast Pre-Show |
| 11:00 a.m. | Ubisoft Forward Pre-show |
| 12:00 p.m. | Ubisoft Forward |
| 2:00 p.m. | Gearbox E3 Showcase |
| 2:45 p.m. | GamesBeat Session |
Sunday, June 13
| 8:45 a.m. | Broadcast Pre-Show |
| 9:30 a.m. | 24 Entertainment’s NARAKA: BLADEPOINT |
| 10:00 a.m. | Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase |
| 12:15 p.m. | SQUARE ENIX |
| 2:00 p.m. | Warner Bros. Games’ Back 4 Blood |
| 2:30 p.m. | PC Gaming Show |
| 4:00 p.m. | Future Games Show |
Monday, June 14
| 8:00 a.m. | Broadcast Pre-Show |
| 9:00 a.m. | Verizon |
| 9:45 a.m. | Intellivision |
| 10:15 a.m. | Take-Two Interactive Panel |
| 11:10 a.m. | Mythical Games |
| 12:00 p.m. | Indie Showcase |
| 12:30 p.m. | Freedom Games |
| 1:00 p.m. | VENN |
| 2:30 p.m. | Capcom |
| 3:00 p.m. | Razer |
Tuesday, June 15
| 8:00 a.m. | Broadcast Pre-Show |
| 9:00 a.m. | Nintendo’s Nintendo Direct and Nintendo Treehouse: Live |
| 2:25 p.m. | BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. |
| 3:20 p.m. | Yooreka Studio |
| 3:35 p.m. | GameSpot Play For All Showcase |
| 4:45 p.m. | Official E3 2021 Awards Show |
There are even more shows too, like the E3-adjacent (but perhaps rivalrous?) Summer Game Fest brought to life by Geoff Keighley. The kickoff show of SGF, rumored to feature Elden Ring, is scheduled for Thursday, June 10 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET.
While Sony is likely to do its own thing next month and EA has already said as much, it's not that E3 2021 is condensed to one week, but it is much more compact than last year's schedule. We'll be sure to report on the biggest news from these shows in the days ahead.
