E3 is only a couple weeks away and plenty of big games are getting announced ahead of the show. It's time to get excited!
Taking place from June 13-15 in Los Angeles, it’s where all the big guns announce their exciting new games which will be launching in the busy holiday season and beyond. This year we’ve also got the bonus of new hardware, with the Nintendo Switch making its E3 debut and Microsoft’s Xbox One successor – Project Scorpio – being fully unveiled. June is set to be an early Christmas for fans. Here’s everything we’d love to see.
E3 2017 PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
E3 is drawing closer and closer, and that means all the big companies have begun setting their plans in motion. Sony, Microsoft, EA, Bethesda and Ubisoft are set to hold conferences this year. We've listed all of the confirmed times thus far below:
Saturday June 10
- Electronic Arts - 12pm PT/3pm ET/8pm GMT
Sunday June 11
- Microsoft - 2pm PT/5pm ET/10pm GMT
Monday June 12
- Sony - 6pm PT/9pm ET/2am GMT
- Ubisoft - 1pm PT/4PM ET/9pm BST
Tuesday June 13
- Nintendo - 9am PT/12PM ET/5pm GMT
SONY AT E3 2017
Games, games, games: The Last of Us Part 2, God of War, Spider-man, and more
Sony will go into E3 2017 as the clear market leader, the PlayStation 4 being multiple millions ahead in the console sales war. Without any new hardware to launch, however, the platform holder will have to focus on games. 2016 saw the release of PlayStation VR and PS4 Pro, meaning the company is done on that front for a while.
Related: PS4 Pro vs Xbox Scorpio
Expect lots and lots of games. The big names we already know about are The Last of Us Part 2, Spider-Man, Days Gone and Detroit: Become Human. We should also see much more of the Uncharted 4: The Lost Legacy.
All should be given gameplay demos or trailers to whip the crowd into a frenzy. If Sony is to stop PlayStation VR going the way of PlayStation Move, we’ll have to see more VR titles too beyond the likes of Farpoint. Hopefully it won’t stretch the dev studios too thin.
Activision to have big presence
Activision has a timed-exclusivity deal with Sony, meaning that Activision games will get DLC first on PS4 before Xbox One. That means we expect Acti to once again have a big presence during the press conference this year. Expect Destiny 2 to get a bombastic trailer during the show and the recently-revealed Call of Duty: WWII to have a huge gameplay trailer, perhaps even showing off some multiplayer action, too.
Death Stranding is shown off as a game rather than a bizarre art project
Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding is unlikely to be a sales juggernaut when it finally releases, but it’s without a doubt one of the most talked about games coming to the PlayStation 4. So far, Sony has used every event possible to show off the game, such is the draw of Kojima amongst fans.
Related: Best PS4 Games
If the game isn’t at E3 2017, let’s just say we’ll be more confused than we were after watching the first trailer. Fingers crossed Kojima actually shows gameplay, too, even if it’s just the briefest of glimpses and surrounded by images of half-naked people, Mads Mikkelsen and Guillermo del Toro.
Final Fantasy VII Remake reappears
Do you remember when Sony showed off The Last Guardian, Shenmue 3, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake during the E3 2015 conference? It was hard to believe, but it really did happen. Now Final Fantasy XV is out (although still being tweaked/added to) E3 2017 will be the ideal place for Square Enix to give the hype-fueled fans a new look at what’s being done with the Final Fantasy VII remake. Perhaps even a release date for the first part?
Related: PS4 Pro vs PS4
XV has generally been well received, so we’re pretty hopeful that the remake we’ve craved for so long will live up to the hype.
MICROSOFT AT E3 2017
Project Scorpio breaks cover
Microsoft has finally confirmed when we'll see more of its mysterious 4K console. A briefing will be held on June 11 to showcase its specs, games, release date and more. We've been given an early glimpse at the specs thanks to an early peek behind the curtain, but now it's time to really see how those figures affect the games.
Related: Best Xbox One Games
With Sony’s PS4 Pro already on the market, Microsoft will hopefully have seen what worked and what didn’t, and have a presentation that provides plenty of much needed information as well as impressive graphics.
What games will launch with Project Scorpio?
New hardware is great, and we all want Scorpio to deliver the goods, but it’s just a shiny new box unless the games arrive alongside it. We already know that all Xbox One games will work on Scorpio, so a lot of existing titles (Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, etc) should get a bump into native 4K.
If Microsoft really wants to generate buzz around Scorpio it’ll need to show off new games looking significantly better, which might be tricky considering the company has already stated that all Scorpio games will run on Xbox One. It’s not impossible, though. PC gamers have always benefitted from their games featuring improved effects, textures, shadows and the like.
Turn 10 is likely to debut Forza Motorsport 7 running on Scorpio as the first demo, seeing as we've already seen Forza tech running on the hardware (and not even pushing it to the limit). Could we see Halo 6 or even a Gears of War 5? It certainly makes sense to show off at least one of them.
Related: Best Xbox One Deals
Even more first-party IP
Microsoft likes to load all of its big releases towards the end of the calendar year. Sony has undoubtedly won the first half of the year with stellar exclusives likeHorizon Zero Dawn, Nioh, Yakuza 0 and Persona 5, so Microsoft has a lot of ground to make up for.
Crackdown 3 and Sea of Thieves should be out by the time we get into the busy holiday season, so what else could spearhead Scorpio’s launch? Rare, the studio working on Sea of Thieves, is pretty big. It wouldn’t surprise us at all if another project is in development there. Wishful thinking, but it would be a brilliant way for Microsoft to gain fanboy points at E3 2017.
NINTENDO AT E3 2017
Switch’s honeymoon period is over
By the time E3 2017 rolls around in June we'll have had our hands on Nintendo Switch for good few months. By that time we'll have exhausted the limited launch line-up and be ready for an exciting new plate of games. If Nintendo hopes to avoid another Wii U-esque disaster it'll need to come out swinging with a strong showing of exclusive titles. We're talking Mario, Zelda, Fire Emblem and maybe even Metroid. We can dream, right?
Related: Upcoming Nintendo Switch games
We're expecting to see more from Super Mario Odyssey and the likes of Splatoon 2, but Nintendo fans really want to see some of the neglected classics return. We’re talking about Metroid and F-Zero. Please show off new entries in these two cherished franchises, Nintendo. We’ll love you more than ever if you do.
And the early signs are promising, with Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime being particularly bullish, promising the company will deliver a "big" E3 this year.Nintendo's E3 Spotlight Event plans to focus primarily on Switch titles coming our way in 2017. We'll also catch a glimpse at a few new experiences coming our way in 2018 and beyond. We'll also have the usual Nintendo Treehouse Stream showing off all the latest titles and a few special surprises.
Third-party woes or unique partnerships
Sony and Microsoft will always have third-parties to rely on, delivering the likes of Call of Duty, Destiny, FIFA, Fallout, and more. Nintendo will try to court these publishers, but it’s going to be tricky considering the relative power of Switch in relation to PS4/PS4 Pro and Xbox One/Scorpio.
Related: Best Nintendo Switch Games
Rumours of a Rabbids RPG starring Mario characters suggests that Nintendo is being more open with its prized properties, so collaborations aren’t out of the question. Ubisoft has always been a big supporter of Nintendo platforms (even the Wii U), but hopefully others will follow this time. Call of Luigi and FIFA Mario All-Stars, anyone? We can dream.
EA, BETHESDA, UBISOFT, AND THE REST AT E3 2017
A lot of the big E3 2017 announcements will come from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, but we expect to see a lot of cool new games from the industry’s mega publishers. Electronic Art's EA Play event is making its return this year. Star Wars Battlefront 2, Need for Speed and FIFA 18 are just some of the titles already confirmed. Fans will even have a chance to go hands-on with events taking place in Hollywood and London.
Ubisoft usually has something special up its sleeve at E3, and this year we’re betting on a big demo of the next Assassin’s Creed along with Far Cry 5 finally showing its face. If the team gets it right, this could be the star of E3 2017.
Related: Video Game 2017 release dates
Bethesda will likely have something to say about that, though. The publisher is looking to go even bigger than its previous two impressive E3 line-ups. Prey is out now and Quake Champions has enjoyed a couple rounds in its private beta, but surely it’s time for a proper new Elder Scrolls game and another entry in theWolfenstein franchise. Capcom, not one to host its own event at E3, may well make some announcements via Sony and Microsoft, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Square Enix reveal Shadow of the Tomb Raider or at least a brief teaser for Lara's next outing.
E3 2017 GAMES – WHAT ELSE WILL BE HERE?
There will be so many games on show at E3 it boggles the mind. Aside from all the ones mentioned above, we have tons of coverage on all the games we expect and hope to see at this year's show. To keep up to date on all the latest news from the big releases, click on the links below:
- Assassin’s Creed Empire
- Beyond Good and Evil 2
- Crackdown 3
- Code Vein
- Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
- Dauntless
- Darksiders 3
- Days Gone
- Detroit: Become Human
- Elder Scrolls 6
- Far Cry 5
- Fifa 18
- Forza Motorsport 7
- Gears of War 5
- Halo 6
- Kingdom Hearts 3
- Knack 2
- Lady Layton
- Marvel vs Capcom Infinite
- Metal Gear Survive
- Metro 2035
- Middle Earth: Shadow of War
- NBA 2K18
- Ni No Kuni 2
- Need for Speed
- PES 2018
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Shenmue 3
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole
- Spider-Man PS4
- Square Enix’s Avengers
- State of Decay 2
- The Evil Within 2
- WWE 2K18
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2
All in all, E3 2017 is set to be quite the event. What are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments!
