Elijah Gonzalez 
While this may have been somewhat of a down year for E3 due to the waning sway of the convention and because of how late we are in this current console cycle, there still were quite a few surprises and encouraging release date confirmations. While the absence of Sony was felt, Microsoft revealed the first next-generation hardware, Nintendo moved forward with some exciting new titles and a bundle of release dates, Square Enix showed off a trove of remasters and remakes, while Ubisoft and Bethesda mostly doubled down on their existing titles. Let’s run down some of the biggest announcements of this year’s show, and why you should care about each of them
Microsoft’s New Console Will Ship Holiday 2020
Why You Should Care:
New generations of consoles are a big deal, and if Microsoft is to be believed, this will be a particularly meaty upgrade. Featuring the capability for 8K resolutions, a Solid-State Drive (SSD), and the potential to play games at 120 frames per second, the next Xbox, dubbed Project Scarlett, should be a large technical leap forward. Whether or not it will significantly decrease the gap between gaming PCs and consoles remains to be seen, but Microsoft also talked up their cloud service, xCloud, and promised to double down on Gamepass.
Halo Infinite Will Be A Project Scarlett Launch Title
Why You Should Care:
While it’s fair to say that Halo has seen in something of a critical and popularity downturn since Bungie left to work on Destiny, the possibility of this behemoth franchise making a comeback in tandem with the release of Nextbox is a tantalizing possibility. With a five year gap between Infinite, and Halo 5: Guardians, it’s fair to say that 343 has had ample time to reconsider what makes the legendary series tick. And the urgency with which Microsoft has been pushing the Master Chief Collection hopefully implies that the next mainline series entry will be a return to form.
Cyberpunk 2077 Release Date Announced for April 16, 2020
Why You Should Care:
The Witcher games are some of the most acclaimed titles in recent memory, and so it comes as no surprise that CD Projekt Red’s next undertaking is exceedingly hyped. With Cyberpunk 2077, the Polish studio will try their hand at depicting a sci-fi dystopia, a setting which seems like a natural fit for the team. In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the studio managed to deliver a constant stream of difficult decisions which directly shaped the world and affected characters. And considering how rife cyberpunk is with morally ambiguous gambits, there should be plenty of conundrums to sink our teeth into. While we have seen little of the FPS/RPG gameplay, those who have had hands-on time with the game claim that the title is quite complex, fusing inspiration from Deus Ex with large quantities of ambition. Also, Keanu Reeves is in it, so video games are saved.
Elden Ring, Collaboration between FromSoftware and George R.R. Martin, Announced
Why You Should Care:
This is a truly wild headline, one which would seem implausible if it wasn’t for the prior leaks. FromSoftware, the makers of some of the most acclaimed games of the last decade, such as the Souls titles, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, have announced their next project. It will be a collaboration with George R.R. Martin, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire(the series Game of Thrones is based on). Considering the challenging gameplay and dense world building of FromSoft’s games, their next title would be deeply exciting regardless, but with Martin listed as a collaborator, it is even more tantalizing. While the trailer didn’t give a great deal of insight into what Elden Ring will entail, the studio has confirmed that it will be a fully open-world title with a combat system that is reminiscent of their other games.
Watch Dogs Legion Announced and Release Date Set for March 6, 2020
Why You Should Care:
Watch Dogs Legion is based on a fundamentally ambitious premise. Here, you can play as almost any character in this depiction of dystopian London, as you attempt to topple Britain’s totalitarian regime. In the years following Brexit, the country has descended into a state of disrepair, as the government has tossed aside its denizen’s freedoms in pursuit of control. On top of being a rare triple-A video game that seems to actually have a political message, Watch Dogs Legion looks as though it will feature dramatically varying gameplay through its droves of playable characters, with elderly assassins, drone pilots, and more. It looks quite interesting both thematically and mechanically, and we will get to find out if it all comes together within the year.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Release Date Announced for March 3, 2020
Why You Should Care:
Final Fantasy VII is one of the single most beloved games of all time, and it appears as though Square Enix is attempting to give the twenty-two-year-old game a complete makeover for modern audiences. Scrapping the turn-based combat of the original in favor of something that mixes the tactical decisions of classical JRPGs with the action-oriented combat systems of games like Final Fantasy XIII, FFXV, and Kingdom Hearts, this remake is a promising adaptation of FFVII for modern audiences. By engaging in combat, you build up meter that which lets you slow down time to utilize special moves. While it’s obviously tough to gauge how it will actually play, the demo we saw looked smooth, allowing for switching between multiple party members with different move sets. While this March release will only adapt part of the original’s story, Square has promised that this will dramatically flesh out the first major hub area, Midgard. Apparently, it is enough to fill two Bluray disks.
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Follow-up Announced
Why You Should Care:
While Nintendo only showed a brief glimpse of the next major installment in the Legend of Zelda series, the implication that it will be a direct follow-up to last year’s Breath of the Wild is quite encouraging. This is particularly exciting considering how singular and evocative that last mainline Zelda game was, with its free-form exploration-based gameplay and gorgeous art design. While Breath of the Wild had its share of flaws, including fairly simple combat, and an absence of dungeons, the game excelled at emergent gameplay and delivering a constant sense of discovery. It is easy to imagine that a direct follow-up would build on the myriad of its predecessor’s unique strengths, but I imagine we will have to wait quite a while to find out for sure.
Other Big Announcements
In other Nintendo news, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was announced for April 16, 2020. It has an updated art style, there will be more expansive decoration options, and it will feature the perpetually scheming Tom Nook as he engages in predatory home-loans practices. The release date for the Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake was announced for September 20, 2019. The original title was created by many of the same people that crafted Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, which is widely considered one of the greatest games of all time, an exciting prospect for this remake. It also features a truly charming aesthetic. Platinum Games, the makers of Bayonetta, put a date on their dystopian character-action game Astral Chain for August 30, 2019. It’s being helmed by the lead gameplay designer of Nier: Automata (for clarity I’m not talking about the mad genius Yoko Taro).
Doom Eternal, the follow-up to the 2016 reboot of the series, is due for November 11, 2019. It looks to continue the fast-paced strafing combat and wonderfully self-indulgent writing of its predecessor. Gears 5 got a release date of September 10, 2019. There will be big guns in it, and whatnot. Also, there’s a new co-op survival mode where you will find yourself outmanned and outgunned deep behind enemy lines. Microsoft also announced that the release date for Ori and the Will of the Wisps is February 11, 2020. The original was a gauntlet of platforming challenges couched in the context of a Metroidvania. The original’s platforming was as impressive as its lush visuals, and the sequel looks to deliver on the same appeal.
We got a release month of March 2020 for Vampire: The Masquerade- Bloodlines 2, the follow-up to the much beloved fifteen-year-old vampire RPG. The Outer Worlds got a release date of October 25, 2019. It’s the new open-world game from Obsidian, the creators of Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and many other beloved RPGs. Crystal Dynamic’s Avengers game got a release date of May 15, 2020. It’s a co-op action game where you play as Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Black Widow, and more. Everyone online is making fun of it due to the fact that its heroes all sort of look like their MCU likenesses, but not really.
There were a few new IPs announced. Ninja Theory, the devs behind Senua’s Sacrifice and DmC: Devil May Cry, showed off their Xbox/PC exclusive multiplayer brawler Bleeding Edge. Arkane Lyon, the creators of Dishonored and the Prey reboot, announced their stylish shooter Deathloop. It’s like Groundhog Day, but in video game form so there’s far more murder. People Can Fly, the creators of the cult-hit Bulletstorm, announced Outriders, a shooter set in a dismal sci-fi setting. And lastly, a new title from Shinji Mikami, the mastermind behind Resident Evil, was announced. It is called Ghostwire: Tokyo, and it will feature ghosts and whatnot.
