E3 2018 is here and Microsoft has just wrapped their press conference, which was filled to the brim with trailers and announcements. And here is a quick rundown of what they revealed.
In terms of non-games announcements, Microsoft is pushing their game streaming service “Xbox Game Pass”, which will now run faster and have a new AI system to recommend games. New games coming to Game Pass TODAY include Tom Clancy’s The Division, The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, Fallout 4, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Microsoft has also announced that they have bought out five independent game development studios to fix their lack of exclusives. These companies include Undead Labs (State of Decay), Playground Games (Forza Horizon), Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice) and Compulsion Games (We Happy Few). The fifth studio, The Initiative, is headed by Darrell Gallagher—the former chief of Crystal Dynamics.
Game trailers and reveals include:
Reveal Teaser for Halo: Infinite, which is being developed in the new Slipspace Engine. No release date was given, but it is coming to Xbox One as well as returning the franchise to PC on Windows 10.
A new gameplay trailer for the gorgeous Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It will be released in 2019.
In a surprise world premiere and gameplay trailer, Dark Souls and Bloodborne developer FromSoftware’s latest project (earlier teased at this year’s game awards) is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. It is set during the Sengoku period of Japan and will feature FromSoftware’s signature gameplay style of intensity found in the Souls series. The game will be published by Activision and will be released on PS4, Xbox One and Steam in early 2019.
We were also shown a brief gameplay trailer for Fallout 76. It seems to be putting a heavy emphasis on the building mechanic that was introduced in Fallout 4. It should also be noted that the game will apparently be four times the size of Fallout 4. No definitive release date has been given, but Fallout 76 will available to play on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
We got a reveal trailer for a new game in the Life is Strange universe called The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. The game itself seems to be a self-contained story, but is ultimately a glimpse into what will become Life is Strange 2. It will be available to download on June 26th for free on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
We got a new gameplay trailer for Crackdown 3, showing a normal day in the life of Terry Crews, where he runs around with big guns, yelling at everything in sight. Good stuff. The game will be available in February 2019 exclusively for Xbox One and PC.
The hit 2017 game Nier: Automata will be heading to Xbox One with Nier: Automata BECOME AS GODS Edition. It will contain all previously released DLC and will be available to download on June 26th.
A new gameplay trailer for Metro: Exodus which will be available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on February 22nd, 2019.
We got a new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer showcasing the world of Frozen. The game will be released on PS4 and—get this—Xbox One in January of 2019.
Sea of Thieves is getting new expansions titled Cursed Sails and Forsaken Shores. The base game is available now for Xbox One.
A world premiere trailer and gameplay demo for Forza Horizon 4 was shown. The game will now feature dynamic seasons as well as a shared open world with other players online. The game will run at 4K resolution and 60FPS on Xbox One X and will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on October 2nd. It will also be available on PC.
After buying out Compulsion Games, a new trailer for We Happy Few was shown and the finished game will be released on August 10th.
PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds’ War Mode will be coming to Xbox One players next winter.
As reported earlier in the week by our own Dan Conlin, we have confirmation that Tales of Vesparia: Definitive Edition will be coming to Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC this winter. Sometimes, rumors are right!
We got a reveal trailer and gameplay demo of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. The game is set in Washington, D.C. and will be released March 15th, 2019 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
We also got the obligatory showcase trailer for all of the new indie games coming to Xbox One, which I guess builds excitement but is a little hard to get any good information about any specific game.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Need I say more? The highly anticipated entry in the long-lasting series will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 14th, 2018.
A reveal trailer for a new skateboarding simulator game called Session was shown, reminding gamers of how much they miss the Skate series. The game ran a successful Kickstarter campaign last year and is now coming to Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview later this year.
The Black Desert MMORPG is coming to Xbox One X with 4K support, with an open beta opening this fall.
The long-awaited Devil May Cry 5 made its debut with a gameplay trailer. It will arrive on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in spring 2019.
Cuphead will be getting an expansion called The Legendary Last Course, available in 2019.
Tunic made its world premiere with a trailer, emphasizing classic Zelda-style gameplay. No release date has been set, but as of now, it is an Xbox One Exclusive. Will it be able to convince Nintendo fans to come to the dark side drop a few hundred on an Xbox One?
A new 3D arena fighter titled Jump Force showed a reveal trailer. Playable fighters will include Anime All-Stars from Dragonball, Naruto, One Piece, and Death Note. “Jump Force“—like Shounen Jump, get it? It will be released in 2019 for Xbox One. No word yet if it’s an exclusive.
A reveal trailer for Dying Light 2 was shown, emphasizing a new player choice system. It will be released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2019.
We got a teaser for a reboot of Battletoads, if a voiceover with no implication of the game’s story or gameplay can be even be considered a “teaser”. It will be an exclusive to Xbox One in 2019.
A reveal trailer for Just Cause 4 was shown. The game will be available in December of this year for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Microsoft rapidly revealed three new entries in the Gears of War series. Gears Pop is a new game for mobile devices that crosses over the Gears franchise with Funko Pop!. Gears Tactics is a new real-time-strategy game for Xbox One. A new main series game, Gears 5, was announced with a story trailer. It is exclusive to Xbox One and PC and will be released next year (the only one of the tree with any release info).
Microsoft then closed out the conference with a gameplay trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. No release date has been given.
Well, that certainly was a mouthful of announcements. Let’s see what Bethesda, Square Enix, Sony, and Nintendo have in store for us next.
