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Here is every major announcement from this year's E3

Here is every major announcement from this year's E3

We're coming to the end of the E3 week and what a show it has been.

Microsoft came out with an astonishing amount of swagger that frankly decimated its main competition. Bethesda showed us what the next few years look like for the RPG giant, while Ubisoft gave a distinctly Ubisoft showing. 

EA and Square Enix disappointed somewhat with not much to say. 

By far the biggest announcement of the week was the re-reveal of Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt RED's dark and gritty sci-fi role-playing game wowed audiences with its announcement at the end of Microsoft's presser, with gameplay demos behind the scenes impressing media. 

Assassin's Creed Odyssey has also drawn a lot of positive press, with journalists and pundits being very positive about the game's choice of male or female protagonists as well as its new conversation system. 

Here we have collected our coverage for all the major stories of the week - for everything else, click here


Click here to view the list »
  • 1 Electronic Arts

    Electronic Arts logo

    EA's conference was a bit of a mess

    With a conference that clocked in at well over an hour, you'd assume that Electronic Arts would have a fair bit to show off, but that apparently was not true.

    There weren't any big announcements to speak of - there's a new FIFA one the way, as well as new American football and basketball games. But this wasn't a showcase to write home about.

    Anthem got the longest time in the spotlight, with a twenty minute presentation that mixed up trailers, an on-stage Q&A and finished on a gameplay segment. The game is set to launch on February 22nd so it's about time we got some eyes-on time with BioWare's ambitious MMO project.

    The game itself admittedly looked pretty impressive. The reps on-stage at the show confirmed that the game would be an on-going project for some time now, as well as that there were not going to be any loot boxes. Cosmetic items could be purchased, but that's it with regards to monetisation so far.

    This isn't isolated to Anthem, but is true of Battlefield V as well. That project opened up EA's showcase, with the publishing giant showing off the multiplayer component of that game. And, to the surprise of no-one, battle royale is coming to Battlefield V. Dubbed simply 'royale', the mode is described as a wholly new experience but PUBG Corp is likely deploying the lawyers as we speak.

    We also got a sneak peek - and we really do mean a peek - at what Respawn is working on in the Star Wars universe. The Titanfall maker's project is called Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and will be launching at the end of 2019. That's likely around the same time that the next film in the franchise will be rolling out. The project will also be set between the prequel and original trilogies.

    The publishing giant also decided to bring back Command and Conquer as... a mobile game with an esports angle. The company brought two RPG pros onto the stage along with a duo of shoutcasters in what was a pretty awkward and long segment where the duo fought for dominance.

    But perhaps the best segment of the show was the EA Originals section. This is EA's indie games label that kicked off life back in 2015 - since then we've seen a number of interesting projects from the scheme, including Unravel and A Way Out. Now there are two more titles coming out from this imprint - a sequel to Unreal, dubbed Unravel Two (which is out now) as well as Sea of Solitude from Berlin-based game maker Jo-Mei.

    These were by far the most personable sections of the showcase, with two very passionate game makers sharing their love of the medium with the world. Honestly, this would not have happened a few years ago and is a nice indication of where video games as a medium have evolved in a short space of time.

    But that evolution has come with some growing pains. EA's showcase felt like a disjointed mess. We were awkwardly transitioned from discussing big hitters like Battlefield V and FIFA 19 to talking about some artsy and personal indie games, only to then be thrust into a segment about Madden esports with two pros exchanging banter and smack talk on stage before a mobile game was demoed complete with shoutcasters before ending on an on-stage interview about Anthem.

    Our medium is now so all-encompassing that it can't be represented in a single 80-minute long conference any more. Not that that's a bad thing - evolution and innovation is a good thing for the sector - but it does not make for a coherent viewing experience.


  • 2 Microsoft

    Microsoft logo

    Studio acquisitions, tech talk and a diverse roster - Microsoft is preparing for its next chapter

    Microsoft's E3 showcase was a surprisingly eclectic affair with the big M giving its audience a whirlwind almost two-hours.

    Headlining the event was the company's massive investment in its first-party studios. Microsoft has agreed to buy five developers: Forza Horizon developer Playground - who will be working on that racing franchise as well as an open-world RPG - Ninja Theory of Hellblade fame, We Happy Few maker Compulsion as well as the studio behind State of Decay, Undead Labs. That's on top of a brand new Santa Monica-based outfit called The Initiative which is tasked with working on "new gaming experiences".

    All of which represents a seismic shift in Microsoft's battle against Sony. The Big M has almost doubled its roster of first-party studios which is good news for consumers.

    This news also comes as its original stars - Halo and Gears of War - bring in fewer and fewer consumers each and every time. And reports about Sea of Thieves' player figures don't paint a great picture for its developer Rare.

    Speaking of its first-party line-up, Microsoft opened up with the revelation that a new Halo game was in the works. Nominally a showcase of 343's engine tech, the demo ended with the name Halo Infinite. Not much is known about it aside from its set on one of the titular rings and features series protagonist Master Chief. All of which is to say, it is a Halo game.

    By contrast, one of Microsoft's closing announcements was about the future of the Gears of War franchise. Developer The Coalition has not one, not two but three new projects on the way. The headline goes to Gears 5, which is set to release in 2019 and is a traditional entry in the franchise. Gears Tactics puts a strategic XCOM-esque spin on the IP while the developer has also teamed up with toy firm Funk and its Pop Vinyl range for a mobile game.

    Forza Horizon 4 also debuted, with Playgrounds racing franchise coming to the UK on October 2nd.

    Microsoft also made a strong impression with its line-up of Japanese games. Devil May Cry 5 from Capcom debuted on its stage - likely to appease fans of the cancelled Scalebound, while Bandai Namco announced an anime brawler called Jump Force featuring Shonen Jump characters.

    If that wasn't enough, Square Enix is bringing Kingdom Hearts into the Xbox ecosystem for the first time before Bandai Namco announced a Tales Of project.

    This seems like Microsoft trying to curry favour with a fanbase that is typically associated with PlayStation - likely due to that company's strong, native presence in the region. Whether it'll pay off for Microsoft is another matter altogether, but the groundwork for an Eastern charm offensive is surely there.

    There were a number of high-profile projects from Eastern Europe on Xbox's stage. CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077 finally debuted with a very flashy trailer that ended Microsoft's conference. Well, the Polish game maker literally appeared to hack into the AV equipment, but we're not going to get some light computer espionage get in the way of the hype.

    There's no word on a release date just yet, but it's good to see the game in motion.

    Dying Light 2 from fellow Polish game maker Techland also debuted on Microsoft's stage with a lengthy demo. No release date is set for that project just yet.

    Meanwhile, Metro Exodus now has a new release date of February 22nd after a delay from publisher Deep Silver. Rumour has it that the creative director on that project had a stroke earlier in the year and that has impacted development - we hope they have a smooth recovery if the rumours are true.

    We also got our first peek at Ubisoft's The Division 2 - definitely as part of a marketing arrangement. This game takes the franchise to Washington DC, with more details presumably coming tomorrow during the French publishing giant's press event.

    The firm also took a while to talk up its R&D department to paint a picture of the games ecosystem that Microsoft is creating. The company boasts that soon console-quality streaming will be available to any device, as well as saying that a brand new Xbox is in the works. Surely this is in anticipation of Sony revealing its own hardware plans later in the show.

    Not only that; the company is augmenting its Xbox Game Pass, with Microsoft employing machine learning to help games load faster on user's computers and consoles. The selection of games on PC still isn't incredible, but this is likely something that Microsoft is going to continue if it is committed to its Universal Windows Platform ecosystem. 

    This conference painted Microsoft as a company that might not have the hottest exclusives of this year, but one that is making a lot of third-party deals, trying to charm gamers who wouldn't necessarily play in the Xbox/Windows 10 ecosystem and is trying to invest in its platform so that when the market shifts, it is ready, be that new console cycles or the inevitably shift in business models to streaming.


  • 3 Bethesda

    Bethesda logo

    With Fallout, Elder Scrolls and Starfield, Bethesda delivers for the first time since 2015

    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.


  • 4 Ubisoft

    Ubisoft logo

    A safe showing from Ubisoft that still entertained

    You can always count on Ubisoft to put on a showcase that at least turns heads, and this year was no exception.

    The showcase kicked off with an impressive music number featuring a dancing panda (if we remember correctly) to promote Just Dance 2019.

    That was before Beyond Good and Evil 2 properly opened the show with a cinematic trailer. The developers used that opportunity to announce that it was collaborating with the community to include art, dialogue, music and writing from the fans into the game via the Space Monkey Program. In order to do this, it is teaming up with HitRecord, run by none other than Hollywood actor Joseph Gordon Levitt. It wasn't clarified at the time, but artists who are involved with this scheme will be paid for their work - something the film star confirmed by Twitter following his appearance.

    After Beyond Good and Evil 2, it was time for Rainbow Six Siege's turn in the spotlight. That game has been played by 35m players, Ubisoft revealed, meaning that it has attracted five million new users since the 30m was announced back in April.

    We also got our first proper look at The Division 2, following the gameplay trailer at Microsoft's showcase yesterday. Raids are coming to the hit MMO shooter. The developers at Massive Entertainment also reckon they have years of "frequent content" in the pipeline. Three lots of DLC are planned for the game's Year One - all of which will be free.

    And speaking of service-based projects, a brand new expansion was announced for For Honor. Marching Fire introduces Chinese characters to the game in what is described as the "biggest and most ambitious update" to that project to date. This is likely - in part - an attempt to capitalise on the massive Chinese games market, one that Ubisoft has a foothold in thanks to its partnership with tech and entertainment giant Tencent. Furthermore, For Honor's Starter Edition will be free from today (June 11th, 2018) until June 18th, 2018.

    The Crew 2 was the penultimate project on stage, with an open beta kicking off on June 21st.

    Ubisoft's conference culminated in the official announcement of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The fact that this game leaked ahead of time certainly took the sting out of the firm's showcase, but the demo certainly had the audience interested. This new entry introduces dialogue options into the franchise, pushing the historical murder simulator further into RPG territory. Consumers will also be able to pick between a male and female protagonist in a series first.

    All in all it was a pretty safe showing from the French publishing giant. It would have been nice to see new entries in franchises such as Splinter Cell and Watch Dogs 3, or even some new IP. But Ubisoft is giving its developers more time to work on their projects - if they're not ready to be announced, then they're not ready. Fingers crossed some title show up during Sony's showcase, but it's looking like we'll be seeing them next year.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.