The cancellation of E3 was officially announced today (unofficially a little earlier). As a result, major publishers and developers are struggling to figure out how to showcase their hard work without the big stage of the LA conference.

The Xbox team wasted no time in revealing an alternative to E3, with Xbox chief Phil Spencer's tweet clearly stating the group's intent to hold an online event:

What piqued our interest regarding this E3 alternative What piqued our interest in this alternative to E3 was the phrase "celebrating the next generation of gaming. Indeed, it would be nice to hear more news about the Xbox Series X, because without Sony distracting the press and fans with talk of the PS5, E3 2020 could be all about the new Xbox.

Specific details are still unknown, but I imagine it will be something like Microsoft's GDC alternative event at Mixer next week. The event will feature a variety of talks, some of which will be directly related to the Xbox Series X, while others will give details of games that will be available at or shortly after launch.

Analysts predict that the Xbox Series X and PS5 will launch in November 2020, with specific release dates to be announced between now and E3. This could be exactly the kind of news that Xbox would announce at its own conference.