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This article was published on June 6, 2018

What to expect at E3 2018


What to expect at E3 2018

E3, the gaming industry’s glitziest event, begins this weekend. If you’re like me and want to ride the hype train for the few glorious moments before collective cynicism steps in, then here’s the full schedule of events, and what you can likely expect to see from each.

If you want a general source for all your streams, you can pop by sites like E3 Countdown — which is exactly what it sounds like. All times listed here will be in PST, for simplicity’s sake.

Electronic Arts: First up is EA, which will be showing its stuff at 11 am on June 9 — this Saturday. You can watch it either on EA’s Twitch or YouTube channels. As for what its intends to show, the list is somewhat expected.

First, you’re likely to see more of Bioware’s new multiplayer game Anthem. The other big-name item will likely be Battlefield V. It’s a coin toss which of those will get more play time, but my money’s on the latter. Expect to also see the usual slate of sports games. There are hints a new Star Wars game might also make an appearance.

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Microsoft: Sunday’s going to be a big day, and the first show begins at 1 pm with Microsoft. You can watch its event on the Xbox Twitch or YouTube channels.

The most likely showings on its stage will probably be Crackdown 3 and the latest installment in the Halo series, rumored to be titled Halo: Infinity. I’d also expect to see something related to the Xbox itself. There might be another Gears of War, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another Forza game.

Bethesda: Next on the list, at 6:30 pm, is Bethesda, which you can watch on its Twitch or YouTube channels. I’ll say this for Bethesda, it generally knows how to put on a marginally better show than some of the other companies at E3.

Gird thy loins, everyone, because you’re about to get hit with some Fallout — Fallout: 76 in particular. Teased last week, the game is rumored to be Bethesda’s answer to Rust or DayZ. As for the company’s other major franchise, Elder Scrolls… well, I’m hoping, but not expecting. Meanwhile, it’ll also probably show quite a lot of Rage 2, and perhaps even a follow up to DOOM 2016.

Devolver Digital: This show is going to be put on at 8pm (Twitch, YouTube) and I’m not even going to pretend to know what the makers of Serious Sam have in store for us. All I know is it’s already apologizing for it.

Square Enix: The creators of Final Fantasy are kicking off Monday June 11 at 10 am (Twitch, YouTube). I hope you’ve got coffee, because it’s going to be the longest day of the event, in terms of press.

The big ticket item on the roster will probably Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the latest dimly-lit entry in the rebooted series. Other major agenda items are Kingdom Heart 3 (which had better be coming soon, Squeenix, because I’m not getting any younger) and probably an Avengers title which the company has been working on quietly for a while now. You’ll probably also get a glimpse of the FF7 remake, but I get the feeling it’ll dangle the promise of that like a carrot and not deliver until the very end of it’s show.

Ubisoft: I’m almost more interested to see who Ubisoft gets to host its show this year than what games it’s going to display. It begins at 1pm (Twitch, YouTube), hopefully giving all of us at chance to get lunch.

You know the recently-leaked Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is going to be front and center. My secret hope is for more from Beyond Good & Evil 2, because the hint we got last year looked far more interesting than anything it showed.

PC Gaming Show: I’m still scarred from the first time I watched this show and it went on for about two-and-a-half hours, so I’m approaching this one with caution. It begins at 3 pm. If you want to watch it (Twitch, YouTube), we’ll both be going in somewhat blind, as I’m not sure what the PC show could show us that the other conferences won’t.

Sony: The last big showing of Monday is the Sony event, which begins at 6 pm (Twitch, YouTube) — hopefully enough time for the PC show to wrap up whatever it’s doing.

I’m actually not sure what Sony can show that it hasn’t already shown at previous events. Last of Us Part 2, Spiderman game, Kojima’s bizarro dreamscape Death Stranding. If Sony has any big surprises coming, it’s been keeping them rather close to the chest. I’m not exactly holding the oxygen, though.

Nintendo: As always, the Big N is doing its announcements in a pre-recorded Nintendo Direct, rather than a staged event, wrapping up the main press streams on Tuesday, June 12. You can get watch its stream at 9 am on either Twitch or YouTube.

If you have even a passing familiarity with Nintendo’s catalog, then you already know the words to this song: new Pokemon, new characters for Smash, and potentially even a new Star Fox. The juiciest rumor is that we’ll see Fortnite debut on the Switch, one of its last unconquered territories. Frankly, I’m ready and waiting for more footage from Bayonetta 3 or Metroid Prime 4.

Good luck everyone, and I’ll be keeping up with as much coverage as I can.

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