TOKYO, May 11, 2018 (News Wires) - Japanese publisher Square Enix is returning with an Electronic Entertainment Expo presentation after two years away, with its pre-recorded video due for broadcast on June 11, 2018. Just like Nintendo, fellow Japanese video game giant Square Enix will be presenting a pre-recorded video rather than a live media briefing at the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo. For Square Enix, publisher of the Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy franchises, it's a return to the annual video game event after an absence of two years. The company promised "exciting news and announcements" shared during a video produced in advance. No further details were given, though several key releases on the Square Enix schedule are already known. Action adventure Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches September 14, 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC, third in a prequel trilogy and the first game to follow March's successful Alicia Vikander film Tomb Raider. Long-awaited Disney character crossover Kingdom Hearts III, recently seen at the annual D23 expo in February, has been announced as a 2018 release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Role-playing game Octopath Traveler is a Nintendo Switch exclusive with a July 13 date, while the extremely well-rated Dragon Quest XI was released in Japan in 2017 and goes worldwide on PlayStation 4 and PC on September 4. In addition, Minecraft-esque adventure Dragon Quest Builders 2, shooter project Left Alive, narrative adventure Life is Strange 2, historical team action game Battalion 1944 and a Final Fantasy VII remake have all been previously announced for 2018 or 2019. And while a licensed Avengers project, developed by the Tomb Raider studio has not yet been dated, Square Enix may choose to take advantage of the momentum generated by record-breaking movie blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War to offer a sneak peek. The Square Enix E3 Showcase 2018 will be broadcast on June 11 from 11am PT (2pm ET, 6pm UTC, 8pm Central Europe and South Africa, and 23.30pm India; then on June 12 at 2am in Singapore, Philippines, south Malaysia, and Beijing, China, 3am South Korea and Japan, and 4am Sydney, Australia.) Livestreaming channels include official site e3.square-enix-games.com as well as Google's YouTube, Amazon's Twitch.tv, Microsoft's Mixer (until now primarily associated with Microsoft's Xbox presentations), Facebook, and Twitter. Square Enix becomes the sixth major publisher to announce presentation plans for the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Electronic Arts is making a live presentation on June 9, Microsoft and Bethesda on June 10, Ubisoft later on June 11, and Nintendo on June 12. PlayStation owner Sony is yet to post its schedule.
