Bethesda has been holding its own E3 conference since 2015, but the last few years it hasn't really felt like the ZeniMax-owned games firm has really delivered on the promise of that debut.
That year, in case you need a reminder, saw Fallout 4, Fallout Shelter as well as Doom announced. Subsequent years have had some decent projects on show, but nothing that hit the big leagues.
All of that changed this year, with Bethesda showing off two of its pillar franchises - Fallout and The Elder Scrolls - as well as hinting at what might come of a potential third keystone IP, Starfield.
Fallout 76 was announced ahead of the show with some hints of gameplay seen during Microsoft's press conference, but we finally got to see just what the project will entail. The game is, in fact, an online survival-based experience - per earlier reports - that sees consumers teaming up to get by in the 'early' days of the Fallout universe. This is an interesting hybrid of the single player Fallout games with some online functionality. We'll see more of the game when it launches this November.
The other two pillar franchises on display were, yes, very teasy. We only saw a glimpse of The Elder Scrolls VI via a quick trailer that more or less said the game will be launching at some point. A 2019 release date isn't out of the question, but surely that would be a fact announced today.
It's possible that either Elder Scrolls VI or the newly-confirmed but long-rumoured Starfield could be taking a 2019 release, with the other headed to 2020. All of which is to say that Bethesda has a few blockbuster years on the way.
Away from the firm's headline IP, we finally had a proper look at Rage 2, which is set for Spring 2019 release. It's very Mad Max, in case you were curious.
Additionally, Bethesda announced another new Id Software game in Doom Eternal. This is a follow-up to the 2016 reboot/sequel which was released to critical acclaim. No release information is out for that just yet, but we'll likely see more at QuakeCon in August.
There's DLC on the way for Prey and Wolfenstein 2. Prey Mooncrash is out now, with a load of other new modes including New Game Plus also being available now. The new Wolfenstine content is called Youngblood and casts players as the twin daughters of previous game characters BJ and Anya. That's set to launch in 2019.
After a few lacklustre conferences, Bethesda really brought the big guns this year with a mix of top-notch announcements and additional content for its already-released games. It's going to be worth keeping an eye on the ZeniMax-owned games giant for the coming years.
