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All of Microsoft’s Announcements from E3 2018

Day 2 of E3 2018 conferences start with Microsoft and their highly anticipated launch of a new Halo title and so much more. It was good to see them come to E3 ready once again to make their mark with a whopping 50 games on show. Let’s see what was announced!

Halo: Infinite

Teaser Trailer has been released for a new game in the Halo franchise detailing some of the world environments and a few vast, open landscapes. The game appears to be designed with a new Slipspace Engine.

More Information – https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/our-journey-begins

 

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Teaser Trailer showing off some gameplay elements and an expansion to the existing world from Ori and the Blind Forest.

Coming soon to Xbox One and PC.

More information – https://www.xbox.com/en-AU/games/ori-will-of-the-wisps

 

Sekiro – Shadows Die Twice

Developed by From Software & Activision, this looks to be a Samurai era Dark Souls/Bloodbourne style game. The gameplay appears to be enhanced with certain abilities like a Hookshot, stealth, a slew of freaky enemies and some meaty combat.

Coming in 2019 to PS4, Xbox One and PC

 

Fallout 76

It’s a new Fallout game set as a prequel to all other titles. Todd Howard was up on stage boasting that the game will be 4 times the size of Fallout 4. You are playing as on of the first settlers to emerge from Vault 76 into an untamed and very different wasteland. You will be able to pre-order from June 15th so there may be a 2018 release date?

More information will be available during the Bethesda conference later today.

 

The Awesome of Adventures of Captain Spirit

Developed by Square Enix & DontNod Entertainment, this story Depicts a boy with a great imagination, exploring the worlds that he is able to create in his mind. This is set to be an new original story in the Life is Strange universe.

Available 26th June for FREE on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

More information – http://lifeisstrange-blog.tumblr.com/post/174764161880/announcing-the-awesome-adventures-of-captain

 

Crackdown 3

Terry Crews introduces Crackdown 3 in the best way possible. I can’t explain what happened in the trailer. Just watch it and continue to be awed by how awesome this game looks.

Available February 2019 on Xbox One and PC.

More information – https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/crackdown-3

 

Neir: Automata – Become As Gods Edition

More Neir: Automata action, now Enhanced for Xbox One X and including all previously released DLC

Available 26th June on Xbox One

 

Metro Exodus

On surface adventures instead of the tunnel dwelling gameplay of its predecessors. Mutated enemies are a plenty in this new chapter of the Metro universe. A Metro game wouldn’t be complete without intense gunplay and a slew of modified weaponry.

Available 22nd February 2019 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

More information – http://www.metrothegame.com/en-au/

 

Kingdom Hearts 3

Kingdom Hearts is making its way to the Xbox platform for the first time. There now seems to have included the Frozen universe in stunning quality. Cinematic trailer shows off the latest in animation technology and it looks amazing.

Sea of Thieves – DLC

Two DLC expansions have been announced for the swashbuckling action game from Rare. Sea of Thieves’ world continues to evolve in the wake of The Hungering Deep. So far, the Sea of Thieves community has amassed 1.5 Million Friends who have played over 91 Million hours of their game. With these DLC packs, both coming in 2018, we should see that number increase quickly.

Cursed Sails – Available in July 2018

Forsaken shores – Available in September 2018

More information – https://www.seaofthieves.com/

 

Forza Horizon 4

A cinematic trailer shows off various super cars exploring varying weather and environments. Off Road vehicles and rally cars in the open world of Britain. Dynamic seasons set to change the gameplay and allow players to experience their favourite areas in multiple weather conditions. This is all in glorious 60 frames per second. Forzathon live events also allow the community to drive to a particular position on the map and complete challenges together.

Available 2nd October on Xbox One and Windows 10 and will be included in Xbox Game Pass.

The Initiative

Microsoft are amplifying their investments in Xbox Games by creating and acquiring 5 new divisions of their Microsoft Studios branch. The first of which is a new division – The Initiative. They will be given the freedom to explore, try new things and operate like an independent studio, with the backing from one of the biggest companies in the world to do something bold and different.

Undead Labs, Playground Games, Ninja Theory and Compulsion Games are now also becoming part of Microsoft Studios.

More information – https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/06/10/e3-2018-microsoft-studios-opens-the-initiative/?ocid=E32018_soc_omc_xbo_tw_Video_lrn_6.10.

 

We Happy Few

We Happy Few is a narrative-driven action-adventure game set in a retro-futuristic 1960s England. Uncover the mystery of Wellington Wells as you play through the interwoven narratives of three moderately terrible citizens trying to escape from a lifetime of cheerful denial.

Available 10th August 2018 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

 

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS

New Snow map will be coming in the near future, Riot shield and explosions a plenty.

More information – https://www.xbox.com/pubg

 

Tales of Vesperia – Definitive edition

Including additional content and characters and brought over to the west thanks to Namco Bandai.

Coming soon to Xbox One.

 

Tom Clancy’s: The Division 2

Set within Washington DC. A virus has swept the nation.and devolved the areas into urban warfare. Six months after of the outbreak began and the agents of The Division are here to control the area. New gameplay with scripted multiplayer voice comms as they explore the various environments and take in the sites. Chest high wall, third person gameplay with everything turned up to 11 from the old game. Just like the first game, everything looks awesome when in a scripted slice but I feel we were a little burned by the first game.

Available 15th March 2019 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

More information – https://tomclancy-thedivision.ubisoft.com/game/en-au/home

 

Xbox Game Pass – Over 100 Games in one low monthly Price.

The team at Microsoft have invented a new way to start games 2x faster than before. Labelled “Fast Start”, the system will launch in June for selected titles. Forza Horizon 4 and Crackdown 3 will have same day global release for Xbox Game Pass as their physical copies. Tom Clancy’s: The Division, Fallout 4 and Elder Scrolls Online are all coming to Xbox Game Pass Today.

More Information – https://www.xbox.com/en-AU/xbox-game-pass

 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Developed by Crystal Dynamics, Lara Croft is getting battered around once again as she explores new areas in search for ancient dangerous artifacts.

Available 14th September 2018 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

More information – https://www.tombraider.com/

 

Session

Originally on Kickstarter back in 2017, we finally have a teaser trailer for a new skateboarding game. Since EA haven’t made Skate 4 yet, Session attempts to fill that void with some new, skating action.

More information – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/100195109/session-skateboarding-simulation-game-by-crea-ture

https://www.facebook.com/actionofcreate

 

Devil May Cry 5

Devil May Cry is back after 10 years when Devil May Cry 4 was released. Aliens and blood are a plenty in this newest title from Capcom. Devil May Cry has been teased with a split gameplay/cinematic trailer. Various weapons and arm abilities are shown off against a slew of new enemies, big and small.

Available Spring 2019 (Autumn in Australia).

More information – http://www.capcom-unity.com/devil_may_cry/blog/2018/06/10/e3-2018-announcing-devil-may-cry-5-coming-to-xbox-one-ps4-and-pc-in-spring-2019

Tunic

Developed by a small development studio named Finji, Tunic is an action adventure about a tiny fox in a big world. Explore the wilderness, discover spooky ruins, and fight terrible creatures from long ago.

More information – www.TUNICGAME.com

 

Jump Force

Sneak Peek of Bandai Namco’s next fighting game complete with what appears to be city destruction and characters from the One Piece, Naruto and Dragon Ball universes.

Unite to Fight in 2019

 

Dying Light 2

First person game zombie survival game complete with wall running and a fluid parkour system. Set in the modern dark ages the Dying Light 2 world will be affected by your choices while playing. The ecosystem reacts to your choices and playstyle. Gameplay demo played out along with peacekeepers and the choices regarding a local water supply.  

Coming soon to PS4, Xbox One and PC

More information – https://dyinglightgame.com/

 

Battletoads

A quick teaser trailer is bringing back the retro classic Battletoads. This version will have three player couch co-op, genre morphing genre mash-ups and 4K hand-drawn 2.5d graphics.

Coming in 2019

 

Just Cause 4

Square Enix & Avalanche studios are bring in another entry to the Just Cause series. Just Cause 4 was shown off with a cinematic trailer filled with explosives and explosions in every shape and size.

Available 4th December 2018 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

More information – https://JustCause.com

 

3 x Gears of War titles

Now for the biggest tease of the conference, Microsoft Studios presents – 3 Gears of War games in three different genres! A teaser trailer was released for Gears of War: Pop!, a mobile game in collaboration with Funko. Gears of War: Tactics appears to be a turn based strategy game, set in the Gear of War universe and released exclusively for PC.

Gears of War 5

In Gears 5, you as Kait and journey across the biggest, most beautiful Gears world ever created. Play solo or with a friend in local split-screen co-op, or online co-op and experience every mode in 4K at a glorious 60 frames per second. Biomechanical style touches have been added in as well which is a nice addition.

Coming in 2019

More information – https://gearsofwar.com/en-us/community/whatsup-e3-edition

 

Cyberpunk 2077

CD PROJEKT RED are showing they know exactly what they are doing. Taking over the stage from Phil Spencer with a hacking sequence and launching straight into the teaser trailer to finish the conference. That’s how you generate hype for your game. Consider me amped up for Cyberpunk 2077!

Coming Soon

More information – https://www.cyberpunk.net/en/

Conclusion and Thoughts

Oh my god that was a lot of games to take in all at once. The best conferences in my opinion, are the ones that just sit back and let the games do the talking. We have a lot of confirmed release dates as well and that makes me happy but holy crap the first quarter of 2019 is looking super busy. I would’ve liked to see more of Halo Infinite but more information may come out during the week of E3.

Massive hype has been generated for Metro Exodus, Crackdown 3, Sekiro, Forza Horizon 4 and Cyberpunk 2077. With a lot of games also releasing on Xbox Game Pass at the same time,  it’s almost silly not to pick it up and at least try out the various games. I think I’m still reeling from the sheer amount of games they pulsed directly into my eyeballs. I was definitely swept up in the momentum of the conference and the hype for some of these games will only build as their release dates come closer. Bring on the next conference!

Coming up next we have Bethesda, starting up at 11:00am AEST today (11th June) so stay tuned for more E3 2018 coverage.