With Bethesda starting off E3 with a bang! Microsoft, the first of the ‘big 3’ conferences, had so much in store in this year’s press briefing, Not only with upcoming video games, exclusives and indies, but also backwards compatibility, Xbox and Windows 10, Oculus partnership and Hololens. For those who weren’t able to watch the live conference at 2:30am, here’s a list of all the announcements made:
- Halo 5 Guardians kicks off the press conference, showing off campaign gameplay of Fireteam Osiris, showing off the new fireteam mechanics, the new Promethean Soldier, the Plasma Caster, and much more. A new PvP experience named Warzone, was also announced
- A new game called Recore, where you can battle with robot companions.
- Microsoft finally adds backwards compatibility to the Xbox One, with only a select couple of games, you can play both your digital and physical Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One. You can also use Xbox One features like screenshot and record, and play with 360 members as well.
- Xbox is releasing an Elite controller, a modular controller that lets you remap your buttons, add extra paddles to the back of the controller, and configure the sensitivity of your triggers and thumbsticks. Awesome!
- Bethesda show more Fallout 4 gameplay, also announcing that PC mods can be transferred to the Xbox
- EA come out of nowhere and talk about their EA access program, announcing that Xbox Live Gold members can play EA access games for free, during the E3 week. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 announced, showing off new plant and zombie characters.
- Microsoft announces Forza Motorsport 6…and lowers a car from the roof. Why?
- Dark Souls 3 revealed, showing new locations and enemies.
- A story trailer for The Division is shown, announcing an exclusive beta for Xbox One users. Rainbow Six Siege will also come with Rainbow Six Vegas and Vegas 2 for free.
- Gigantic is shown off, a free-to-play team-based action game, available on Windows 10 and Xbox One.
- Indie montage time! Cuphead, Rise & Shine, The Mean Greens, Phantasmal, Westerado, Goat Simulator, Game 4, Below, Ark: Survival Evolved, to name a few.
- A few indie games are shown in detail. Creators of Gone Home have worked on a new game called Tacoma. New Zealand developers Aurora 24 show off Ashen. Developers Tiger & squid created an artistic game called Beyond Eyes, and Studio MDHR show off more gameplay for Cuphead.
- Microsoft announces Xbox Game Preview, a program that lets players access games early, while they are still in active development.
- A gameplay demo of Rise of the Tomb Raider, shows off the environments and intense, action-packed gameplay. It launches this November 10.
- Celebrating Rare’s 30th anniversary, they have announce Rare Replay, a collection of their classic titles, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Battletoads, Perfect Dark, and Viva Pinata to name a few. 30 games for $30, available the 4th of August.
- Rare also announce their new title, Sea of Thieves, a pirate MMO adventure game
- Microsoft announces their partnership with Valve VR and Oculus, including and Xbox One controller with every Oculus headset at launch. You will also be able able to play Xbox One games on the Oculus, by streaming through Windows 10.
- With the recently announced Hololens, the Microsoft conference included a stage demo of how it would work in the world of gaming, with something like Minecraft. You can use the HoloLens to snap your game screen anywhere in the room, or if you feel like playing God, you can project your world on a surface, and spectate and interact with players in the session.
- The Coalition announce Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, also having a multiplayer beta for the week of E3, starting today. Gameplay of Gears of War 4 is also shown, going for a much different feel, than past Gears games.
With all these announcements, what are you most excited for?