Next week the biggest names in video games will get together at E3 in Los Angeles to draw the world's attention to their shiny new machines and blow the lid off some never-before-seen experiences.

While hundreds of game companies will litter the halls of the trade event, the most exciting aspect for those at home is watching the pre-show conferences from the very biggest in the business, and exchanging hot takes with the thousands of other fans on Twitter. So here's our one-stop guide to all the major events of next week, what you're likely to see and where you can watch it live. (All times in AEST.)

EA

Though EA is not officially part of E3, the company — publisher of Star Wars games, Need for Speed, Battlefield, myriad sports titles and much more besides — has its own adjacent event called EA Play.

This year you can get up early on the Sunday to watch EA's 90-minute presentation which will give a first good look at Star Wars Battlefront II, FIFA 18, NBA Live 18, Need for Speed Payback and new content for Battlefield 1. It's also possible we may see the unveiling of a new original game from Bioware (Mass Effect), or a first glimpse at the Star Wars projects from Visceral (Dead Space) and Respawn (Titanfall).

Live @ EA Play will be streamed via Twitch and EA.com at 5am Sunday June 11.

Microsoft

Last year the Xbox briefing closed by confirming 2017 would see the launch of a brand new console — the most powerful console ever created — codenamed Project Scorpio. This year we can expect more details on the console — which plays all the same games as Xbox One but with the ability to do it faster and at 4K resolution — including what it looks like and what it's actually called.

The Xbox One has found itself in second place behind the PS4 in this generation of the console wars, both in processing power and, arguably, in big-name exclusive games. With Scorpio aiming to do its part to fix the former, expect to see some surprise game reveals alongside details on known quantities like Crackdown 3, Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2 and Cuphead. Outside the Xbox space, expect big news related to Minecraft and gaming on Windows 10 as well.

The Xbox Media Briefing will be streamed via Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook at 7am Monday June 12.

Bethesda

Once known only for Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, Bethesda's growing stable of quality games — most recently Doom, Dishonored 2 and Prey — has seen it become one of the highest-profile third-party publishers in the business, and this year it's throwing a of course that comes with the requisite glitzy (carnival themed?) E3 presentation.

MachineGames is due to show off something new, whether or not it's Wolfenstein related. Also likely are updates for Quake Champions, Elder Scrolls Legends and Elder Scrolls Online. Rumour has it the company will finally give a good look at Skyrim for Nintendo Switch, and a slightly less convincing rumour says Bethesda is working on an open-world sci-fi game that would link the worlds of Fallout and Elder Scrolls.

The Bethesda Showcase will be streamed via Twitch at 2pm Monday June 12.

Ubisoft

As one of the most prolific publishers, Ubisoft has earned a reputation of being somewhat predictable in its game reveals, but this year could turn out to be its most exciting E3 yet. A new Assassin's Creed that effectively reboots the series is expected, off the back of some healthy recent leaks, and the company has already given a sneak peek at FarCry 5, with its potentially contentious Christian-extremists-in-rural-America setting.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole will feature for the second year in a row, and leaks indicate the company's divisive Rabbids mascots will return in a game for Nintendo Switch where they team up with Mario and friends. One or two surprise announcements are also on the cards, and following Ubisoft's trends are likely to be online multiplayer focused.

The Ubisoft Conference will be streamed via Twitch at 6am Tuesday June 13

Sony

Sony stole the show last year with a tight, lightning-paced presentation filled with huge surprise reveals. But a year later many of those featured games still seem a long way off. The dilemma here is whether the company shows more of the same games it showed last year and loses that surprising edge, or whether it goes long-term again with games we might not see until 2019.

A mix of the two is most likely, with Uncharted: Lost Legacy, Days Gone, Spider-Man and Detroit: Become Human sure to feature among plenty of brand new titles. One thing's for sure, this presentation will be all about games. With Xbox Scorpio making a point of topping the PlayStation 4 Pro for power, and the popularity of Nintendo Switch making a new Sony handheld unlikely, the time doesn't seem right for Sony to talk hardware (unless it has new bits and bobs for PSVR).

The PlayStation Media Showcase will be streamed via Twitch, YouTube and PlayStation.com at 11am Tuesday June 13.

Nintendo

Following Nintendo's all-Zelda-all-the-time E3 in 2016, the company is continuing its tradition of doing something totally different each year. A brief video presentation at the start of the show will offer a bunch of new details about Super Mario Odyssey, plus other Switch games launching this year. It's hard to predict what the famously secretive company has in store beyond games we already know are coming, meaning this could equally be one of the most exciting or most by-the-numbers presentations of E3.

Gameplay footage and more details will continue over the rest of the week, as E3 attendees play the new Mario for the first time and Nintendo hosts tournaments of its three upcoming competitive Switch games: Arms, Splatoon 2 and Pokken Tournament DX.

Nintendo Spotlight will be streamed via Nintendo's website at 2am Wednesday June 14, followed by rolling live video of new announcements, gameplay and tournaments for the whole of E3 via Twitch.