The history of the PC Gaming Show

E3 has always included PC games, but back when the only big press conferences came from console manufacturers and publishers like EA and Ubisoft, PC-related news always came second to the needs of console marketing budgets. But PC gaming isn't just a way to make console games look prettier—it's a distinct platform with its own games, genres, and subcultures. And with PC gaming experiencing a new golden age in the 2010s, it began to feel downright absurd that our favorite platform didn't have a stage of its own at E3.

For years we dreamed about what that PC-centric E3 show would look like. Finally, in 2015 we stopped dreaming and made it a reality, and the PC Gaming Show was born. Here's a brief history of the show, and a little tease of what to expect this year.

2015: The first (and longest) PC Gaming Show

The very first PC Gaming Show took place in June of 2015. At the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, host Sean "Day[9]" Plott welcomed guests including Microsoft's Phil Spencer, Dean Hall of DayZ fame, Sean Murray of Hello Games, and developers and publishers from Blizzard, Obsidian, Tripwire Interactive, and Devolver Digital. Games and trailers featured on the first PC Gaming Show included Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Hitman, Planet Coaster, Enter the Gungeon, Fable Legends, and American Truck Simulator. And don't forget our Ode to PC gaming, a modern classic.

It was our first time on a big stage, but the inaugural PC Gaming Show was a big success. We brought the show roaring back in 2016, determined to make it bigger and even better—though, perhaps as importantly, considerably shorter than the original's patience-testing 2.5 hour running time. (Hey, we were new at this and got a little carried away.) 

Here's a playlist of 2015's highlights and segments.

2016: A visit from the legendary Warren Spector

Day[9] returned once again to serve as our charming host, showcasing exclusive trailers, teasers, and interviews. 2016's PC Gaming show featured games like Ark: Survival Evolved, Warframe, Superhot, Vampyr, Elite: Dangerous, and Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord... which finally appeared on our PCs just a couple months ago.

Here's a complete playlist showing just how packed to the rafters it was with interviews, trailers, and reveals. 

And it ended with a cool surprise: The legendary Warren Spector made an appearance (you can watch it above), closing out our show to talk to us about the ever-brighter future of PC gaming.

2017: Sea of Thieves, PUBG, and aww, it's Ooblets

And into that future we boldly went. 2017's PC Gaming Show was once again filled with exciting game announcements for Ooblets, Total War: Warhammer 2, Sea of Thieves, BattleTech, and Forza Motorsport 7, along with many others.

Brendan Greene visited the show to talk about his mega-hit battle royale PUBG (you can watch that above), and Firaxis creative director Jake Solomon told us all about XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Have a look at everything showcased in our 2017 show.

2018: Bigger than ever before

This year Day[9] was joined by co-host Frankie Ward, both of whom continue to host the show. Together they served as PC gaming's delightful ambassadors, welcoming Hitman 2, Anno 1800, Warframe: The Sacrifice, Hunt: Showdown, Two Point Hospital, Satisfactory, and many more. 

By now the PC Gaming Show was more than a scrappy E3 underdog, it was simply huge. In 2018 it drew over 1.8 million unique viewers on all streaming platforms, surpassing Electronic Arts and Nintendo's own E3 press conferences. Pretty cool! Here's every single game trailer from our 2018 show.

2019: Baldur's Gate 3, Logan Marshall-Green, and Frankie The Shark

The show went on in 2019 when Day9 and Frankie welcomed the creator of Telling Lies, Sam Barlow, and actor Logan Marshall-Green. Larian CEO Swen Vincke visited to tell us about Baldur's Gate 3, and Digital Extremes returned to the show to chat about Warframe. The show also featured Last Oasis, Planet Zoo, Terraria: Journey's End, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, and Tripwire's Maneater, which Frankie celebrated by cosplaying as a shark (above). Here's s recap of our 2019 show.

2020: Streaming live on June 6

It's hard to believe we've already done five of these, but we're ready to roll once again. 2020's PC Gaming Show will be streamed live on June 6 at 12 pm Pacific. 

As always, this year's PC Gaming Show will feature exclusive trailers, announcements, and interviews with some of the industry's best and brightest developers and publishers—just with a bit more distance between them and our usual hosts, Day[9] and Frankie. 

You can watch the show live on Twitch, YouTube, and other platforms—here are all the details on how to watch the 2020 PC Gaming Show.