We already knew this was coming, but now Microsoft has formally announced a start time for the date: The 2023 Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct “double feature” will livestream on June 11 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT on YouTube, Twitch (and separate American Sign Language Twitch), and Facebook in more than 30 languages. The Xbox Games Showcase will air first, and as soon as it ends, the Starfield Direct will begin. Then an Xbox Games Showcase Extended stream will air on June 13 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT with “in-depth interviews focused on the news from our Xbox Games Showcase as well as game updates from our partners.”
For the uninitiated, the Xbox Games Showcase is basically Microsoft’s personal E3 replacement event, where it will offer “surprises” and first looks from its first-party studios and other global creative partners. Meanwhile, the Starfield Direct will be a deep dive into Bethesda’s massive upcoming sci-fi RPG, featuring new gameplay and developer interviews. Following a delay, that game is currently scheduled to launch on September 6, 2023.
Spoiler Alert: we'll be talking about games ​
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Tune into the Xbox Games Showcase followed by Starfield Direct on Sunday, June 11 @ 10am PT: https://t.co/3mhkAsswII | #Starfield #XboxShowcase pic.twitter.com/4uFHPmqLyK— Xbox (@Xbox) May 3, 2023
If there is any game studio that desperately needs to change the narrative on its health right now, it’s Xbox Game Studios. Arkane’s Redfall has released to divisive reviews, Xbox’s only two first-party hits recently have been small-scale games Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush, Xbox Series continues to not receive Japanese games like the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series and Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, and it feels like Xbox’s huge stable of announced AAA releases (besides Starfield, hopefully) are always still years away. And then there’s the whole nebulous Activision Blizzard acquisition situation that keeps stalling.
On its set date with its new time, it is up to the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct to convince players that Xbox still has lots of life beyond being a Game Pass machine.
