E3 2021: What's the big gaming news?

The world's biggest gaming conference - E3 - kicks off this week, where game-making juggernauts from all around the world come together to reveal sneak peeks at new consoles and game trailers for the year ahead.

The main event begins on Saturday 12 June and ends on Tuesday 15 June, with big gaming companies like Nintendo, Microsoft and Bethesda, Ubisoft, and Square Enix each giving a presentation about what they're working on.

The event usually takes place in the Los Angeles Convention centre in the US, where tens of thousands of gaming fans gather, but this year the event will be online only, due to coronavirus restrictions.

In the past, the presentations have sometimes had big live performances, from dancers or musicians to lighting and special effects.

So, what can gaming fans look forward to this year?

How can I watch it, and what's on?

Fans can watch the event live on YouTube, or the streaming service Twitch.

Here are some of the highlights of the event:

12 June

• Guerrilla Collective - 4pm BST - A showcase of more than 80 indie games, including from developers like Innersloth, who make Among Us.

• Wholesome Direct - 6pm BST - This showcase will be full of feel-good vibes, and will show off more than 70 new and 'uplifting' indie games.

13 June

• Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase - 6pm BST - Xbox has partnered up with game-makers Bethesda, so will likely be sharing some of the big new games, as well as showing off new teasers for Halo Infinite.

15 June

• Nintendo Showcase - 5pm BST - Nintendo will be showing us a glimpse at some of its new upcoming games, which could include highly anticipated titles like Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, as well as Splatoon 3 and some of the new Pokémon games. This will be followed by a three-hour Treehouse event, which will give fans a deep-dive of certain games.

Will there be any new console announcements?

Both Microsoft and Sony released new consoles last year

The short answer is no - it's very unlikely.

After last year's big console releases - Sony's PS5 and Microsoft's Xbox One X and S - it's highly unlikely we'll see a new console release from either of them, especially seen as Sony will be skipping the conference all together.

That leaves Nintendo...

While there have been rumours that a new powerful Switch Pro console might be announced soon, Nintendo has said that its E3 presentation will be "focused exclusively on software" - so only about games.

What new games can we get a sneak peek at?

Princess Zelda will be joining Link on another adventure

Gaming fans are particularly excited for Nintendo's presentation this year, as it could be teasing some pretty exciting new games.

The most anticipated of which is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2; the sequel to BOTW, which was released in 2017, and is one of Nintendo's best-selling games.

So far fans have only seen a short teaser trailer - which was shared at the E3 presentation in 2019 - and as this year is the 35th Anniversary of the Zelda games, fans will be hoping for more information and a release date.

As well as this, fans are also looking forward to seeing more of Splatoon 3, and upcoming Pokémon games, such as the Diamond and Pearl remake, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus.