Xbox and Bethesda join Nintendo at Gamescom 2023 – leaving Sony as odd one out

05 July 2023 , 11:51

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Unlike PlayStation, who is yet to confirm its attendance, Xbox will have a big presence at Gamescom 2023 (Image: Microsoft)

Xbox and Bethesda will be in attendance at Gamescom 2023, it has been confirmed today.

Xbox and Bethesda's presence at Gamescom 2023 was confirmed by the official Gamescom Twitter account earlier today, with the account stating: "Breaking – Xbox and Bethesda will join us on the showfloor for Gamescom 2023! More details soon". Fellow industry titan Nintendo announced back in April via Twitter that it would be attending, as reported by VGC. But Sony, and by extension PlayStation, reportedly won't be at the event according to reporting from GamesMarkt (via VGC).

Gamescom 2023 will take place on August 23 until August 27, 2023, and is expected to be filled with announcements, new gameplay and potentially even official reveals for upcoming titles. Xbox and Bethesda's presence at Gamescom makes sense considering that Starfield, the crown jewel in Xbox's 2023 games lineup, is set to be released less than two weeks after the event concludes, with its other big 2023 release, Forza Motorsport, set to be released in October.

2023 has been a year for Microsoft

It's been a busy 2023 for Microsoft and Xbox, with the tech giant recently in federal court in the United States having to defend its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, following legal action by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). But, in defending its Microsoft Activisio deal, previously unknown details and plenty of juicy gossip have been made public.

During the Microsoft Activision vs FTC trial it was revealed that, amongst many other things, Starfield could have been a PlayStation exclusive if not for Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax, Elder Scrolls 6 is more than five years from release, Xbox once considered acquiring Sega and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile will be released in Autumn. And it wasn't just Xbox that was forced to reveal information it probably didn't want people to know either, because we also learned plenty about Sony.

Why Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's six week delay is a good thing

According to Microsoft's lawyers, Sony will release a PS5 Slim later this year, and also had a go at estimating its price, along with Sony's upcoming PS5 gaming handheld Project Q. It was also revealed that Sony will not give Activision access to any PS6 development insight if the acquisition goes through, as it could give Microsoft access to PlayStation development secrets and potentially, handicap future Activision games on the future console.

Nathan Bliss