It's once again time for the entire video game industry to migrate to Los Angeles for a week and show off. Every big publisher and countless developers have upcoming games to showcase at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and I'll be out there to cover it.
The show kicks off Tuesday, June 16, but Monday is press conference day, and we'll hear from EA, Ubisoft, Sony, and Microsoft. That's a big part of the industry right there, so expect several highly choreographed presentations in different venues in Los Angeles to promote their biggest new AAA games.
Bethesda, however, is starting things early with a Sunday night presentation. This is surprising considering Bethsoft already announced Fallout 4 a week ago, so it leaves some big questions about just what will be shown on Sunday. The presentation could offer a deeper look at Fallout 4, including gameplay details. However, Bethesda is also publishing the upcoming Doom game from Id, and it's been a very long time since any details beyond five seconds of gameplay footage have been released. A sequel to the excellent stealth action game Dishonored might also be revealed.
Sony and Microsoft, meanwhile, have clear paths to promote at E3.
Sony will push system-selling exclusive titles for the PlayStation 4. Look for an expansion of Bloodborne, which proved surprisingly popular and helped make up for The Order: 1886 and Driveclub's disappointments. Sony also secured a surprising exclusive with Street Fighter 5, and will show off Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, the latter of which is the previous Uncharted game remade for the PlayStation 4.
Microsoft will show off Halo 5, Forza Motorsport 6, and the new Gears of War title, all of which will stand as Xbox One exlusives.
Besides exclusive games, both Sony and Microsoft will promote major upcoming third-party titles as compelling reasons to get their current-gen consoles. Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, EA's Star Wars: Battlefront, and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Syndicate will all be major releases in the coming year, and could help convince stragglers to replace their Xbox 360s or PlayStation 3s with new systems.
Toys-to-Life games will be bigger than ever at E3. Activision's Skylanders and Disney Infinity both have major sequels/expansions planned, and the upcoming Lego Dimensions game will bring the beloved block maker to the toy tie-in video game table. Lego has had several successful licensed games in the past, and Lego Dimensions will take it further with toys that connect directly the the game and a mash-up structure that will combine everything from DC superheroes to Scooby Doo. Nintendo might also announce new amiibo toys, but it won't likely unveil any specific tie-in game to turn the company's collectible figures into a single, cohesive toy-game experience.
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There's plenty of room for surprises at E3, and Valve could have some of the biggest. The company has been working hard on its Steam Machines and Steam Controller hardware, and is developing a virtual reality headset with HTC, but it's been quiet on games. There's a chance, albeit a very small and unsubstantiated one, that Valve will announce new Left 4 Dead, Counter-Strike, or even Half-Life games. With Steam hardware coming this fall, there's plenty of room for Valve to put out a new tentpole game exclusive to the SteamOS platform.
We'll likely see even more surprising news out of E3, but if we saw it coming it wouldn't be a surprise. Expect to see some unique titles come from out of nowhere to catch our interest on the show floor, or for long-forgotten projects to be rekindled. We'll find out in Los Angeles next week!
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