E3 2021: Ubisoft kicks off event with Avatar and Mario + Rabbids reveals A new game based on James

E3 2021: Ubisoft kicks off event with Avatar and Mario + Rabbids reveals
A new game based on James Cameron's Avatar film and a fresh collaboration with Nintendo kicked off E3 2021.

Ubisoft was the first game-maker to demonstrate their upcoming games at the annual gaming show, the first in two years due to the pandemic.

It also showed off the upcoming Rainbow Six: Extraction and a new Rocksmith guitar tutor, among other titles.

But it was the surprise reveal of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora which excited many viewers.

The partnership with the film franchise was announced in 2017 but little has been revealed about it since then.

The first-person action-adventure game was shown off through an in-engine trailer, highlighting the the visuals but with few details of what the game's style would be.

Ubisoft said the game would be "new, standalone story" in which players play as the Na'vi, the blue-skinned alien natives of the planet Pandora who were the heroes of the original 2009 film.

It is not due for release until 2022. James Cameron's sequel to the original film, known only as Avatar 2, is currently scheduled for a December 2022 release after several years of delays.

Extraction replaces Quarantine
Ubisoft kicked off its presentation with tactical shooter Rainbow 6 Siege: Extraction, the new name for the next entry in the Tom Clancy-inspired series.

Originally known as Rainbow Six: Quarantine, the company changed the name due to the global pandemic.

Unlike its predecessor, which was a player-versus-player game, Extraction is a squad-based co-operative shooter for three players to team up against AI-controlled opponents.

It focuses on players joining forces to take on an alien species which is infecting people all over the world.

The previous game, Rainbow Six Siege, will continue to receive updates as the competitive team combat game in the series, Ubisoft said. It also announced it would be adding cross-play for players on different platforms - such as PC and Google Stadia, and Xbox and PlayStation - but not between PC and console.

Ubisoft Forward at E3 2021: Everything announced
The return of the world's biggest game conference has reached its stride with E3 2021. One of the most major publishers and developers in the video games industry just concluded their E3 2021 event, and it gave players a sneak peek at a ton of new games and projects coming from Ubisoft in the future. We covered Ubisoft Forward and took note of every game reveal, trailer, and announcement, and compiled them all in one place for your convenience. Here's everything announced during Ubisoft Forward at E3 2021.

Games shown off during Ubisoft Forward at E3 2021 can head to any modern gaming platform, including Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, PS5, PS4, and Switch. Ubisoft is one of the biggest publishers in the video game industry for a reason, and many of their projects will be some of the best Xbox games and best PC games of the future.

Rainbox Six Extraction is a 1-3-player co-op game with full crossplay and cross-save where players will take control of one of 18 specialized Operators to complete objectives and unravel the mystery behind a lethal alien force that threatens the world. Players will have to work together, use stealth tactics and other strategies, and carefully infiltrate enemy ecosystems to get to the bottom of what's going on.

E3 2021 Schedule: How to Watch and Everything Announced
E3 2021 is officially underway. Day One of E3 was a games bonanza with dozens of games announced during the Guerrilla Collective, Ubisoft Forward, and Devolver Digital Recap streams. What's shaping up to be the biggest online gaming conference has also give us our first look at Elden Ring, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, and much more. Of course, there are even more new games to be announced so stay tuned for even more from this year's all-digital ‘Electronic Entertainment Expo.’

Below you'll find the full E3 2021 schedule and all the announcements made so far. We also have an inkling of what announcements you can expect from every video game publisher, developer, and platform later this week too. And if you're looking for where to preorder every E3 game we have you covered there too.

E3 2021 takes place from Saturday, June 12 to Tuesday, June 15, though there are more than a few game showcases happening before and after the event week. You'll be able to tune into several live video conferences and a four-day-long livestream that will all be accessible to everyone for free. Our schedule includes events falling outside of E3 2021 but the exhibition officially starts on June 12 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT/6pm BST. That's 3am AEST on June 13.

E3 2021 is a fully online-only event this year and all the livestreams are free for everyone to watch. How to watch is really up to you in the end. You can of course just tune into IGN where you'll find all the livestreams playing on our homepage. We'll be carrying much of E3 2021 on IGN as part of our Summer of Gaming event, so make sure to tune in here once the festivities begin.

The first day of E3 2021 promised reveals from big-name publishers Ubisoft and Gearbox Software, along with additional livestreams from the Guerilla Collective, Devolver Digital, and others not officially associated with the E3 expo. After being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, E3 is returning with an all-digital event that begins on June 12, 2021.

This year's E3 covers four days, from June 12 to 15. As broken down in a handy official E3 2021 schedule graphic, the conference begins with a pre-show at 10 AM PT on day one and concludes with the Official E3 2021 Awards Show at 4:45 PM ET on the final day. E3 fan registration is open for those who'd like access to certain exclusive aspects of the expo. During that span, several non-E3 gaming events are taking place, mostly associated with Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest.

Prior to day one, Ubisoft detailed its E3 plans, announcing the pre-show would showcase updates on Brawlhalla, For Honor, The Crew 2, Trackmania, and Watch Dogs: Legion, while the show proper would feature Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, Riders Republic, Rainbow Six Siege, and Rainbow Six Extraction (formerly Rainbow Six Quarantine). Gearbox, meanwhile, announced plans to include Tribes of Midgard, Godfall, the Borderlands movie and the newly revealed Tiny Tina's Wonderlands in its E3 showcase.

The following links lead to Screen Rant's coverage of each individual E3 day one announcement (and some announcements from before E3). Click through for more details. The list does not encompass every reveal and trailer from each day one event - just the most significant news items. The showcases themselves are embedded when possible for full viewing.

Ubisoft has unveiled Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, a first-person action-adventure game set in James Cameron’s Avatar universe. A new trailer highlighted the game’s central conflict, focusing on air-to-air combat between humans and the Na’vi.

First announced in February 2017, we now know the game has been built on Ubisoft’s proprietary Snowdrop Engine — the same technology that underpins The Division. The game is being developed by Massive Entertainment, in partnership with Lightstorm Entertainment and Disney itself.

“In this new, standalone story,” Ubisoft says in the game’s description, “play as a Na’vi and embark on a journey across the Western Frontier, a never-before-seen part of Pandora. Explore a living and reactive world inhabited by unique creatures and new characters, and push back on the formidable RDA forces that threaten it.”

The release window is listed a 2022. The game is being developed for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. It will also be available on Stadia and Luna.

We played the Jackbox Party Pack 7 game Champ'd Up with special guest Dami Lee and used it as an excuse to make a ton of OC's.

Following a fragmented and often confusing to follow show last year, E3 2021 is mostly business as usual when it comes to its run of conferences.

Though there is no physical show, with organiser Entertainment Software Association (the ESA) opting for a free online-only event due to the ongoing pandemic, there is a return to a more familiar structure - a three day event, running June 12th to June 15th, with most major publishers taking part in a series of livestreams in the days up to the show.

This means, instead of multiple standalone announcements throughout the summer, we can expect the usual week-long rush of announcements. That said, some publishers (such as EA) are opting to host their own events later in the year, while others (such as Sony) are seemingly not doing much at all.

This page presents you with a complete E3 2021 conference schedule as we know it so far - running in chronological order - and will be updated as more events are announced.

If you've followed our E3 guides from previous years, as well as date and time details, we provide some background reading so you know what to expect ahead of time - but as always, there's bound to be a few surprise announcements along the way.

As for E3 stream links, we'll be populating the page with links as each press conference just as each one goes live. As is tradition, most shows will have dedicated live texts on the Eurogamer home page, so if in doubt, check there - it'll be lovely for you to join us!

With last year's conferences revealing not only the first next-gen games, but the consoles themselves, there's no doubt this year's showing will be more low key - especially when you factor in continued game delays due to the pandemic.

That said, it appears most publishers are eager to show something - and with the new generation only just warming up, there are bound to be some teasers to get people excited for what's to come in the years to come.

Until then, here's when every confirmed E3 2021 conference is scheduled to go live at a glance.

As well as the above confirmed dedicated showings, the ESA has confirmed other reveals for various publishers and games on the following days. Since these appear to be briefer showcases than the above conferences, here's an overview of what to expect and when:

For those specifically after some VR reveals, the Upload VR Showcase is worth keeping tabs on. Previous years have seen the likes of Budget Cuts on PSVR to Doctor Who: The Edge of Time being shown, and this year's show promises new trailers and reveals, as well as "fresh looks at some of your most anticipated titles".

Square Enix's showcase is headlined with a "world premiere" for the next game from Eidos Montreal. Back in 2017, Eurogamer heard the studio was in the early stages of production on a Guardians of the Galaxy project. Could this be finally due a reveal?

Beyond that, the 40 minute showcase will feature updates on Babylon's Fall, the Black Panther expansion for Marvel's Avengers, and Life is Strange: True Colors, as well as a first look at Life is Strange: Remastered Collection.

As well as the other conferences on Sunday, between the Square Enix and PC Gaming Show conferences will be a short stream for Black 4 Blood at 10pm UK / 2pm PDT, which you can watch on official E3 channels.

Now a regular fixture in the E3 line-up, the PC Gaming Show has established itself as one to watch, with its mix of in-depth previews and solid announcemen