With E3 coming this weekend I’ve decided to throw together some last minute predictions as well as go over a few bits that are already announced. A fair few of these might be quite obvious but I want to be a bit ambitious here so expect me to get a little crazy as well! Let’s not waste anymore time and crack on with those shall we? As always you can check out the video version of this article in the link below..
I’m going to go through all three major consoles before finishing on third party predictions and I’m starting with the easiest of the bunch… PlayStation. We already know that Sony are sticking to their guns when it comes to no longer attending E3 events and given the recent State of Play showcase focusing on Horizon Forbidden West, I can’t see them wanting to do anything else before or during E3. It’s also worth remembering that Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will release just as E3 kicks off so Sony’s efforts will purely be on hyping that up and ignoring whatever the competition is up to this weekend.
Next up, Xbox.
Now this is where shit might get serious. I feel like we’ve all gone on for years now how Microsoft have hoovered up loads of studios and may start looking like a real force again when it comes to big exclusives. Well this is the year to prove it! We pretty much know for a fact that Halo Infinite will be showcased to its fullest and it’s no exaggeration to say this needs to be a home run. The last time we saw Halo, it was met with a fair amount of criticism and the subsequent delay didn’t help matters either. With the game due out later this year, this needs to be the game that everyone leaves E3 talking about and with no PlayStation announcements to oppose it, there’s no excuse not to nail this.
Elsewhere I expect to see a bit more Fable, even if it’s just a short teaser trailer but I fully expect the bulk of Xbox presentations to be focused around their biggest acquisition to date – Bethesda. Now Bethesda can’t go showing off too much when it comes to games coming soon as both their upcoming titles Deathloop and Ghostwire are timed PlayStation exclusives that were of course agreed well before they became part of the Xbox family. However I still expect to see a lot from them and the biggest of these could come in the form of a full Starfield trailer featuring a release date. Bethesda’s first original RPG in 25 years has a lot of people excited despite us knowing next to nothing about it yet. Surely that has to change for the upcoming space themed epic this E3!
I’m also personally hoping to see some sort of gameplay from the upcoming Indiana Jones game but that might be a bit of a stretch given they only recently acquired the rights but hey a boy can dream! Finally I think Xbox will show off some new games coming to Gamepass with maybe a surprise new release or two on the indie front but only time will tell.
Moving on to the most unpredictable bunch and that is of course Nintendo..
I really feel Nintendo could go either way. They will of course not officially be a part of E3 but they do have an announced Nintendo Direct to try to cash in on all the hype this weekend. Again, this could go one of two ways.
Either the Japanese giants surprise us all and announce the long rumoured Switch Pro and show it off in all its glory with the first trailer for Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 OR, and I think this is way more likely, we get another lackluster Direct where we get trailers for indie games that nobody will remember on a weekend like this, along with disappointing trailers for small hitters that have already been announced such as Skyward Sword HD and Splatoon 3. Call me a pessimist but I feel like I’ve been burnt by Nintendo events too often in recent times and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to witness another Direct that results in my Switch continuing to collect dust. I really hope I am proved wrong and I can get back on the Nintendo hype train but we’ll see..
Moving on to third party games and I’m just going to rattle through what we know is coming before I get over excited about what I’m hoping we see!
We know that Ubisoft will be showcasing more Farcry 6 which I imagine will be more of the same of what we already saw recently as well as a big update on the upcoming Rainbow Six Extraction formerly named Quarantine. Elsewhere Square Enix will continue its efforts to salvage Marvel’s Avengers with new footage for the Black Panther DLC as well as info on the next Life is Strange game and Babylon’s Fall which we haven’t seen since 2019.
Right I’m sure I’ve missed a few other confirmed bits and bobs but let’s get in to some big predictions. This first one I’m convinced will happen and that’s a full gameplay trailer and release date for FromSoftware’s Elden Ring during the Bandai Namco presentation. It feels like the time is right and I look forward to Soulsborne nutters Jav and Luke losing their minds when they see this and I’m already happy for them!
Going back to Square Enix and I’ll be surprised if Babylon’s Fall and the failing Avengers headlines their presentation. I’d be shocked if they don’t finish on a massive Final Fantasy 16 high! It may be more of the same of what we’ve already seen or maybe we’ll get a proper gameplay showcase, but either way I’m really hoping and even to a point expecting to see more Final Fantasy 16 shown off this weekend. Maybe we’ll even get a surprise release date for later this year… okay maybe that’s too far!
I quickly want to mention EA. I realise that their own event EA Play isn’t coming until much later but when it does happen I’m officially predicting an announcement for a Jedi Fallen Order sequel. I’d be surprised if we get much footage but just a teaser and a title would do me! Right last but not least I’m going big, bigger than big in fact! For those who don’t already know, Rockstar’s parent company Take Two will be taking the stage this year and although they may be there to promote the new WWE 2K22, I think there’s more happening here. That’s right, I’m calling it now that we finally see Grand Theft Auto 6. Just imagine Rockstar hitting the stage to talk about whatever crap is currently going on in GTA 5 online only to finish by saying “oh, and we have one other project coming soon…” as the screen fades to black and BANG! GTA 6 back in Vice City! The crowd goes wild, we all lose our mind and it’s the most talked about announcement of the weekend by far! Dammit make it happen Rockstar!
Am I way off? I’m probably way off. Either way let me know your E3 predictions in the comments below or hit us up on twitter @RespawningUK.