Greetings, Guardians. Today we welcome back Guardian Games! From May 2 to May 23, the annual celebration of our favorite classes and a time for friendly competition between our fellow Guardians will be available for all players. We’ve got new rewards, a returning game mode, class-based matchmaking, and another shot at getting the statue in the Tower. There’s no sleeping on the dream, so let’s get into it!

Heavy Medal

As always, medals are the name of the game. Complete your favorite activities to earn medallions that can be banked in the Tower. The class with the most medallions at the end of the day wins that day, but it all comes down to who had the most winning days.

Want to put in extra work for your class? We got you. Head on over to the OG of GGs, Eva Levante, to pick up a Contender Card and earn some shiny gold and platinum medals for the squad. The winning class will have bragging rights, as well as a commemorative statue on display in the Tower for the entire year. Go for the gusto. Go for the win.

Bullseye

It’s time now for precision, Guardian. Guardian Games 2023 marks the return of the Supremacy Crucible mode. Steady your sights and strike your target to collect their crest in this high paced returning Crucible mode.

What Are Ya Playin’?

In addition to all your favorite activities rewarding medallions, we’ve got some more ways to band together and earn medallions with your fellow Guardians.

First up, we’ve got the classic Guardian Games playlist featuring Battlegrounds and strikes that should be familiar to veteran players and a new way to play for newer Guardians. The playlist has three different ways to play: Recreational, Training, and Competitive.

Recreational is where you’ll get your bearings and get ready for the trials and tribulations of the other playlists. The Guardian Games: Recreational playlist will be available all week and scoring will be enabled. Once you’ve had enough time to stretch in the Recreational playlist, you’ll want to head over to the Training playlist.

In the Training playlist, you’ll find one strike available each week. Scoring will be enabled, so throw on that build that makes everything explode—looking at you Void Titans—and pump those numbers up.

Not to be outdone, we have the Guardian Games: Competitive playlist. Now this isn’t a playlist to mess around with – this is for those that want a challenge and some extra gear. This playlist is only up during the weekend, scoring is available and here’s the kicker: certain scores mean more rewards. Make your mark in this playlist and take home the hardware back to the Tower to show other classes what they’re missing.

Party Favors

It wouldn’t be a party without gifts, right? We’ve got you covered with new rewards up for grabs:

• Taraxippos – Can you be-weave it? A Strand Scout Rifle locked and loaded just for Guardian Games!
• The Title – You know it, you love it, you might even have one, but if you don’t, you’ll want to pick up this exclusive Guardian Games Legendary Submachine Gun before the event ends.
• New Cosmetics – Show up to the party in new cosmetics and ensure your fireteam will never ask, “Is that what you’re wearing?” again.
• New Armor Ornaments – If you’re going to win, you have to win in style. We’ve got some new threads in the Eververse ready for your perusal.
• And more!

High Role-r, Keep Going

You know your role and play it well. To turn up the heat on the competition a little bit, we’re introducing class-based matchmaking for the event. Whether you’re dicing deep into the Guardian Games playlist or want or showing rival classes how you roll in Supremacy, you can match up with other Guardians in your class.

You Stay Classy, Guardian

Guardian Games is a global celebration of what it means to be a Guardian. From Paris to Texas, Guardians from around the world are going to compete against one another for the ultimate prize: that beautiful statue in the Tower. Oh, and year-long bragging rights, of course.

While banking medallions and grabbing crests will be at the top of mind, remember to have fun. I’ll be out there trying to make my fellow Titans proud. I hope to see you there doing the same for your favorite class.

Best Buy has leaked a new Western Digital storage expansion module for the Xbox Series X/S.

If you’re always running out of storage on your Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X, putting an expensive Xbox expansion card into the back of it is the only way to get more room. That’s still the case, but there’s at least a new, cheaper model on the horizon even if it’s still too expensive.

The only way to increase the available storage on an Xbox Series X/S to date has been to use a Seagate Xbox expansion module with 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB options available. But they are all very costly considering how much cheaper PS5 owners have it — they can just put almost any M.2 SSD into their console of choice. Now, a new entry is on the horizon.

Western Digital entered the chat

Now Best Buy appears to have leaked the upcoming Western Digital C50 1TB expansion card and it’s selling for a bit less than the Seagate option. Buying Seagate will cost you $219.99 but Best Buy briefly listed the Western Digital version for just $179.99 before pulling it from its website. We can safely expect it to reappear sooner rather than later, though.

This is of course the first time that we’ve seen a brand other than Seagate offer something like this, suggesting that there is some kind of period of exclusivity that is about to expire. That’s a good thing for Xbox gamers of course, and it’s possible that we will see other storage manufacturers start to get in on the action as well.

There’s no telling when this Western Digital alternative will go on sale, unfortunately. Best Buy’s product page didn’t say even before it was ripped from its website, but the fact it was there at all suggests we won’t have to wait long. If you’re in the market for more storage, we’d suggest holding fire for now.

Cutting corners: What was supposed to be the triumphant return of one of the gaming industry’s biggest annual events has suffered a major blow. E3 2023 will be the first event in the Los Angeles expo’s 18-year history without presentations from any of the major console manufacturers.

IGN sources have confirmed that that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have declined to participate in the 2023 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The big three console manufacturers won’t hold press conferences or present on the show floor this year.

Microsoft will hold a presentation around the same time as E3, but the recent news makes it the last console manufacturer to cease direct participation in the expo. Sony and Nintendo had already drifted away from it over the last few years.

Nintendo has released pre-recorded presentations instead of E3 press conferences every year since 2013 but maintained show floor presence. Sony declined to participate in E3 entirely starting in 2019, having followed Nintendo’s practice of producing pre-recorded showcases throughout the year. Microsoft released its first pre-recorded announcement reel last week, signaling that all three console manufacturers have found an alternative to physical press conferences.

Losing the big three – previously seen as the centerpieces of the event – won’t help E3’s struggle to recover from pandemic-related cancelations. 2020 saw the event canceled for the first time, while an online-only event occurred the following year. A hybrid E3 was planned for 2022, but it switched to another online-only affair before completely falling through.

Event organizer ReedPop will manage the planned hybrid E3 2023 alongside the expo’s traditional manager, the Entertainment Software Association. Other big game companies haven’t yet announced plans to present at E3 or hold individual events this summer.

Nintendo could still release a “Nintendo Direct” presentation in June regardless of alignment with E3. Electronic Arts hasn’t yet said whether it will hold an “EA Play” this year alongside E3, a practice it started in 2016 but skipped last year. Ubisoft also hasn’t said anything so far, and PC Gamer hasn’t confirmed a PC Gaming Show for E3 2023.

Microsoft’s exit from the event is a surprise because Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently praised E3 in an interview with IGN. He said he wants to help the expo succeed, suggesting Microsoft’s summer event will complement E3, even if the company doesn’t have anything on the show floor this year.

As if on cue, the Twitter account for the Summer Game Fest reminded followers of its planned date for the event, which will host presentations from many major game companies — June 8.