Microsoft Reveals Official E3 Plans, But Most of the Action Will Be Off of the Show Floor

Yesterday, we reported that Microsoft had big plans for E3 this year, but was going to do "something different" this time around. Today, we found out just what that is – and it involves a space beyond the show floor.

The company revealed its plans in an Xbox Wire post today, noting that it was preparing its "biggest showing ever" with a cavalcade of Xbox One/Windows 10 games, along with a devoted space for its streaming Mixer service.

"With the evolution of E3, now including fans and extended show hours, we saw an opportunity to create an entirely new show experience reaching E3 attendees and those that are following the show from afar," the company noted. "With that, in collaboration with the Entertainment Software Association, the organizers of E3, we're excited to announce that Xbox will be taking over the Microsoft Theater, a perfectly situated space located in the heart of L.A. Live and across the street from the Los Angeles Convention Center."

The Theater will actually be the place to catch all the company's E3 action, including its pre-E3 briefing on Sunday, June 10, at 1:00 PM PDT, as well as various Xbox FanFest activities, hands-on gameplay and demos for all of its games.

So, yeah, it'll be hosting something away from the show floor, similar to what EA is doing with its EA Play event. But Microsoft did note it'll still have presence at E3 itself, "with a new booth completely dedicated to Mixer, where you can play, stream and interact with games and catch the latest E3 news live throughout the entire week," according to the company. It's unknown if the booth will feature the same games that will be at its Microsoft Theater event.

"These changes – expanding our presence, multiple venues, taking over the Microsoft Theater – give us the opportunity to bring together a variety of Xbox experiences into one primary location and, most importantly, let fans in on what we're up to in 2018 and beyond in a fresh new way."

Kudos to Microsoft for providing more space for Xbox fans to enjoy upcoming games, and giving Mixer some stronger presence, but this could be interesting leading into future shows. Don't expect Microsoft to leave the show floor entirely, though, since it's working alongside the ESA on this set-up. Let's see what the future holds!

The showcase should be open the same hours as the E3 show floor, although we're still waiting for exact clarification from the company.

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