Joint Xbox-Bethesda conference confirmed for E3 2021

How is it almost June already, this is madness. Anyway, E3 is around the corner and for the first time in years it’s actually shaping up to be an exciting show again! Plenty of big names will be present, and head of Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty has confirmed that Xbox and Bethesda will host a joint conference at the event.

Booty dropped the news during an interview with French publication Le Figaro, pretty much putting to end rumours that Xbox and Bethesda would hold separate shows in June. It’s a crossover for the ages, and an important one at that if Microsoft wants to not only talk about the future of Bethesda games and whether or not they’ll be Xbox exclusives going forward. For example, Arkane Studios has Deathloop out in September and that particular title will be a PS5 and PC exclusive.

Details on what fans can expect naturally weren’t shown, but Booty did mention that Bethsda’s publishing services remain unaffected by the gigantic acquisition. Looking towards the future, Xbox has a lot on its plate after snatching up multiple studios, but Bethesda arguably has the most-anticipated titles in a world that is still reeling from Cyberpunk 2077 hype-fatigue.

Starfield has been generating a number of rumours at warp speed, with Bloomberg writer Jason Schrier popping up to claim that the game will be sort of revealed at E3 but that its release date is a long ways away. Late 2022, according to the scooper:

Rumors like this keep floating around but Starfield is nowhere near done, according to several ppl familiar with development. It'll be at E3 but the planned release date I've heard is way later than most people expect. Sharing this so that folks keep their expectations in check https://t.co/LVFzmX1XYu

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 20, 2021

What people might not realize is that the bulk of Bethesda Game Studios, including the MD office, was working on Fallout 76 until it launched. Starfield's team was very small until 2019. Rumors that the game was planned for 2020 or far into production then are just not true

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 20, 2021

The other big jewel in the Bethesda crown is The Elder Scrolls 6, and I cannot wait for the small riot that will kick off if it is revealed to be an Xbox exclusive. Sorry, PlayStation fam, you’ll have to bide your time playing one of your other many critically-acclaimed first-party exclusives instead if the latest return to Tamriel skips out on Sony’s art installation console.

Exciting times are ahead though! After years of being saddled with a reputation for having no exclusive games of its own, Xbox has done the mother of all 180s in the last couple of years, delivering some fantastic games and incredible hardware. I’ve got a feeling that this year’s E3 is going to be one for the history books.

Last Updated: May 21, 2021