Xbox expected to reveal new Call of Duty game at massive June Games Showcase and Direct

Xbox is holding a summer games blowout in June dedicated to its biggest upcoming headliners – but the main event could be overshadowed by the support act.

Directly after the show, Xbox is promising a special presentation on the next entry of one of its franchises, which everyone is convinced will be the new Call of Duty game.

Here’s what we know about the Xbox June Games Showcase and the Direct deep-dive.

When is the Xbox June Games Showcase?

The action will begin at 6pm in the UK on June 9. The Xbox Games Showcase will be up first, where you can expect to hear about a batch of fresh new games for Xbox consoles and PC, followed by the Direct presentation.

How to watch the Xbox June Games Showcase

As usual, the entire double-feature will be livestreamed on Xbox’s official channels on YouTube, Twitch and Facebook.

The event coincides with Summer Games Fest, the annual gaming extravaganza overseen by The Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley.

What games will be shown at the event?

Xbox says this will be the first Showcase to feature games from its sprawling collection of studios, including Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda and third-party partners.

While it hasn’t revealed any titles, viewers can expect to see the likes of Perfect Dark, Fable, State of Decay 3, the Starfield Shattered Space expansion, and maybe even a new Gears of War game. Other games Xbox has in the pipeline include Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed, and Ara: History Untold, all three of which are slated for release this year.

Meanwhile, almost anyone who is anyone in the gaming sphere reckons the Direct will be devoted to the new Call of Duty. In fact, The Verge’s Tom Warren says that people familiar with the company’s plans have confirmed that the next CoD will be the star of the show.

We previously heard that the next Call of Duty will be a new entry in the Black Ops spinoff series presided over by developer Treyarch. The new instalment will reportedly be set in the Gulf War of the early Nineties, with a focus on the CIA’s shadowy role in the conflict.

Long-time fans sick of the cartoonish skins in Modern Warfare 3 will be happy to learn that it is said to be more of a gritty military combat game. Players can apparently expect less of the high-tech gadgetry associated with past entries, and more straight-up shooting. A separate report from earlier this year claimed that it will also feature an open-world campaign.

We should find out more during the Direct on June 9.