Microsoft’s E3 conference has just come to a close. There was a ton of big announcements and some surprise reveals. For those that may have missed the presentation or want a second look, here’s a recap.
Halo: Infinite
Xbox spent no time to announce the newest installment in the Halo franchise. This is planned to be a brand new experience that the series has not seen before. Master Chief is poised to return. Although a release date was not announced, more details will be revealed at a later date.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Next up for exclusives, came Ori and the Will of the Wisps. A 2019 release date was given, as well as a new gameplay trailer.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
FromSoftware’s latest game was shown off during this presentation. Activision is taking over publishing duties on this title. It’s a samurai-style game that looks to retain some combat aspects from the Soulsborne genre. However, it is a definite departure from the series and looks to provide something new and fresh. 2019 is the planned release date.
Fallout 76
Bethesda head, Todd Howard, came out on stage to reveal Bethesda Game Studios’ next project, Fallout 76. This upcoming project will take place in the hills of West Virginia. The map is set to be four times the size of Fallout 4. More information will be shown off at Bethesda’s conference later tonight at 6:30 PM PST/9:30 PM EST.
Square Enix
The next reveal was from DontNod Entertainment. The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is set to take place in the Life is Strange universe. It will explore topics of childhood innocence while also dealing with a parental death. There will be a free download available on June 26.
Crackdown 3
Terry Crews is back in action and is a playable character. As he ran around and caused destruction, fans were captivated by what gamers can be able to do. Players can change vehicles as they drive, guns can transform, and environments can be completely destroyed. Following its delay, the game will now launch in February 2019.
Nier: Automata
Square Enix accidentally leaked Nier: Automata’s Xbox One launch earlier this morning. The port will be released on June 26, 2018. This Become as Gods Edition is set to include previously unreleased DLC, as well.
Metro: Exodus
More footage was shown off for 4A Games’ latest installment into the Metro franchise. Artyom is back and ready for a new adventure. New weapons with deeper customization are available to use. Ziplines and new enemies will also be making an appearance. One new predator to note is a radioactive shark. The game will be released February 22, 2019.
Kingdom Hearts III
For the first time in the franchise’s history, Kingdom Hearts will be playable on Xbox One. Along with this information, gamers were given a look at a lot of the upcoming worlds which include: Frozen, Wreck it Ralph, Tangled, Monsters Inc., Hercules, and Toy Story. There was also a look at flying missions. The game will be releasing on January 29, 2018.
Sea of Thieves
Microsoft also gave some news regarding Rare’s recent open world pirate adventure, Sea of Thieves. Two new expansions are set to come to the base game in the coming months. Cursed Sails is the first and will show up in July. Forsaken Shores is the next and planned for September.
Battlefield V
DICE appeared on stage to give a quick trailer for the upcoming Battlefield V. It detailed the story a bit and looked really well done. The game will hit store shelves on October 19.
Forza Horizon 4
The rumors appeared to be true, Forza Horizon 4 is going to be released on October 2, 2018. Ralph Fulton of Playground Games appeared on stage to give some details about the upcoming title. The setting of the game will be in Britain, while also introducing dynamic seasons. Seasons is set to change the dynamics of the gameplay. For instance, previously inaccessible areas could be unlocked depending on the current season.
Online play is also planned to be a major staple of the gameplay. This will have a shared open world which will include all real people. Previously, the games would include NPCs or ghosts of real people that drove around aimlessly. Now, gamers can team up with one another and tackle new missions.
Forza Horizon 4 includes a 60 frames-per-second mode for those with an Xbox One X or a high-resolution gaming PC. This title will be available on Xbox Game Pass on launch day.
New Studio Acquisitions
Microsoft showed off its commitment to the future of the Xbox brand. Five studios have recently been acquired and will produce exclusive games and content to the Xbox family of systems.
First, The Initiative was the first studio to be announced. The former head of Crystal Dynamics, Darrell Gallagher, is the head of this Santa Monica based studio. Phil Spencer announced that this company will bring “new game experiences” that gamers can look forward to.
Second, Undead Labs is coming to Microsoft Studios. They are the company behind the recently released State of Decay 2.
Third, Playground Games is now an Xbox subsidiary. This group is the team who created the Forza Horizon series. They are also working on a new open-world project that will be revealed at a later date.
Fourth, Ninja Theory is now creating Xbox exclusive games. This team is responsible for the recently released, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, as well as Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.
The last studio announced was Compulsion Games. The creators of We Happy Few are now under the Microsoft banner. They also gave a new trailer for We Happy Few in addition to its release date of August 10, 2018.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
PUBG is set to feature an upcoming War Mode as well as some new maps. The desert map, Miramar, was just released on Xbox and Erangel will be coming soon, since it is already available in beta on PC. Two new maps will be coming later this year. Sanhok is planned for Summer and a snow map will be coming in Winter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rG9noTfb4A
Tales of Vespiria: Definitive Edition
The Tales of Vespiria series is coming to the West for the first time ever. The release is planned for Winter of 2018.
The Division 2
Ubisoft came on to showcase their upcoming The Division 2. It takes place in Washington DC and will explore a potential Civil War. There are a ton of new guns and equipment that can be used to players’ advantages. Four-person co-op will be a central focus to gain a tactical advantage over enemies. It will be released on March 15, 2019.
Xbox Gamepass
Ashley Speicer, head of engineering for Gamepass, appeared to showcase a few new announcements. Fallout 4, Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, and The Division are available to download as of today. Halo: Master Chief Collection will be available later this year. Games are also set to utilize a “fast start” feature. This means that games will begin twice as fast as normal.
Shadows of the Tomb Raider
Square Enix appeared yet again to showcase its upcoming, Shadows of the Tomb Raider. The game will focus on the Day of the Dead. Pre-ordering the Croft Edition will grant early access. September 14, 2018, is the targeted release date.
Session
Xbox will be receiving its own exclusive skating game, Session. No details were given nor was there a release date. We did get a trailer, however.
Black Desert
A new console launch exclusive MMO RPG was announced for the system. Here is a trailer for that.
Devil May Cry V
Capcom appeared on stage to offer one of the conferences biggest announcements, Devil May Cry V. The game follows Nero and will not be a sequel to DmC: Devil May Cry. Capcom confirmed that they listened to fans and that this will be a true sequel to Devil May Cry 4.
Cuphead
The hit indie platformer, Cuphead, is poised to receive DLC. A new isle, new bosses, and new enemies will be introduced. Ms. Chalice is also going to be a new playable character. The Last Delicious Course will release in 2019.
Tunic
A new Xbox exclusive featuring a lovable fox will appear at some point in the future. It has unique graphics and looks sort of like a top-down Zelda game.
Jump Force
A brand new anime fighting game was announced for 2019. Characters from hit series such as Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and Naruto are set to be playable.
Dying Light 2
Dying Light 2 made its official debut on stage as well. It will be much more immersive than its predecessor. There are going to be voice options and character choices. These choices will impact story elements, as well.
Battletoads
In a big surprise, Rare’s hit beat em up, Battletoads, made an appearance. The new game will feature three player couch co-op and will release in 2019.
Just Cause 4
The final game shown from Square Enix was Just Cause 4. It features the same character from the previous entry in the series. Launch date is set for December 4, 2019.
Gears of War
Three new Gears of War games were unveiled. The first is a mobile game titled Gears Pop. The characters take the form of Funko Pops and seem to be more cartoony in retrospect. Second, Gears of War Tactics was announced. It is a PC exclusive strategy game that takes place 12 years before the original game. Not much else is known. Finally, Gears 5 was officially revealed alongside a 2019 release date and a new trailer.
Microsoft AI
The company revealed that it is devoted to streaming games to PCs and mobile devices.
Cyberpunk 2077
CD Project Red closed and stole the show with its official trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. A marketing partnership between them and Microsoft was announced as well.
Xbox’s E3 conference proved that they are committed to their future. It was a solid showing that should keep Xbox users enticed for years to come.