Blink and you'll miss it – E3 2019 was the gaming industry event that practically wasn't. This year's conference, held as ever in Los Angeles, was marked more by what wasn't there than what was.
In some ways, that's to be expected. We're a year out from new consoles from Microsoft — which this year confirmed its Xbox One successor, codenamed Project Scarlett, will launch Holiday 2020 — and, presumably, Sony — notable for their total absence from this year's E3. That has knock-on effects, with third party publishers not wanting to show their cards too early for the new generation, but also not having much left to reveal for the the current one.
##Project Scarlett
In terms of impact, this was Microsoft's show, the only company with plenty to announce. The release date for Project Scarlett was the mic drop moment, but additional details – if not full specs – on the console paint a powerful picture. The new machine will be four times as powerful as Xbox One X, powered by a custom AMD processor co-engineered by Microsoft. It will be capable of 8K resolutions, up to a 120fps refresh rate, and advanced visual techniques such as ray tracing, which will allow developers to create richer and more realistic worlds. It will also feature an SSD hard drive and GDDR6 memory, so Scarlett should be an incredibly fast console – perfect for running Halo Infinite, which will launch alongside the console.
Google Stadia
If there was a trend for E3 2019, it would be the rise of streaming and subscription gaming services. Google revealed its Stadia service just before E3, which will cost £8.99 per month in the UK for access to the platform. Games are purchased on top, and made accessible to players on any screen with an internet connection and a Chrome browser. At E3 itself, Microsoft revealed both its Console Streaming plans, allowing users to convert their Xbox One consoles into personal servers and stream their digital game library to them on other screens free of charge, and confirmed its Project xCloud ambitions for a future streaming service that will (presumably) offer access to games without an actual Xbox in the equation. Microsoft also announced its new Game Pass for PC subscription, providing access to a curated selection of titles for £3.99 per month – while in beta – and Game Pass Ultimate, which combines the existing Xbox One Game Pass with the new PC offering, and throws in Xbox Live Gold, for £10.99.
Ubisoft also got in on the subscription game, announcing its new Uplay+ service. Like Game Pass, this will offer access to a collection of Ubisoft PC titles for $14.99 per month (UK pricing TBC), but interestingly will also overlap with Google Stadia, allowing players to access their subscription library through the cloud.
Watch Dogs Legion
Big new game reveals were relatively thin on the ground this year, but Ubisoft landed one of the biggest with the announcement of Watch Dogs Legion. Set in a near-future London where Brexit hasn't been stopped, it sees players joining hacker resistance movement Dedsec to fight back against the totalitarian regime that has arisen. Brilliantly, every Londoner is a playable character recruitable to the cause, with unique stats and abilities to aid the fight. One of Ubisoft's most unashamedly political games, this looks incredible.
Ghostwire Tokyo
Bethesda unveiled two new titles, Ghostwire Tokyo and Deathloop. The former, from Japanese studio Tango Gameworks, is a supernatural action adventure, where you'll use your own spectral abilities to investigate a series of spontaneous disappearances across Japan's capital. The latter pits two deadly assassins against each other on a mysterious, isolated island, trying to escape the timeloop that keeps killing them. Deathloop comes from Dishonored studio Arkane, so should be worth keeping an eye one.
Cyberpunk 2077
Back at Xbox, the show was stolen by Keanu Reeves appearing on stage – ostensibly to reveal his role in CDProjektRed's upcoming futuristic RPG Cyberpunk 2077, but also to tell the audience they were all "breathtaking". Reeves will be playing digital ghost Johnny Silverhand in the game, with a key role in the main story.
Microsoft
Microsoft's internal slate of upcoming software was undoubtedly the largest of the show, with more than a dozen world premieres including Ninja Theory's Bleeding Edge, a 4v4 team brawler – think Overwatch, but third person and with cybernetic melee fighters rather than shooter gameplay; a revamp of Microsoft Flight Simulator for PC and Xbox One, with dynamic weather and stunningly realised environments, and Blair Witch, a chilling take on the classic horror film.
Blair Witch
Bleeding Edge
Elden Ring
As the only platform holder with a conference this year, Xbox's show also saw the reveal of several exciting third party titles, though many with only teaser, rather than gameplay focussed, trailers. JRPG Tales of Arise from Bandai Namco looks to be revamping the anime-styled series with slightly more realistic CGI, while also publishing FromSoftware's follow-up the Dark Souls series, Elden Ring – a jam session with Game of Thrones' George R.R. Martin. Little has been revealed on the latter, other than it being an open world dark fantasy.
Square Enix
Square Enix announced several new titles, including a remastered release of classic JRPG Trials of Mana, set for 2020, and Outriders, a drop in/drop out shooter set in a sci-fi universe, but its E3 presence was dominated by Final Fantasy. Not only did it announce a release date for the long-awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake* – look for it on PS4 on 3rd March 2020 – but also a remastered edition of Final Fantasy VIII, long thought impossible due to the original development materials supposedly being lost.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VIII Remaster
Avengers
The secretive Marvel's Avengers also debuted, showing the first look at gameplay and story. Although not set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the game – developed by Crystal Dynamics – features the core members from Joss Whedon's 2012 movie (minus, inexplicably, Hawkeye) and appears to set up a disaster in the opening act leading to the team losing the trust of the public. While supposedly a service game – think Destiny – footage showed playing through a story mode, switching between characters as needed. However, unlike Destiny, the developers have confirmed there will be "no loot boxes or pay-to-win scenarios", and that "every new super hero and region will be delivered to players at no additional cost if you own the core game". Look for this on 15 May 2020.
##Nintendo
Finally, Nintendo's E3 showcase was mainly focused on revealing new details or gameplay footage of previously announced games – such as Fire Emblem: Three Houses, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Luigi's Mansion 3, and Pokémon Sword and Shield – but still snuck in a couple of exciting announcements for Nintendo Switch. A long-expected return for Animal Crossing appeared, with the announcement of a release date for New Horizons – albeit sadly delayed until 20 March 2020. The showstopper though was a rare direct Zelda sequel making an appearance, with the confirmation that a sequel to Breath of the Wild is in development. However, that is likely to be even further off, but what little footage was shown, with Link and Zelda seemingly awakening an ancient dark power, looked incredible.
Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Something of a placeholder E3, then – held afloat largely by Xbox and with a few key announcements elsewhere, but largely feeling as though the whole games industry was holding its breath. When it starts to exhale in 2020, with a host of big titles at the start of the year through to the new Xbox at the end, prepare to be blown away.