The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has rolled around again for 2019, bringing with it a ton of new info, teasers and reveals of all that’s coming soon in gaming. The Los Angeles gathering gives developers and publishers a chance to show off their work and drum up excitement for releases both right around the corner and a bit further down the track. With most of the industry’s biggest names holding lengthy press conferences across the week, we’ve put together a bit of a highlight reel of all the standouts we’ll be lining up for on release.
Electronic Arts (EA)
EA had the first conference slot, opting to deliver their show through a livestream rather than their traditional stage appearances. Known mainly for their many hugely successful sports games, EA spent a decent amount of time showing off their next FIFA and Madden NFL titles – each flashing their highly realistic visuals and various new features. Yet what the people really came for were some much awaited details on Respawn Entertainment’s upcoming single-player Star Wars game. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order certainly didn’t disappoint, giving us a lengthy glimpse of some real dynamic combat, characters and environments that look like they were cut straight from a movie. The game’s original story and lightsaber action is set to place you in the shoes of a Jedi come November 15th this year. EA’s conference also covered some upcoming expansions to their existing catalogue, including Battlefield V, Apex Legends, Sims 4 and Anthem.
Microsoft
With Sony choosing to give E3 a pass completely this year, all eyes were on Microsoft for some of the biggest reveals and updates during their presentation. Recognising this, the company covered around 60 titles on stage – plus they made time to show off their insanely technical new Elite Series 2 controller and their plans for Project Scarlett, the new supercharged console they’re looking at releasing next year. Microsoft also went over their growing ‘xCloud’ game streaming service, while also expanding the Xbox Game Pass service to cover PC players as well. One of the biggest gaming items on the list was definitely Cyberpunk 2077 – the upcoming action RPG title from the creators of The Witcher series. With a trailer starring none other than Keanu Reeves, the game received a release date of 16th April 2020 from the man himself as he appeared on stage to surprised fans. Microsoft’s conference ended with a nice teaser for Halo Infinite – with Master Chief’s next big outing set to roll out alongside Project Scarlett next year. Microsoft also touched on a number of their upcoming indie titles, an interesting Blair Witch game and a Lego crossover coming to Forza Horizon 4.
Bethesda
The team at Bethesda spent much of the first chunk of their conference fleshing out their many incoming mobile games, including Elder Scrolls: Blades (now coming to Switch) and the cartoon free-to-play Commander Keen. The main events followed soon after, launching with another trailer for the upcoming Wolfenstein: Youngblood – a slick co-op shooter dropping in July for all major platforms. The new Doom: Eternal also got to show off its frantic, bloody gameplay and an expanded multiplayer mode – looking infinitely bigger and badder than its 2016 predecessor. Players can drop back into all the gory action once again when it releases on November 22 this year. Bethesda’s presentation also featured some interesting new titles, such as the time-bending Deathloop and the horror/sci-fi combination of Ghostwire: Tokyo – as well as some massive Fallout 76 expansions for good measure.
Square-Enix
In the Japanese publisher’s second year in a row as a solo act, Square managed to completely raise the bar over the competition. Featuring several back to back announcements, the show finally gave the crowd a decent look at the Final Fantasy VII Remake – and it’s looking good. With a bunch of scenes featuring Tifa and other crowd-favourite characters, we also got a bunch of time looking over the game’s new, action-focused combat system – with it all releasing in early March next year. Rounding out the showcase was the long awaited trailer for the new Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers game. We were given a quick look of the opening scenes and gameplay with each of the 5 main characters (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Black Widow), as well as some quick videos from the designers and the well-known voice cast. This one is sure to get people going wild when it drops mid-next year, but it certainly looks like it could use a few more coats of paint before it hits shelves. Square-Enix also made room for multiple ports of their classic games (including Final Fantasy VIII), another chapter in the Life is Strange series, the incoming expansion to their online Final Fantasy XIV and the sequel to 2016’s Dragon Quest Builders.
Ubisoft
As usual, Ubisoft put their biggest players forward this year during their time in the spotlight. While also touching on some left field items – such as a TV show on Amazon and their own game streaming service – this presentation was all about Watch Dogs and their various Tom Clancy franchises. Set in a not-too-distant future London, Watch Dogs Legion has some slick visuals and some real out-there gameplay designs happening based on what we were shown. Expect to see permadeaths, near limitless playable characters and a fully realised cyber London when the game drops on 6th March 2020. The other headlining act here was the new Ghost Recon Breakpoint, slated for release in early October this year. The game admittedly looks decent with an interesting set up, and if Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, The Punisher) can’t sell it to you live on stage, nobody can. Ubisoft also gave some time to their new developments: Gods & Monsters and Roller Champions, while also bringing yet another Just Dance entry and some expansions to the multiplayer Rainbow Six – Siege.
Nintendo
Last but certainly not least, Nintendo delivered their livestream Direct video to the world as they have the past few years. Despite not having the great Reggie Fils-Aimé running the show for them this time, the company still managed to bring some solid reveals and details on upcoming Switch titles. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is shaping up to be a great time, introducing a bunch of new mechanics and multiplayer elements for its release later this year. The next Animal Crossing – despite being delayed until next year – is looking like it will do right by series fans and newcomers alike. We also saw some new gameplay for the upcoming Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which is shaping up to be a solid mix of old and new for its launch this September. Some nice surprises came in the form of new additions to the Smash Bros Ultimate roster – with The Heroes from Dragon Quest and returning N64 tag team Banjo-Kazooie coming later this year and early 2020. To cap off the end of the stream in style, Nintendo gave us a fleeting teaser of what is set to be a direct sequel to the magnificent Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Buried in the Nintendo stream were also the incoming ports of Resident Evil 5 & 6, some further details on the definitive edition of Dragon Quest XI and the seemingly impossible feat of moving The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and all its DLC onto the Switch later this year.
All in all, the 2019 E3 presentations had a great mix of reveals and details to cover just about every audience. Make sure to check out some of the shows in full if they’ve caught your interest here – we’ve barely scratched the surface and haven’t even mentioned the interesting stuff coming out of the Devolver Digital and PC shows. The only thing left to do now is work out where we’ll find time for everything that’s coming – the next twelve months are stacked.