Xbox + Bethesda E3 2021- June 13th @ 10AM PST/1PMEST/6PMBST- Pre-E3 Discussion Thread!

Gaming
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Could easily see it being mainly a third party show based off comments from Grubb. With Halo infinite being the main XGS game being shown.

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With Techland’s problems in production. I bet on a partnership or sale to Microsoft. As the game is published by Techland I think it could be exclusive. Production in Poland is generally cheap an IP that was successful in its first game. It would be a response to the temporary exclusivity made by Sony.

but it’s just a bet of mine based on rumors that came out earlier

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Techland are likely to be the next big buy. They keep shooting down rumours but I’m still certain they are in the frame

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45

I made a slightly more pie in the sky prediction, which I’ve modified to be more realistic, especially now that details pertaining to E3 and certain acquisition targets have come to light.

  • The presentation is split across 5 “events”, 1 of them on June 12th, 4 of them on June 13th.

  • The June 12th event is a Halo Infinite showcase and esports invitational. A vertical slice from the campaign will be shown, and an event with Halo pros will follow after. Flighting goes live on the 15th MS’s goal is to put focus on other titles during their show, as Halo has been taking a lot of the spotlight and this year was supposed to be their other studio’s time to shine.

Pre-Show:

  • On June 13th, it will begin with a pre-show hosted by Major Nelson. I suspect Microsoft is aware of the mixed to negative response last year’s pre-show received, with Xbox fans finding that many of the YouTubers brought on were either unfamiliar with Xbox’s content or in some instances had negative opinions towards it. As such, the pre-show will be presented as an “ID @ XBOX” event and will showcase updates on several upcoming indies such as ExoMecha and STALKER 2. It will be about half an hour.

Main Show:

  • Then, at noon EST, the show will begin. A 10-second countdown that actually takes 30 seconds, brief teases, you know
 the same opening they’ve done for years.

  • The show opens with Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga with a gameplay demonstration. More action-oriented than the first, but not quite a hack and slash. Senua has an army of companions that assist her in battle. The game supposedly looks every bit as good as the teaser. Currently set for Summer of 2022.

  • Tameem Antoniades will then appear, give some brief details, and then show a short Dreadnaught diary for Project Mara. The game is set for October 28th, just in time for Halloween.

  • We then transition over to Obsidian, who shows us our first look at Avowed’s gameplay. It is very similar to Skyrim in terms of mechanics, albeit with more advanced spellcasting and swordplay. It is set in the Living Lands region of Eora and takes place 500 years before the events of the first Pillars of Eternity.

  • Fearghus Urquhart will then briefly appear to talk about Obsidian’s other projects. Grounded will be entering full release on July 20th.

  • He then shows off a new game called “Main Street Missouri”. It’s a non-violent isometric RPG inspired by Disco Elysium and Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon. Built in the Unity engine. It’s directed by Josh Sawyer, and you play as a young adult (customizable) who inherits their father’s bike repair shop and has to fight to keep the business (and others on the titular street) open after a large Walmart-like superstore begins eating into their business. It is filled with skill checks, branching dialogue and light management simulation. It is set for release on January 13th, 2022.

  • Next, Phil Spencer appears. He mentions how great it was to welcome Bethesda to the Xbox family this year, and how he is excited about what comes next for Xbox in 2021 and byeond.

  • Next, Turn 10 hosts a brief look at Forza Motorsport, this time with gameplay footage. It’s a next-gen Forza. The big difference this time is that there is a story campaign. Scheduled for release Spring 2022.

  • Double Fine shows off Psychonauts 2 which is set for release in September. Looks great.

  • Next, Matt Booty shows up to talk about the relationships Xbox has with third-party partners through Xbox Game Studios Global Publishing. He says he is so excited to see what they do next, and they have 3 games to show.

  • The first is As Dusk Falls. It’s an August release. Looking good.

  • The second is a second season for Tell Me Why. Not much is shown except a brief teaser showing the Ronan twins taking in a hockey game in Juneau.

  • The third is a first look at an open-world action game. New IP. Avalanche Develops.

  • Next, Rare shows off Everwild. It is set for a Fall 2022 release. The gameplay is very different from what people are expecting, with an elemental taking off into the air and spawning flora and fauna around her. It’s kind of like Minecraft’s creative mode meets Black and White meets Horizon Zero Dawn.

  • Next, PlayGround Games shows a brief glimpse at Fable. It’s running in the ForzaTech engine and looks great, but what is mostly shown is a cinematic with a bit of gameplay, like the recent Forspoken trailer. 2023 release.

  • Sarah Bond then shows up to talk about how excited she is working with third parties, and has a few games to show.

  • Brief gameplay trailer for Ark 2 with narration by Vin Diesel. Timed exclusive, launches day one into Game Pass.

  • A gameplay trailer for Warhammer 40k Darktide is shown. Autumn 2021 release.

  • Yakuza: Sword of the Ronin and Yakuza: Bakumatsu Blades are announced. Both are fully localized remasters of RyĆ« ga Gotoku Kenzan and RyĆ« ga Gotoku Ishin respectively with full English audio tracks in addition to the original’s Japanese track. Both will be launching day one into Game Pass and are 1-year timed exclusives, with Sword of the Ronin scheduled for August and Bakumatsu Blades scheduled for October.

  • A trailer for Destiny 2 The Witch King is shown. 2022 release.

  • Finally, Dying Light 2 re-debuts with a December 2021 release.

  • With the third parties done, Phil Spencer encourages us to stick around for the Bethesda showcase and thanks us for watching.

Mid-Show:

  • Next, we have a 45-minute intermission with Team Xbox/Bethesda, hosted by Pete Hines. It’s mostly an interview, and the news is dropped that more OG Xbox Games and Xbox 360 games including Brute Force, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge and Alpha Protocol are coming to backwards compatibility. Additionally, updates on MSFS, Gears 5 and Sea of Thieves are given.

Finally, it’s time for the Bethesda show.

  • The show starts with a bang. Starfield, October 7th, 2021. A 30 minute deep dive with gameplay, concept art, trailers, the works. Like Fallout 4 got. Full Xbox and PC exclusive. The game is a grounded sci-fi game with fantastical elements, with inspiration taken from 2001 A Space Odyssey and Valerian and Laureline.

  • Next, Wolfenstein 3: The New Era is announced. It concludes the trilogy. It takes place over 2 timelines, one pre-Youngblood, one post-YoungBlood. MechaHitler is in it and everything. Multiplayer deathmatch like Enemy Territories also returns. February 15th, 2022. Xbox and PC Timed Exclusive (12 months).

  • Updates to ESO, Fallout 76 and Doom Eternal are shown, with Doom Eternal getting a multiplayer expansion.

  • Ghostwire is not at the show nor are any expansions to Deathloop, as Microsoft doesn’t want to promote games that are coming to competing platforms and not Xbox, and Sony has the final marketing say. They will be at the PS Showcase.

  • A Starfield Mobile Game from BGS Montreal and Alpha Dog Studios is shown off. It’s a space trading sim, kinda like Freelancer albeit way scaled back. Launches after the show.

  • Roundhouse Studios announces their new game called Apostate. It’s a spiritual successor to Heretic and Hexen in terms of tone and setting, but in terms of gameplay, it is almost like a first-person Soulslike. 2023 release.

  • Finally, Arkane Austin closes out the show with their new game Ultra Vampiris. You play as a Vampire in a gothic horror society, whose goal is to find a cure. Your power set is similar to that found in Dishonored and Deathloop with Blink back, but it goes deeper with a Prey-style roleplaying system. You need to feed every 24 in-game hours to survive and need to avoid the sunlight through various methods. Morality is a key mechanic, so while it is easier (and sometimes potentially necessary) to feast on an innocent, it can harm you in the long-run. Releases in Summer 2022.

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46

I don’t know what they will do but I am sure it will be epic.

MS really needs to show everyone a road map of what this generation will look like. So if they got some surprises then they should show them throughout this summer.

most people haven’t bought a next Gen console yet and are still deciding, make the case why owning an Xbox this gen is the best option. If they have silent hill and a new Metal Gear in their backpocket then reveal it now and create that buzz.

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47

I’d think that if we’re trying to be realistic, we are probably keeping to 3-4 AAA exclusives being announced. I’d lean towards Arkane Austin, 2 XGP games and maybe Compulsion’s new game. I expect a few big third party Game Pass reveals (ex. 1-2 like Battlefield 6, Elden Ring, Life in Strange, Persona 5, Madden?), some major indies shown (ex. 12 Minutes, Tunic, The Last Night, maybe Playdead’s new game and Hades).

The thing I’m most interested in is gameplay though. We can be pretty sure we’ll see Halo Infinite, Psychonauts 2, Flight Simulator, As Dusk Falls, Crossfire X, STALKER 2, Scorn and Starfield. I’d bet on Wolfenstein 3, Hellblade 2, Forza (not sure which) and maybe Everwild. I presume something Minecraft-related will be shown as well. Also, where’s Cuphead? I suspect The Last Course DLC has transitioned into Cuphead 2.

Even if there are only a few new games announced, it seems like they’re primed for a big show. They just need to nail the pacing and format
 which is not a sure bet with MS, but I’m hopeful they figure it out and deliver.

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I don’t think MS is going to invest much in timed exclusivity anymore. Game Pass launch makes sense but unless they’re funding a game’s development from the start (like Cuphead and Ori), I think they just focus on bringing AAA third party games to Game Pass.

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I’m the opposite. They have so much momentum now, I feel like the pressure it totally off this e3. They could literally show a placeholder card with game titles on and nothing more and they’d still be smashing it this year. I feel like they have so much going on, I’d not even be bothered by a Halo Infinite delay.

I KNOW that MS have at least one massive surprise lined up. That’s enough for me.

I don’t think they should open with Halo Infinite as I think they’d want to do a side by side comparison with previous footage to show improvements. Open with Hellblade 2 gameplay, then go into Halo Infinite, showing before and after upgrade gameplay. Close with Starfield gameplay, with a tease that Bethesda has the Starfield deep dive.

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50

Once again, the shows will be heavily associated with Game Pass, so we should expect a ton of games announced as coming to Game Pass and this will include some big hitters.

I think we will also get less games announced unlike last year and more of a focus on shining a spotlight on a few games with Halo Infinite and Starfield being the two main games.

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I largely agree but it’s not unprecedented, particularly with SEGA, for Microsoft to provide funds for localization in exchange for exclusivity (see PSO 2 and Like a Dragon). In the case of those two titles, SEGA has been hesitant to bring them westward but MS funding a localization and remaster might help. Idk, this seems like the sort of low stakes exclusive people can get behind.

2 Likes
52

I’ll try to be realistic:

  • Forza Motorsport: gameplay trailer, 2022.

  • Forza Horizon 5: very short teaser trailer just for showing it’s set in Japan, no date is given.

  • Everwild: gameplay demo, 2022.

  • Wolfenstein 3: trailer, 2022.

  • Arkane Austin’s new game: trailer, 2022.

  • Psychonauts 2: gameplay trailer, 2021.

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator: trailer, 2021.

  • Age of Empires IV: gameplay trailer, 2021.

  • Halo Infinite: gameplay demo and beta announcement, 2021.

  • Starfield: gameplay demo with Todd Howard, 2021.

  • Hellblade 2: gameplay trailer, no date is given.

  • Trailer showing various indies launching day one on Game Pass this year: Second Extinction, The Ascent, Scorn, etc.

  • Battlefield 2021 is announced to be coming to Game Pass on day one (Tom Henderson is hinting at it so it’s pretty much a fact).

  • Ark 2: trailer, 2022.

  • Grounded: gameplay trailer, 2021.

  • Fable: in-engine trailer that doesn’t show much.

  • State of Decay 3: same as Fable.

  • Perfect Dark: same as Fable.

  • Short video explaining that Kojima is going to make a game for Xbox. Some concept art is shown.

  • Persona 5 Royal on Game Pass.

  • Avowed: in-engine trailer, no date given.

  • Various Game Pass announcements.

  • Game Pass streaming stick announced.

  • Game Pass Streaming for PC release date given.

  • Game Pass TV app announced.

  • A “20 years of Xbox” special XO event is announced for November.

  • The Coalition, Inxile and Compulsion don’t show their projects as it’s too early for them to be shown. Some of those games are revealed at XO, TGA or next year.

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I think this is an actual leak maybe.

54

Nah too early to announce beta for forza game

Starfield with 2022 release date they can’t delay this game to 2023

Elden ring trailer maybe with previous FS games on GP

Uplay yeah i agree

i think it’s too early for Guardians of the Galaxy and like avengers this probably marketing with Sony also they usually don’t announce 3P gp years before the launch i mean look at MLB and outriders they announce it weeks before release and this will be same for BF 6 and Elden ring

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I’m struggling to think of who would make it. Sega’s (not Atlus though) the only good fit I can think of.

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Don’t matter to me, just make one.

JP Games? Experience Inc? Grounding Inc?

A small team of industry vets that leave other studios?

Don’t matter.

Just make one.

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yeah but it needs to be good right ?. phil can give you jrpg now but what if it was meh ?

finding the right studio is important

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I feel like if Xbox is gonna fund an exclusive JRPG then the expectation is to be something “epic” like Nintendo’s Xenoblade or PlayStation’s FF7R (timed exclusive, I know, still seen as a juggernaut JRPG for the platform). Like, if they get Experience to make another first-person dungeon crawler, then, sure, incredibly niche fans will like it, but it will not compete with the likes of the other JRPGs I mentioned.

I’m sticking with Sega as the most plausible option. I’d be fucking ecstatic if they funded something in the vein of Skies of Arcadia from them.

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Wasn’t it announced as multiplaform in 2018? It’s not like Starfield which doesn’t have any platform attached.

This can be found on the Dying Light 2 web page:

Screenshot_20210413-141324_Ecosia
Screenshot_20210413-141324_Ecosia1440×527 277 KB

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Agreed, if Xbox tries to secure an exclusive JRPG it needs to be a big one. Like how Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon effectively tried to fill the gap of FF and DQ.

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hmmmm


  • Hellblade 2 Gameplay trailer or gameplay segment 2022

  • Grounded 1.0 1-2 minute release date trailer

  • Psychonauts 2 release date trailer

  • Compulsion games Cgi trailer

  • Persona 5 royal GP trailer

  • Warhammer 40,000: Darktide gameplay trailer with release date

  • As dusk Fall gameplay(lol) trailer and maybe release date

  • Stalker 2 story trailer

  • FH 5 with September or October release date

  • BF 6 trailer

  • Uplay GP announcement

  • OHHHHHHHHHH trailer

  • Halo Gameplay/story trailer (i don’t think another gameplay segment is needed, gameplay trailer with updated graphics will do the job) with November release date

  • RGG(Yakuza dev) next game trailer

  • Crossfire X release date trailer

  • Games from XPG(big guns, small games)

  • 1-2 Studio Acquisition announcement

  • Scarlet nexus release date trailer

  • Project mara story trailer

  • Kojima cgi game trailer

now for Bethesda

  • Starfield

  • Zenimax online cgi trailer

  • Wolf 3

  • Arkane Austin game

  • as for these two game Ghostwire and Deathloop at sony event

i don’t think we will see Avowed or Everwild this E3 but maybe this fall