Playing Around – News from E3 2019

It’s that time of year again, when gamers from around the world await news of new games and tech announced at E3. If you haven’t had time to sit through the streaming press conferences or catch up with all the news, we have you covered. Here are what some of the larger companies have announced at this year’s convention (with a few links to game trailers too). 

Microsoft not only unveiled some new games, but also finally released details on Project Scarlett, its next-gen console that will hit stores in 2020. Using an SSD for new speeds (and a promise of almost zero load times), high frame rates and incredible 8K screen resolutions, the console will launch with the new Halo: Infinite.  Among those new games announced was Elden Ring, by Dark Souls developer From Software, created in collaboration with George R.R. Martin. And, in perhaps the chillest moment of the con, Keanu Reeves appeared to announce that Cyberpunk 2077 will release in April 2020.

The two big game announcements from Square Enix were fan favorites. Avengers: A-Day is a third-person action game where players take control of Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America. It will also have an online mode for team ups. Coming out in May 2020, anyone pre-ordering the PS4 version has the opportunity to access the Beta play version. The remake of Final Fantasy VII, out in March 2020, includes new graphics and voice acting, plus will have a reworked combat system that’s a hybrid of real-time and turn-based action.

Nintendo revealed upcoming titles, including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3 and Astral Chain. It also announced there will be a Switch port of The Witcher 3. And they got great fan reaction by reveling that N64 icons Banjo and Kazooie are coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is in development.

Along with new titles like Doom: Eternal, Ghostwire Tokyo and Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Bethesda announced that the free-to-play mobile game The Elder Scrolls Blades is available to play complete with a new PvP mode. It also announced a reboot of the 90’s hit Commander Keen in mobile form.

And finally, the biggest general trend among companies involved subscriptions and clouds. The main subscription service announcements included Ubisoft’s UPlay Plus and Microsoft’s expansion of Xbox Game Pass onto PC. Bethesda revealed Project Orion, intended to make games more compatible with cloud streaming from the development process up. And Google wants in on gaming with Stadia, an online platform to stream titles in 4K using a home internet connection.