Nintendo announces Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Direct for June 2022: Date, timings, where to watch, and more

Given its niche beginnings, Nintendo's Xenoblade Chronicles series has come a long way. It has managed to grab the attention of more than just JRPG enthusiasts with releases for various Nintendo platforms. As such, the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has a lot of hype behind it.

The Japanese Super Mario publisher has revealed that a new Direct livestream revolving around the new open-world JRPG will soon be airing. Tweeting from their official Twitter account, the company mentions that the Direct presentation will be a 20-minute deep-dive into the world of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

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When does the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Direct go live and where to watch it?

The event is scheduled for June 22, 2022, at 7 AM PT/7.30 AM IST/10 AM ET. As usual, it will be featured on their official YouTube channel. Fans can watch it via the embed above.

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What is Xenoblade Chronicles 3 about?

Developed by series creator Monolith Soft, it is the third numbered entry and the fourth installment in the ambitious Nintendo franchise. It was first announced as part of the February 2022 Nintendo Direct showcase. It follows in the series' footsteps as an open-world action RPG with themes that combine sci-fi and fantasy.

Taking place in the world of Aionios, the nations Keves and Agnus are at war with each other. The former is more technologically advanced, while the latter relies on a life energy called Ether. The narrative once again involves the intertwining lives of two characters: Noah and Mio. As off-seers, both are flute-bearing funeral mourners but come from different countries.

On that note, while it is a successor to the first two games, it features a brand new cast of characters. The fundamental gameplay remains the same as players will navigate large worlds teeming with monsters to fight. Much of this will be larger than life, and here is where the new Ouroboros mechanic comes into play.

Two characters among the game's party are able to fuse together into powerful forms to help take down particularly tough threats. As usual, the action is all real-time, however, and involves a strategy with returning mechanics like the topple system and auto-attack elements.

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What platforms will it release on?

Since the series is a first-party Nintendo IP, it will only be released on Nintendo Switch. Expect it to arrive on July 29, 2022. The series has always been a home console exclusive for the Legend of Zelda-maker, and this is not going to change. The New Nintendo 3DS did receive a port for the original Wii game, though.

Besides this new entry, there are other Xenoblade games on the hybrid platform, too: Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Given the amount of content those games have, players can expect 3 to also feature hundreds of hours of engaging gameplay.