The XBOX E32018 briefing starts at 4pm ET / 1pm PT, and we'll be covering it right here at OpenCritic. The stream's embedded below from Mixer, and we'll also be live-blogging it as it happens in case you can't watch it where you're based. Stay tuned!
This post will be updated frequently with news from the briefing. Stream it below, and refresh often for the written recap if you can't watch!
ALL THE GAMES BELOW:
Talk about games. Lots of talk. As usual. It's a pitch, right? But MSFT promises 15 new games this E3 showing. So let's see what they've got.
Here we go. 50 GAMES, 18 exclusives. 15 world premiers.
EXCLUSIVE #1 - Ori and the Blind Forest 2! Looks absolutely gorgeous. 3D art this time, more visually impressive than the original. Ori's got a friend too, an owl. Real title: Ori and the Will o' the Wisps.
WORLD PREMIERE: Nioh 2? Sure looks like it. Or Onimusha? No, something from FROM Software. A new Action RPG. Dead-unead Samurai. Souls-like game. Great movement, not just the usual great combat. Gorey as hell too. Coming to the XBOX Store, it's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Todd Howard here to talk about Fallout 76? Fallout 4 is on the XBOX Game Pass now. Here comes some details on FO76. Set in hills of West Virginia. Beautiful scenery. But also dark as hell. Buried Power Armor, hulking beasts. Crashes planes. Rebuild life outside, America itself. Still not a lot of game details, though. Good hints that it's about online though.
World Premiere: DONTNOT Entertainment's new game.
CRACKDOWN 3: Coming in 2019. New footage. Power ups, firepower, Terry Crews is really in the game, that's for sure. New cars, tank, and more. February 2019, officially revealed.
Nier: Automata officially revealed with XBOX Enchanged visuals and more. "Become as Gods Edition" out in June.
Metro Exodus: In-game footage from a single level. Demo of the gameplay with you as Artyom. Probably one of the prettiest games XBOX has ever seen for sure.
Phil Spencer is back. Talking about Metro, and range of creative expression. Next...?
Kingdom Hearts 3 - New footage, now that we know it's coming out in February. Frozen, here comes Elsa. Don't tell my kids. Showing off Wreck It Ralph's level, Tangled, Monsters Inc, and more. Wow, seems it really has Idina Menzel, and Kristen Bell? If so, that's some serious money. As usual, the story makes NO sense.
EXCLUSIVE: Sea of Thieves next big update? New land is coming. Forsaken Shores - a volcanic looking location, and skeleton crews that sail the seas. Curses Sails in July, Forsaken Shores in August.
Battlefield V: Trailer, cool.
EXCLUSIVE: Forza Horizon 4 - Loads of new cars,new locations, and more shown. All in-engine footage. Presumably cross-buy on Windows 10. This one's based in Britain, dynamic seasons, a shared open world - MMO Forza is pretty epic. Though can it compete with the multi-platform Crew 2 and all its vehicles? Seasons change, time of day, and weather are all dynamic, and sync'd for the whole community. Happens for everyone at once.
MICROSOFT STUDIOS - New Stuff for XBOX - The Initiative, brand new Santa Monica Studio. Undead Labs is officially a part of Microsoft Studios. Playground Games is now part of Microsoft Studios too. More to come on their next open world game soon. Ninja Theory is now officially part of Microsoft Studios - which is just AWESOME. Cannot wait to see what they do with even more money. Compulsion Games (We Happy Few) is now part of Microsoft Studios. Basically, MSFT is doubling down on getting good games on their platform by gobbling up studios. Not a bad idea!
Console Launch Exclusive: PUBG, Miramar. Enough said, there. Sanhok in Summer. War Mode too, which isn't talked much about. Winter 2018, a snow location is teased.
World Premiere: Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition coming to XBOX One, including new content and characters. Coming this winter.
World Premiere: Division 2! Just a nice story trailer about the fall of America. Some in-game footage next. Snowdrop in full effect. Looks absolutely gorgeous. Garden setting. New loot. New guns. Similar setup though. Quite a bit more interaction with the environment. No more snow and ice - actually sunny and bright outside. Very varied setting it seems. Capitol Hill looks pretty messed up. Same cover gunplay we've come to know and love. So far it seems very much like Division 1, just MORE Division-y. Control Points seem to be a new mechanic though. Could their be "factions" or claiming areas in Division 2? March 15th, 2019.
XBOX Game Pass talk now: 100 games, etc. FastStart tech will let you play the games on Game Pass 2x faster. Halo: Master Chief Collection coming later this year. Forza Horizon 4, Crackdown 3, and more coming to the Game Pass. The Division, Fallout 4, and Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Unlimited all added to Game Pass as of today.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: New cinematic in-game trailer. Looks a bit like Metal Gear Snake Eater, to be honest. Not a bad thing. Lara's definitely still a badass. September14th.
Console Launch Exclusive: Brand new skateboarding sim since EA failed to give us Skate 4. Wait, is this Skate 4? Nope, something cool looking called Session.
Black Desert for the XBOX is up next. Played a ton of this on PC. Curious to see how it plays on the console. UI has to be completely overhauled, I'd imagine.
World Premiere: Devil May Cry V! Looking pretty bad-ass, and extremely gory. It's not Dante, but this guy doesn't seem too bad. Same ol' DMC, and that's a good thing. Looks pretty great. Not sure about the southern accented companion. With a Dante cameo at the end!
Console Exclusive: Cuphead in the Delicious Last Course and playable Ms. Chalice. Brand new isle, new bosses, new stuff! Due out in 2019.
Console Exclusive: A Fox Zelda-like? I'm sold. Called Tunic. Looks absolutely adorable. Made by ONE guy!
FINAL GAMES ARE ALL WORLD PREMIERE:
One Piece, DragonBall, Naruto - crossover fighting game. JUMP-FORCE. Pretty neat!
A new Post-Apoc game. First-person, action. Reminds me of Dying Light. Yep, Dying Light 2! They've brought Chris Avellone on board to make it more of an RPG. Choices matter, in the New Dark Ages.
An XBOX Exclusive: Battletoads! Coming in 2019!
Just Cause 4 reveal! We knew it was coming, seems a bit darker in tone than the last one, but still has plenty of Fast an Furious styled humor. Plenty, and I do mean PLENTY of destruction too, including some made by weather and giant tornadoes?
NEW GEARS! Wait, Funko Pop? Oh... Gears Pop... a mobile Gears game. OK, fine. But still probably not what people were hoping for.
Gears Tactics: An XCOM take for Gears, 12 years before GoW1. Also announced!
Gears of War 5 officially unveiled! First footage of the game in action. Kate goes hunting back to the beginning to find out what's happening to her. Action looks intense as always. More story-driven than even the last one.
Lastly, Phil says the next XBOX console is already being made. And that Microsoft Studios is going to be the biggest first party game studio collective around. Boldly stating that they've invested big in XBOX and that this year and all years moving forward there will be even more to be proud of.
ONE LAST GAME:
Icebreaker? Red? WORLD PREMIERE:
CYBERPUNK 2077! Reveal trailer! The follow up to the Witcher 3 looks even more ambitious than you could have imagined. That's bound to get some folks excited!
