With E3 2019 less than 3 weeks away, we here at Respawning are all getting aboard the hype train; to celebrate the upcoming event, we will be doing Respawning’s Big E3 Countdown! To start us off, I thought I would run through some predictions ranging from the quite obvious to my personal wishlist…
I think the most obvious place to start is with Microsoft, who have next to no competition this year when it comes to rival consoles due to Nintendo only running a prerecorded Nintendo Direct, and Sony deciding to skip the event entirely… So this is their time to shine and it will come as no surprise that a lot of people have predicted that they will take this opportunity to be the first to announce a next-gen console. This leads me nicely to my first prediction…
When I first heard that Sony would be skipping E3, I’ve had it in the back of my mind that Microsoft will more than likely announce the next Xbox in an attempt to steal the show and grab all the media attention possible to promote their upcoming console… But the closer we get to the event, the more I’m starting to doubt this. It just doesn’t feel like the right time; it’s hard to explain, but there’s usually a certain feeling in the air before next-gen announcements, and I just don’t feel that yet. Add to that the fact that Sony won’t want to get beaten to the punch, so them being quiet on the next-gen front makes me think that Microsoft are in a similar position, and are not ready to announce. Let’s not forget that they’ve only recently launched the discless Xbox One S, so will likely want to give that time to breathe… So what will be Microsoft’s biggest showcase of the weekend I hear you ask..?
Ever since the next instalment of the Halo series was announced at last year’s E3, there’s been little to no news on the upcoming release… So one year on, and with the limelight all to themselves, it seems pretty obvious that now is the perfect time for Microsoft to show off its most prized possession. I expect everything from gameplay footage to a release date, and will actually be more surprised if we don’t see Halo Infinite showcased!
Right! That’s more than enough talk on Microsoft from this PlayStation fanboy, so let’s move on! I want to talk about Square Enix, and unlike the majority of other guys and gals on the site, I don’t want to talk Final Fantasy as that will be well covered between now and E3 I’m sure. No, I want to talk Marvel; more specifically The Avengers (Shock horror right?).
It’s been over 2 years now since it was announced that Marvel had entered into a multi-game deal with Square Enix, and since then all we have had is a short trailer that revealed next to nothing on the upcoming Crystal Dynamic developed Avengers game. Hell, we don’t even have an official title yet… So surely this is the year where we finally get some news on the project. I don’t think there’s any chance we get the game before next year, so I don’t expect to see much, if any gameplay, but maybe a story trailer and a title will be enough to keep a lot of fans happy. Basically just give us something!
As I said I’m sure they’ll be lots of Final Fantasy talk from Square Enix as well but I’ll leave that to the FF experts here at Respawning to dive into all of that very soon… Another big developer I can see making some huge announcements is Ubisoft because y’know… It’s Ubisoft, and they always have something new and exciting to announce… But what do they have this year?
This is a very popular prediction doing the rounds and for good reason. After a few hints in Ubisoft’s The Division 2 of an upcoming viking game, more than likely an Assassin’s Creed one due to the imagery of a Viking holding an Apple of Eden, and more news leaking from the Ubisoft camp that yes… This is something they’re working on. It seems all but confirmed at this point; it makes a lot of sense too as it’s one of the biggest parts of history that the franchise is yet to touch on after visiting the likes of Renaissance Italy, the American Revolution, Victorian London, Ancient Egypt and more recently Ancient Greece with Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I imagine Ubisoft will have a trailer ready to go for the big day.
Okay, maybe this one is more in hope than anything else, but I’m throwing it in here anyway…
There’s been loads of rumours about a potential new Batman game in the near future, but so far I’ve taken it all with a grain of salt. That’s about to change for no other reason than pure optimism. I really can’t see Rocksteady doing another installment of the classic Arkham series, but I also believe they’re not done with DC just yet… So I’m going to make a ballsy statement and predict that they’ll go with a Justice League game, maybe with a more focused view towards online play… Though I personally hope they stay on the single player path.
I’m starting to realise that the comic book nerd in me has really taken over in these predictions, and it’s become more of just what I want more than what I think will actually happen, but just imagine if we did get an announcement for both Square Enix’s Avengers and Rocksteady’s Justice League… Be still my beating heart!
I did want to talk about some Nintendo predictions, but given that I don’t currently own a Switch (Yet!!), I’m going to leave the Ninetendo predictions to somebody more qualified, much like I am for Final Fantasy predictions.
Make sure to keep checking back in right here at Respawning for more hype and predictions as we continue with our Big E3 Countdown!