E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, where all of the biggest companies in video games come to announce new games or give some additional information on games we already know. The event is starting up on June 12-14. A lot has previously been announced such as Bethesda’s surprising reveals of Rage 2 and Fallout 76. Despite knowing so much, there is a lot to predict. Some of these I feel entirely confident in, while in others it is mere speculation. I will go over ten things that might happen during E3 2018.
#10: Superman from Rocksteady Studios
Rumors have been circulating that Rocksteady Studios, the people behind the Batman: Arkham games, are making a new superhero game. This time they are leaving the Dark Knight to go towards Superman. These are just rumors, but the company has not released a title since 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight. A recent leak on 4chan claims that the game will be at E3 and this week Game Informer will feature the game on the cover of their July issue. With a few days away, we will know whether this is just some rumor or a real treat for the Superman fans who have been clamoring for Rocksteady to make this Superman game. I am not a fan of the character, but if it is done well like the other games that Rocksteady have done, then I am already sold.
#9: DOOM 2 Revealed
The reboot of DOOM back in 2016 from id Software was beautiful and gruesome return in the best way. The fast-paced action that the series was always known for with a facelift to make it up to the standards of moderns FPSs made this game brilliant. With the added heavy metal soundtrack to the mass killing and brutal violence, this was a highlight of 2016 for me. Since the game was such a huge hit by selling 2million copies on PC alone, along with praise from fans and critics, it would make sense for a sequel. Whether or not we see the next installment this year is questionable. I think Bethesda will come out with some games this year, but seeing DOOM is not too likely. My prediction is that we will get a reveal with a trailer and maybe some additional information.
#8: Trailer and Possibly More for Avengers Game by Square Enix
Nobody knows a lot about the Avengers game that Square Enix is making. The game had a teaser trailer a few years ago, but nothing has come out since. After taking a break from E3, maybe we can get a trailer for the upcoming game. To say that we will get a lot is hard to say, but unlikely. Most likely we will get a trailer, and maybe someone will come out to briefly talk about the game. Marvel wants to start going into video games just like how the company has dominated movies and had a hand in TV. With their upcoming Spider-Man PS4 exclusive that is being developed by Insomniac, this is the beginning of Marvel pairing up with developers to get their hands into this industry. With their deal with Square Enix, it is not far-fetched to assume that Marvel wants to get these games into the hands of gamers as soon as possible. I hope to finally get a better look at what is known to be The Avengers Project from Square, but I am not too confident in this prediction.
#7: Fallout 76 Release Date and Gameplay
So, the release date aspect might be far-fetched, but I feel entirely confident in the reveal of some gameplay. Bethesda’s conference will be their longest they have ever done. With Fallout being present, a lot of time will be on one of their biggest IPs. They have said we will see what this game truly is about during their conference. A lot of speculation has gone around about this being an online survival game similar to Rust. That speculation started since it has been confirmed that this will not be the typical Fallout game we have seen in recent years. Whatever it is, I know it in my heart that Bethesda will show off gameplay. I do believe the possibility of a release date being announced. Bethesda loves to make a splash at E3 just like they did a few years ago when announcing Fallout 4. Sure, their conference last year was underwhelming, but this year is going to be their comeback. Rumors have come about that the game is coming out sooner than we think. Amazon has accidentally posted the game with a release date of July 31. Now that has been taken down onto a generic Dember 31 release window, but this gives an intriguing hint especially to anyone who loves to speculate.
#6: Crackdown 3 Release Date
After a long time of development hell and scrutiny from fans after their last reveal of the gameplay, Crackdown 3 has had some issues, to say the least. Microsoft has struggled with this with console generation. Their struggle partially stems from the lackluster of exclusives. They don’t have that many and the ones they do have are underwhelming. Crackdown 3 has lost most of its hype due to all of the game’s issues such as fans critiquing the game’s graphics and gameplay that looks out of date. After such a long development, I feel during Microsoft’s E3 conference, they will announce the game’s release date and not delay it any longer. The company needs a significant push with some big exclusives, and this could be the game to do it. If fixing those issues are present during the conference, then Crackdown 3 could help Microsoft win some brownie points with their fans.
UPDATE: Various sites are reporting that sources in Microsoft are going to delay the long-awaited Crackdown 3 to 2019. Looks like I was wrong before E3 even happened.
#5: The Last of Us Part II Shows Gameplay
It has been confirmed that Naughty Dog will show more of their most anticipated game The Last of Us Part II. PlayStation has a lot to show, and this is one of their biggest titles to show off to the world. Since we have been given trailers at any presentation at E3 or PlayStation Experience, I bet that Naughty Dog will finally show the gameplay. If this is true, then, expect Ellie to kill some humans or clickers brutally. Some new features will be shown off along with some enhanced features from the first game. We might get some more information on the story, but that will be it. I doubt they will reveal the release date. If they do, it will be far away and used in broad terms such as “releasing in 2019”. Either way, this is my number one game I am looking forward to besides Spider-Man.
#4: Red Dead Redemption II Shows Gameplay
Rockstar Games has given us several trailers that hint at the story of their highly anticipated game Red Dead Redemption II. The latest trailer shows off some potential gameplay, but not a direct gameplay trailer. With only a few months left until the game is released, the company has to start marketing the game more. However, this is Rockstar who have always done this unconventionally. That makes it difficult to predict their moves, but I believe we will see gameplay soon whether it is as E3 or not.
#3: FromSoftware’s New Game
The developers of Bloodborne and Dark Souls have a few projects in the making. One of which was teased with a trailer that had the words “Shadows Die Twice.” Fans have gone crazy with what this could mean. Many have speculated that this will be a sequel to Bloodborne. The game was well received by fans of the Dark Souls games and by newcomers. The game was a lot smaller in scope, but with a sequel, we can expect a lot more from it. Even then these words could lead to an entirely different game. It has been confirmed that Dark Souls 3 is the last of that series, so our best bet is getting a Bloodborne 2.
#2: Spider-Man Shows the Open World in Detail
Insomniac’s upcoming Spider-Man is a dream come true for me. With this being the next massive exclusive for PlayStation, expect the show for this game to be huge. Game Informer did a whole month showing off the game, but with E3 we can expect some more details that we have not seen before. The game released this September, so it is hard to guess how much they will show. I believe we will get a better look at the game’s open world along with some more gameplay to show off some extra features. A part of me does think this could be a smaller presentation due to the game’s release date being so soon, but this could be their way of grabbing people who were skeptical.
#1: Cyberpunk 2077 Trailer
CD Projekt Red, the company behind The Witcher game,s have been working on their upcoming game Cyberpunk 2077 for a while now. The game could be the year for the company to make a huge splash that could take over all of the chatter during E3. Everyone will talk about whatever they show, and if we see enough, then it will be the game that gets talked about the most. The highly anticipated game does not have much information on it, and the CD Projekt Red have been quiet about the game. Back in January, the Twitter the game came alive. The last post before was back in 2013, then on January 10 we received a little tweet that said, “beep.” The tweet could mean that this will be the year for Cyberpunk 2077 to give details, but how much will we see? The game has been under development for years, but to show up and announce a release date like this is unlikely. The game probably needs more time than that to market itself, but they could be bold enough to give a release date for this year. That mic drop moment could be useful. Nothing is certain about whether we will finally see a new trailer, gameplay, or even a release date, but we can cross our fingers and hope.
Those are my biggest predictions for E3. The expo is right around the corner which will either make my predictions look brilliant or completely useless. We will see how much of a waste of time this article is. Comment below what you think of my predictions and put out some of your predictions.
Header image via Rockstar Games
Tristan Zelden 