Ubisoft
Some of these videos may not be around forever, so watch them while you still can. Anyway so Ubisoft kicked things off with a look at Rainbow Six: Extraction which feels like the first Rainbow Six game in such a long time and this time, aliens are involved (which feels like a reoccurring theme for many so called "realistic", long-running first-person shooters at the moment). There also be further developments happening with Seige too. Next, the first ever sequel to Rocksmith was also announced (2014 was considered a replacement of the original game) as a subscription service which given the nature of that particular series, feels like the most logical step forward if you have the money for it. Next came Riders Republic which you could say is Ubisoft bringing out their sports game quite a few years too late after the days of Wii Sports, Kinect Sports and whatever PlayStation did, but its all good and looking forward to playing this one. Plenty of new updates and features coming to currently released games including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles joining the already huge roster of fighters in Brawlhalla, Ghost Recon celebrating its 20th anniversary along new additional things in For Honor and old faces returning in Watch_Dogs: Legion. Just Dance finally leaves the old Wii behind as the newest game is on its way to current and 8th gen platforms. While no new Assassin's Creed game was announced, there's plenty coming to Valhalla which has already become the biggest game of the franchise to date (according to Ubisoft that is) and will be the first of the franchise to be supported with new content for more than just a year (as it has been previously). Breaking off from gaming, we then learn about various films and TV shows that Ubisoft have been working on (E3 is not really the place to talk about that stuff, but I welcome some of those announcements as they are gaming related). Far Cry 6 finally got its release date of October this year and its looking pretty darn good. What's also good is the next Mario and Rabbids game which seems to prove that Ubisoft and Nintendo's collaborations are going pretty well with that crossover series. And it looks like Ubisoft are making an Avatar game too and they also have a subscription service that let's us play their games without having to spend money (something of which Microsoft, PlayStation, Nintendo and EA have been doing for a little while now). While I'm not all that keen on subscriptions, the offerings Ubisoft have given us this time are pretty solid. It was a pretty solid presentation that further demonstrates that Nintendo's pre-recorded streamed events are the way forward in delivering announcements pandemic or not.
Gearbox Software
Gearbox for those of you who don't know, are the creators of the Borderlands series and they kicked off their presentation by pretending to be a university and then ask questions around Covid woes (all in a humorous way). First announcement was about the Borderlands film (again, E3 isn't really the place to talk about films, but I'll let it slide as its Borderlands so it is gaming related) and we get a look at the set and a few interviews with the crew and cast. Keeping with Borderlands, we then get to hear about some new content on the way for Borderlands 3 in the style of a university video. A bit of info about Homeland 3 and then a look at a Borderlands spin-off called Tiny Tina's Wonderlands which continues a story that started in a Borderlands 3 DLC and has an all star cast. Then after a bit more Homeland 3 info, we then see Tribes of Midgard which looks fun and has a lot of giant battles so I'll be sure to check that out. More Gearbox University nonsense (a reoccurring theme in this showcase) before we learn of new content being added to Godfall which is a game I do want to play when I can afford to buy it of course (it's coming to PS4 soon for those that don't have a PS5 or gaming PC). Really glad that this wasn't too focused on just one franchise because its important that all games get a chance to shine in these showcases and presentations. Another solid one and all the games seen are games I'm looking forward to playing or going back to for the new content. Also looking forward to the Borderlands film and I just hope that it doesn't suck because that would be sad.
Microsoft/Bethesda
Yes Microsoft and Bethesda did a joint event this year now that the latter is now owned by the former with Microsoft being the Disney of the gaming industry at the moment. Bethesda started things off by giving us their first new IP in 25 years called Starfield; a sci-fi game they wanted to make for so long and now they can thanks to new technology. There were 30 titles announced as well as a few currently released games getting new content with the majority coming to Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One and PC with some being at different levels of exclusivity when they come out, but all being available on Xbox Game Pass upon launch. So next was a new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game which further explores what went down during the Chernobyl incident which looks interesting. The creators of the Left 4 Dead games, return to bring us its spiritual successor Back 4 Blood which although very similar, looks promising. New content is on the way for Sea of Thieves (featuring a certain pirate from a certain Disney franchise), Fallout 76, Elder Scrolls Online, Flight Simulator and Among Us. A new Battlefield game was revealed and looking pretty darn epic with sandstorms and whatnot. Twelve Minutes gets revealed next with an all star cast and looks like if Groundhog Day was a video game (but definitely piqued my interest). After years of being left in the dark, we finally get more information about Psychonauts 2 which is due for release later this year. Yeah there is too much to really put in this report, but basically there is a lot to look forward to in terms of gaming from Microsoft and Bethesda. New games, new entries in well established franchises, new content coming to already released games and old games being bought to Xbox Game Pass and the Xbox Backwards Compatibility program. Still feels that most of the presenters are not really showing the emotions they want to show when reading from the script (well the Xbox people at least whereas Bethesda's people sound genuine), but otherwise a solid showcase that hopefully delivers. Oh and some well established franchises such as Halo are celebrating a milestone anniversary, making some of us feel old for sure.
Square Enix
Square Enix have been doing a few of these showcases in the same vein as Nintendo. Guess they are catching on to that. Anyway, things kick off with their next Marvel game Guardians of the Galaxy which looks like to be in the same vein as Marvel's Avengers, but hopefully not too taxing on the hardware this time around (its also made by Edios Montreal this time instead of Crystal Dynamics which can be good or bad, but we'll see when it comes out). The first six main Final Fantasy games are getting what they are calling a "Pixel Master" which looks promising. Legend of Mana is also getting remastered too and Avengers is getting more content coming soon. A few mobile games get announced coming from both the western and eastern made franchises. Next comes Babylon's Fall which looks like another one of those giant battling games with a unique artstyle and plenty of combat. Continuing the trail of remasters, the Life is Strange games are getting remastered too along with a new game in the series coming soon. The showcase then ends with another Final Fantsay game coming soon in the form of what looks to be the first of a new series of games known as Final Fantasy Origin, but not before highlights of things to currently play and look forward to playing. A pretty solid showcase which delivers games from either side of the world and I hope all the games and content coming soon are worth playing.
PC Gaming Show
The PC Gaming Show returns once again with Sean Plott and Frankie Ward returning as hosts with newcomer Mica Burton. Skits feel a bit forced, but the hosts genuinely look like they are having fun and enjoy delivering the goods. This year's sponser is Intel which makes sense given how they make CPUs tailored to gaming. Quite a few games were revealed along with some hardware news too, but much of what was announced such as Dodgeball Academia, Rawmen, Dying Light 2: Staying Human, Orcs Must Die! 3 and Next Space Rebels all look promising as well as everything else. PC is definitely not out of the game yet as proven by these many announcements. Oh, and another Jurassic World game by Frontier is on the way and his holiness Gabe Newell makes an appearance too.
Capcom
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm convinced that Capcom have done an E3 showcase before this one, but it may have been a long time ago. Well despite the host trying a bit too hard to be enthusiastic, the show begins with a look at the upcoming Resident Evil Village which arrives during the franchise's 25th anniversary (again, feeling old just saying that) and is looking very promising. Next we pay a visit to the Monster Hunter universe as two games get announced and looked at. Then we find out about the latest formerly Japan only Ace Attorney game to get a western release which isn't Investigations 2 but instead The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles which is arriving on Switch, PS4 and PC. This is then followed by some promising looking gameplay. Then some info about the Capcom esports things that are happening. Not really sure what to make of this showcase. Its not very big, but the games all look like games worth playing. Just wish there was more revealed.
Nintendo
As is now the norm with Nintendo, they have a Direct event be their E3 showcase and were of course the first gaming company to do these things long before the pandemic and as shown, its clearly made its mark for gaming companies everywhere. So they have a lot of announcments so I will once again pick out some highlights. Tekken arrives in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with Kazuya Mishima becoming the latest DLC fighter to join the roster and some already announced and released games get confirmed Switch releases including the new Life is Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy games. A successor to Two Point Hospital all about university gets announced as does Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania which comes about just as that franchise celebrates its 20th anniversary (I sense a pattern here). From the Mushroom Kingdom comes another Mario Party collection game and further info on the next Mario Golf game (both looking great). From Metroid, there's news about Prime 4 and a new game called Dread, both hopefully worth playing and some amiibo figures too. Some arcade classics and indie titles are on the way including Crus'n Blast. Wario is back with some minigames in WarioWare: Get It Together!. And of course some news from Hyrule as Legend of Zelda celebrates its 35th anniversary (oh I give up!!). Of the news mentioned, there's a remaster, a Game & Watch that contains some old Zelda games and the Breath of the Wild sequel are all on their way (and some new content for the latest Hyrule Warriors game). A solid line up of games from Nintendo that prove they are not out of the woods yet either. They may just be the best at E3 most years and this year is certainly no exception.
Everyone Else
There were a bunch of other events and showcases too that happened, but those above were the main ones I wanted to check out. There was the multi-part Guerrilla Collective which is all about indie games and you have to feel for those guys as E3 is normally the place where they would be finding investors and publishers for their games. Nevertheless, plenty of indie games are coming and most of them look pretty good. Another multi-part event was the Summer Game Fest hosted by one of the most controversial people in gaming press Geoff Keighley which was where Sony was at this year in the place of a streamed event of their own. Again lots of games revealed there and the event is expected to continue until Gamescom (interesting fact, this event was actually going to be E3's replacement show last year). IGN did an Expo event where they looked at games that have been announced already and some new ones too such as Streets of Rage 4. Another indie event in the form of Wholesome Games, also took place with even more indie games along the way. An event focused on VR only titles called UploadVR took place with lots of VR titles coming soon, one of which sees the return of a beloved dog and bunny duo last seen in a TellTales game. Limited Run Games did an event too with a lot of retro titles making a comeback on PlayStation 4 and Switch. Bandai Namco and Devolver Digital also did their own E3 showcases and what was on offer for both certainly was interesting. And finally Future Games Show (shown above which is the sister show to the PC Gaming Show) also happened and was hosted by voice acting legends Troy Baker and Laura Bailey. That had a few more announcements too.
While Steam and EA are also doing events later this month, one thing is made clear about E3. No matter what people think of it this year, it has been probably the biggest E3 to happen in such a long time. So many games announced, lots of new content on the way and while no physical event took place again, its shows that not even a pandemic can stop those closest to gaming from coming together to play games and have a good time. May not be completely perfect, but its been ok this year.
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