Stephan’s E3 2018 Predictions

Here it is, my favourite week of the year: E3! The Electronic Entertainment Expo, where the world’s video game industry comes together in Los Angeles, California for a week of announcements, previews, teasers, awkward programmers talking to auditoriums full of people, awkward celebrity hosts trying to sound excited about games… it’s a magical time.

As with every year, I like to speculate on what I, in my limited knowledge of the games industry, think is going to happen (as well as somethings I just want to happen). So here are a couple predictions I have for every conference going that’s going to be shown in the coming days, I hope you enjoy!

Electronic Arts – Saturday, June 9th at 2pm EDT

EA is routinely the least interesting conference. Dubbed “EA Play” the show is open to the public and is often a very stiff and rigid showcase of their upcoming games. I remember the year Battlefront 2 was coming out they repeatedly reminded the audience how many minutes away the trailer was in an effort, I’m assuming, to keep online viewers from clicking away.

But none the less, there’s usually a couple interesting things to watch, whether it was Peggle 2‘s incredibly awkward announcement with Mendel’s Messiah playing, or a terrible looking guy in a costume for Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. This year I’m expecting the regular sports trailers that all look the same to me with maybe a famous athlete onstage, as well as new information about Battlefield V and Bioware’s eagerly anticipated Anthem, a sort of Destiny competitor from the team behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age. But here’s what I think we’ll also see:

• A brand new indie game under EA’s indie label EA Originals, the publisher who brought us Unravel, Fe and most recently A Way Out. They seem to release a game every year like clockwork. Maybe it will be Unravel 2?
• A reveal trailer for Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars project. It’s been over 2 years since Titanfall 2 and we’re ready to see what’s next for this talented FPS studio.
• A Mass Effect Trilogy remake for current consoles. To keep up with competitors like the BioShock Collection and countless other remakes and ports EA needs to let us play this beloved series again on current hardware. They’ve teased a port in the past but now it’s time.

Microsoft – Sunday, June 10th at 4pm EDT

I think I blanked out after the 40th time someone said “4K” at Microsoft’s conference last year… we get it, the Xbox One X supports 4K. That said, there’s always a lovely indie presence at this conference I truly appreciate, from Cuphead to Inside there’s always something to blow me away.

Microsoft will bring the big guns though with expected teases of Halo 6 or Gears of War 5 to dominate the show. But here’s what I think we’ll see, and something I want to see:

• Halo 6 will be revealed as the major Fall 2018 release for Xbox. It’s been almost 3 years since Halo 5 underwhelmed a lot of fans and it’s time to bring back Chief guns blazing.
• Borderlands 3 will be teased, as 2K and Xbox have had a strong partnership in the past I think this is the perfect time to show the world what’s next for Gearbox’s fan-favourite series.
• Forza Horizon 4 will be announced as another Fall 2018 game for Xbox. They’ve announced a Forza game and released it the same year for the past several E3’s so this is a pretty safe bet.
• Crackdown 3 dated with a battle-royale mode. It was leaked this week that the game was delayed from it’s expected Fall 2018 release to 2019, and I think that’s to capitalize on the battle-royale craze with a mode that would lend itself really well to Crackdown‘s open world, destructible environments.
• The next BioShock game will be revealed. Again, this is more of something I want rather then I think we’ll get, but given Xbox’s close ties with 2K since the original reveal of BioShock at Microsoft’s E3 conference way back when I think it’s possible we’ll see the next one here, especially after the BioShock collection brought the game back into the public mindset.

Bethesda – Sunday, June 10th at 9:30pm EDT

I was thoroughly underwhelmed by Bethesda’s show last year. It was short and really just a giant Wolfenstein II showcase, but that’s what Bethesda does. Their first E3 conference was just a big Fallout 4 showcase so they’re known for bringing one major game to spend almost a quarter of their time discussing and this year it will absolutely be Fallout 76.

I do think there’s potential for some other interesting Bethesda reveals, however, as their dedication to VR and their willingness to reinvent classic series in recent years have shown us. Here’s what I expect and want from Bethesdad Tod Howard to show me this year:

• A new VR version of a Bethesda game. We’ve gotten Skyrim VR and Doom VFR, as well as the announced but yet unreleased Fallout 4 VR, but I think they will show off something new this year. Whether it’s Dishonored or Quake or Wolfenstein I think something VR is happening.
• Fallout 3 Remastered is a fan favourite I’m sceptical about but wouldn’t put past them. Fans love Fallout 3 and would eat up a remake, I’m sure it would dominate the Steam play chart for months.
• A brand new Arkane Studios title will be announced, not related to Dishonored or Prey, I think it’s time for Arkane to take their established formula of branching narratives and open world FPS action and apply it to a new setting that isn’t sci-fi or whatever Dishonored is…

Square Enix – Monday, June 11th at 1pm EDT

Obviously, everyone wants Kingdom Hearts 3. But they will also be bringing Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the recently announced Hitman 2. There’s not a whole lot Square brings to interest me, but here’s what I think we’ll get anyone:

• Just Cause 4 will be announced and dated Early 2019. With leaks this past week I think it’s inevitable.
• Final Fantasy VII Remake will be shown and episode one will be dated for Fall 2018. It’s been a couple years since we got any new footage from the game and with PlayStation’s conference already packed, it makes sense to show this PS4 exclusive here.

Ubisoft – Monday, June 11th at 4pm EDT

Ubisoft is always the happiest show at the conference. From rollerblading giraffes to showcase Just Dance to Shigeru Miyamoto holding a massive cartoon gun in his only non-Nintendo E3 appearance ever? I think? There’s a lot of fun at Ubisoft’s show, and I’m excited to watch whatever they’ve got planned this year.

From the already teased Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey to the inevitable Just Dance and The Division 2, here’s what I expect from their show:

• Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey launching in Fall 2018 alongside a remake of another Assassin’s Creed title like Assassin’s Creed IV or an even older title like Brotherhood or Assassin’s Creed II.
• Brand new Beyond Good and Evil 2 gameplay trailer.
• The Divison 2 releasing Fall 2018.

PlayStation – Monday, June 11th at 9pm EDT

I was thoroughly disappointed by PlayStation’s E3 conference last year. They’ve stated they’re taking a step away from indie games, choosing to show games like Undertale in their pre-show rather than onstage.

That said I am excited for Spider-Man and The Last of Us Part II, and no doubt there will be something announced that I’ll lose my mind over. So here’s what I think we’ll get, and what I want, from PlayStation’s E3 conference:

• Red Dead Redemption II trailer. With their partnership with Rocksteady for DLC timed exclusivity, it makes sense to showcase the game on Sony’s stage.
• The Last of Us Part II release window announced (which it will inevitably miss).
• God of War DLC will be announced, dated for this summer.
• Lastly, I want a release date for Ghost of Tsushima. That’s all, it’s currently my most anticipated PlayStation game, from the studio that gave me my love for video games through the Sly Cooper franchise on PS2.

Nintendo – Tuesday, June 12th at 12pm EDT

Nintendo is riding the high. There’s nothing that could stop them after their breakout 2017 year with Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild, not even Nintendo’s own slow to change incompetence could hold them back.

I want Metroid 4 and Smash 5 release date. That’s it. But here’s what I think we’ll get:

• Bayonetta 3 releasing Fall 2018, with a sexual trailer that makes me cringe.
• Brand new main series Pokemon game will be shown and named.
• The new Super Smash Bros. game is title Super Smash Bros. Switch, releasing October 2018.
• Yoshi game titled and given Fall 2018 release date.

♥

I will be posting more predictions as I think of them, I just wanted to get this out fast because the E3 conference is starting right now!!! Let me know what you think of my predictions in the comments, and give me some of yours!