Microsoft announced that it will not host its traditional media briefing at Gamescom 2016. Instead, the Redmond tech titan will host a special event dubbed Xbox FanFest for Xbox fans during the event.
Xbox FanFest will substitute the company's media briefing, allowing attendees to get a hands-on experience with some of the biggest games scheduled for an Xbox One release. "The upcoming give our fans the opportunity to get hands-on with the most anticipated titles for 2016 and 2017, across Xbox and Windows 10," Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg announced in a post.
Xbox FanFest will be held from Aug. 18 to 24 as part of the annual gaming convention, held in Cologne, Germany. The event will offer the visitors an opportunity to play a lineup that includes "Gears of War 4," "Halo Wars 2," "Forza Horizon 3" and "ReCore and Sea of Thieves." All these titles were displayed by the company at E3 2016 last month.
Though the company will not host a media briefing this year, they plan a new and more intimate Xbox FanFest experience for our fans across Europe and worldwide attending Gamescom 2016. "We will be sharing more details on our Gamescom 2016 Xbox FanFest soon," Greenberg wrote in the post.
However, this does not mean that the Redmond tech giant will not participate in Gamescom 2016. In fact, Microsoft will have a booth at the annual gaming convention, which will be located in Hall 8 of the Koelnmesse close to the north entrance. It will be open to attendees Thursday through Saturday.
Usually, the first day one of the show, which takes place on a Wednesday, is always devoted to trade and press. The public is allowed to participate in the event on the remaining days.
At its record-setting E3 2016 E3 appearance, Microsoft unveiled a new family of Xbox One devices, a host of new Xbox Live features and Xbox's biggest games lineup ever on Xbox One and Windows 10, Polygon reported. In addition, the company announced Xbox Play Anywhere, a new program that allows gamers buy a game once and play it on their Windows 10 PC as well as Xbox One.
The show opening times for Xbox FanFest are as below:
Wednesday, Aug. 17 - 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. CEST (press/trade only day)
Thursday, Aug. 18 and Friday, August 19 - 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. CEST
Saturday, Aug. 20 - 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. CEST
Sunday, Aug. 21 - 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. CEST
Watch Microsoft's press conference at E3 2016 below: