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Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct: how to watch and what to expect

Tomas Franzese
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This story is a part of the Digital Trends Summer Gaming Marathon coverage 2022

Right now, the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature are shaping up to be the most important video game showcases to watch this month. Across these two back-to-back showcases, Microsoft will give us a comprehensive look at what’s coming to PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass from its first-party studios and then finally give us the deep dive into Starfield that we’ve been waiting for since it was announced in 2018.

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Because Sony has already held its PlayStation Showcase and Nintendo hasn’t revealed any plans for a Nintendo Direct this month, it looks like this will be the big first-party showcase of June. With the presentation just on the horizon, we’re laying out how you can watch the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature and explaining what you can expect from it. 

When is the Xbox Games Showcase

Microsoft

The Xbox Games Showcase will begin at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday, June 11. Microsoft has not said how long the Xbox Games Showcase will be this year, but previous presentations have typically been between an hour and an hour-and-a-half long. 

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When is the Starfield Direct

Microsoft has stated that the Starfield Direct will begin “immediately following the Xbox Games Showcase.” Because we don’t know how long the Xbox Games Showcase is, though, we don’t know exactly when this portion of the livestream will begin. We also don’t know quite how long the Starfield Direct will last. To be safe, we recommend you set aside two or three hours to watch the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature. 

How to watch the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct

Microsoft plans on promoting and live-streaming this pair of showcases across most of its gaming-focused social media platforms. As such, you can tune into the shows on Xbox’s official YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook pages as well as Bethesda’s YouTube and Twitch channels. Deaf fans can even experience the show thanks to a version of the show on YouTube with audio descriptions and stream on the XboxASL Twitch page.

A space explorer stands in front of a mountain range in Starfield.

What to expect from the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct?

It seems like Xbox fans will certainly have a lot to look forward to this year, even if Microsoft doesn’t plan on teasing much about what fans can expect this year. One 2023 Xbox game that is known and in desperate need of a release date is Forza Motorsport, so we hope to see that game in action here. Additionally, this showcase would be a great time to update us on titles like Avowed, Everwild, Fable, Perfect Dark, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, State of Decay 3, and The Outer Worlds 2.

Of those, Fable seems the most likely because of a teaser video Xbox released on Twitter. There will likely be some surprises and neat third-party and indie titles as well. VP of Xbox Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg is also promising that when we do see first-party games, it will be through trailers that feature some sort of in-game or in-engine footage.

When it comes to Starfield, we simply know that it will be a developer-focused deep dive into the game. A lot about Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi RPG is still quite unknown and mysterious, so we expect to learn a lot of new information about what exactly playing Starfield will be like when it finally launches on September 6.

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Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
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