Gaming
Games
These are our predictions for E3 2019
It was another amazing E3, but also an interim year, so what could the future bring? We gaze into our crystal balls with these predictions of what next year's show might offer up.
Now the dust has settled on another incredible E3, we're left thinking about a show that brought us Gears 4, Forza Horizon 4, a glimpse of a new Halo, gameplay demos for Spider-Man and The Last of Us: Part II, as well as all that incredible Nintendo goodness. E3 truly is gaming Christmas, and we've gorged.
We're not quite full, though, because we're already thinking about what next year's expo might bring. These are the things we hope to see at E3 2019.
The RPG that Playground Games are working on that isn't Forza
Are Playground making a new Fable?
© Microsoft Studios
Known and beloved for the Forza Horizon series, Playground Games were found to be hiring for an unknown RPG project a year or so ago. Many, us included, assumed this would be Fable 4 or a Fable reboot, which would be revealed at E3 2018. It wasn't, though, and Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, mentioned that they would be talking about it "later".
Well, Fable or not, 2019's Electronic Entertainment Expo is an ideal time to show it, especially since the likelihood is that 2019's racing game will be Forza Motorsport 8, and that'll be developed by Turn10, not Playground.
A new Mario or Zelda
We didn't expect it this year, because it's barely been 18 months since Nintendo graced us with Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild, but next year we're hoping for, and expecting, something new from the Japanese developer. It might be a bit too soon to get full gameplay demos, but now both have been updated and were a no-show at E3 2018, we reckon 2019 is a safe bet.
Dishonored 3
Bethesda had an incredible E3 this year. Most people will have been over the moon with announcements for DOOM, Fallout 76, Prey DLC and, of course, The Elder Scrolls VI. That's before we even mention the developer's first new franchise in 25 years. The one title missing from their stable this year, though, was Dishonored.
We're hoping that this is because plans are afoot for a reveal next year, and not because it sold poorly. The Dishonored series has been very well received by critics, and we're hoping for a third fully fledged adventure revealed (and released, but let's not get greedy) at E3 2019.
A look at the PS5
If you've been paying attention, it seems that both Sony and Microsoft are gearing up for new consoles. Phil Spencer even alluded to new consoles being in the works at the Microsoft Press Briefing. However, we think Sony will be first out of the gate. If anyone's be desperate to have a new generation console, it's Xbox, not Sony, but Sony are on top and you stay there by pushing hard. They'll force everyone's hand by revealing the PS5, but it will ship in 2020 or even early 2021.
Microsoft's actions speaking louder than words
Will Microsoft ask Ninja Theory to make Hellblade 2?
© Ninja Theory
Forgive the aggressive tone, there, but what we're actually talking about is how Phil Spencer announced the multiple studio acquisitions at E3 2018. Ninja Theory, the incredibly talented team behind Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and DmC: Devil May Cry, are now owned by Microsoft and we're expecting to see the fruits of these studio purchases at E3 2019. Xbox laid the groundwork for the future this year, and we absolutely have to see what the likes of Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games and Playground Games are working on. Speaking of which…
A sequel to NieR: Automata
What a game. NieR: Automata was out of the blue because while it had pedigree, being designed by the wonderful mind of Yoko Taro, the original NieR wasn't exactly a masterpiece.
While we adored it, the truth is there's more to be done with the systems on offer in Automata. Most loved the game, but complaints about the easy combat – or lack of massive combos like most Platinum Games titles have – weren't unfounded. Assuming Yoko Taro has more story to tell (and reports suggest he does), we'd be very much up for NieR: Automata.
A new Guitar Hero game that won't be called Guitar Hero
In 2018, very quietly, Ubisoft acquired the studio behind DJ Hero and Guitar Hero. Freestyle Games were previously making titles for Activision, but they're now under Yves Guillemot's loving eye at Ubi (and called Ubisoft Leamington), surely the French developer will have them doing what they do best?
It's highly unlikely that Ubisoft also grabbed the IP-rights to be able to make Guitar Hero or DJ Hero, and they certainly won't be working on Call of Duty any more, but here’s hoping that 2018/19 sees the studio working on more than helping out on The Division, or The Division 2, because the creativity shown in Guitar Hero Live was incredible and we're not ready to let our plastic instruments die quite yet. Rocksmith 3, with both real and fake guitars, anybody?
Bloodborne 2
No fuss, no messing about: it's time for Bloodborne 2
© FromSoftware
Once upon a time, the idea of FromSoftware's Souls series spawning a whole genre that birthed imitators, like The Surge or Nioh, would have been madness. It always felt like a niche genre, aimed at people who adored brutally difficult games, which gave no quarter and punished every mistake. While FromSoftware suggested that the Japanese studio would be moving away from Souls-games, the announcement of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, it seems they aren't moving away from the genre, just the name.
Regardless of whether or not FromSoft are up for making a second Bloodborne title, the popularity and critical reception means we think 2019 will be the year it's announced, either as a first-party Sony in-house game or by Miyazaki and FromSoftware. It has to be time. It just has to.
