All eyes turn to E3 as games exhibition gears up

Games fans will be turning their attention to the E3 event in Los Angeles in the coming days as developers, publishers and other industry figures unveil their plans for the year.

Although the show has more for console gamers, virtual reality is expected to play a more visible part at this year's E3 when it opens on Tuesday. Oculus VR has already held its press conference to show off the consumer version of its Rift headset, which is due to go on sale early next year. It also announced a partnership with Microsoft that would not only see the device ship with an Xbox wireless controller, but also allow games to be streamed through Windows 10 to the Rift.

The Xbox maker is due to kick off the traditional day of press conferences On Monday, ahead of the show’s official opening, although it won’t be the first – that goes to Bethesda, which opted to hold its first press conference at E3 on Sunday evening. Sequels expected to feature heavily at Microsoft’s event, with games such Halo: Guardians, Forza 6 and Rise of Tomb Raider among those expected to take a starring role at the press conference.

The company has already announced a new 1TB Xbox One console, with a new controllear.

Rival Sony will hold its press event later on Monday, with its virtual reality effort Project Morpheus expected to get a big push at the show, along with Uncharted 4: Thief's End. Project Morpheus is due for launch in early 2016.

Nintendo, meanwhile, will hold a virtual press conference, with its online Nintendo Direct event on Tuesday morning.

Publishers Square Enix, EA and Ubsisoft will also show off some of the expected blockbuster titles of the coming year, from Star Wars Battlefront and a Need for Speed follow up to the latest Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, which uses Havok’s latest technology Havok FX.

The E3 exhibition opens officially on June 16th and closes on June 18th.