E3 is the biggest and most exciting gaming event of the year. For those of you who don’t know, E3 is where the biggest names in gaming announce their newest projects ranging from AAA games to brand new hardware. But what do gamers do during the week of E3? They attempt to predict what each company will announce—which usually ends in a wave of crushing depression when Beyond Good and Evil 2 doesn’t get announced for the umpteenth time. So we here at ICXM are getting ready for the inevitable post-E3 depression and are telling all of you lovely readers everything we believe will be announced this year at E3. So get ready to tell us how wrong we are after each show because here are our predictions for the 2016 edition of the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Microsoft
Jen:
• Definitely some new IP and a montage of indie games from ID@Xbox
• Crackdown 3 gameplay along with an open multiplayer beta
• Xbox One Slim announcement with release date
• Trailers for Scalebound and ReCore with release dates
• An announcement for VR on Xbox, either in-house headset or compatible with Oculus
• Gameplay for Sea of Thieves and Gears of War 4
Jonathan:
• ID@Xbox sizzle reel
• Halo Wars 2 beta playable right after conference as well as a teaser for an upcoming Halo game
• Gameplay demos for Scalebound, ReCore and Gears of War 4
• Announcement for a slim Xbox One, a streaming device and a large focus on Project Helix
• A major third party exclusive, most likely Dead Rising 4
• Microsoft’s conference will be special. It will be very welcoming and will focus on how far they have come but will also put an emphasis on the future. It has been a while since Phil took over and his influence will be seen everywhere. The old Xbox is gone. This is the new Xbox.
Asher:
• An announcement for two new Xbox consoles
• An exclusive action-adventure title in the same vein as Tomb Raider
Ali:
• Reveal and gameplay for Forza Horizon 3, presumably set in Australia
• Large amount of information on Halo Wars 2
• Xbox Scorpio, more powerful and smaller with the capability for 4K output
• Xbox One Slim, smaller with slightly more power to output 4K media as well as more storage.
• Tons more backward compatible games
Lewis:
• Phil Spencer wearing a t-shirt for a game that won’t be announced at this year’s conference
• Announcement and gameplay of Halo 3 anniversary followed by a teaser of Halo 6
• Battletoads appearing in another game, hopefully followed by some information about a standalone Battletoads title (possibly a remake).
• State of Decay 2 with online and local co-op between two players. Will still run poorly, it’s part of the charm
• A myriad of indie games shown in a very nice, short montage
• New edition of the Xbox One. Slim? More storage? I dunno, just something.
• The long-awaited return of Conker, in a proper game!
• All sequels announced with last-gen games in the series will be backward compatible on Xbox One with download codes for the previous titles being included with purchase
Joshua:
• Microsoft’s partnership with EA will continue and will include a massive partnership consisting of bundles, promotions, exclusive content et cetera.
Dreyer:
• Reveal of a new Xbox Slim, with a 4K Xbox device getting a short teaser with a 2017 release date
• Halo Wars 2 with a beta that starts immediately followed by a Crackdown 3 beta a few months after
• ReCore will make an announcement with a firm release date
• Two new IP’s , an RPG and a third-person adventure title
• Age of Empires 4 will be shown at the PC Gaming Show
EA
Jen:
• Information on that EA Sports title/horse picture Peter Moore showed off on Twitter
• A load of EA Sports titles
• Battlefield gameplay for sure
• Mass Effect : Andromeda gameplay and release date announcement
• John Vechey will come on-stage and announce Peggle 3 in an overly-excited manner
• A new game in the style of Unravel or Unravel-esque
Asher:
• Very likely announcement and gameplay demo for Unravel 2
• Gameplay showcase for all of their previously announced games
Jonathan:
• No major surprised but will show gameplay for their big titles. For example, Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1
• A considerable amount of time on sports.
Noel:
• A substanstial showing of Battlefield 1
• The usual sports reel
• A brand-new Dragon Age game
• Trailer and gameplay for Mass Effect: Andromeda
• Announcements for Star Wars Battlefront
Ali:
• Mass Effect: Andromeda to be playable on Xbox One and PC
• Announcement for Star Wars Imperial Commando as well as being playable on the Xbox One and PC
• Star Wars Battlefront: Force Conflict, a single player campaign. Also playable on Xbox One and PC
• Announcement and playable version of Command and Conquer: Tiberium
Lewis:
• Sports, sports and a lot more sports
• Large gameplay demo of Mass Effect: Andromeda with a teaser for Bioware’s unknown new IP
• PopCap will have a new game, either Plants vs Zombies or Peggle
• Teaser for the next Need for Speed game
• Substantial demos for Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2, will both have betas
Joshua:
• Will use E3 as more of an investor call than a press conference
• No mention of mobile games!
• Two new IP’s from independent teams to follow up on the success of Unravel
Dreyer:
• Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2will be shown and will release in an October and November timeframe
• Some weird Kanye West music video
• Need for Speed will make an appearance
• They will show off a new IP although I have no idea on what that might be
Bethesda
Jen:
• Skyrim remaster with release date. If it isn’t there, I will cry
• Showcase of Fallout 4 mods and DLC
• Sequels to Wolfenstein: The New Order and The Evil Within
• The return of Prey 2
• DISHONORED 2 GAMEPLAY!
Asher:
• Reveal and show gameplay for a bunch of remasters, Skyrim being the biggest
Jonathan:
• A sequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order, or just another game in the series
• Big expansion for Elder Scrolls Online
• Large gameplay demo for Dishonored 2
• Skyrim remaster
• Prey 2 not actually being cancelled
Noel:
• Skyrim remastered with mods announced
• Elder Scrolls Online DLC
• A trailer and gameplay for Elder Scrolls Legends
• Gameplay demo for Dishonored 2
• A DLC teaser for Fallout 4
Lewis:
• Skyrim – The Definitive Edition. Comes with all previous DLC, visual improvements and mod support through Bethesda Net
• A substantial DLC/expansion for Elder Scrolls Online
• Prey 2 is announced as being alive, developed by Arcane but will only have a small trailer. No gameplay.
• A reboot/sequel to Quake. They’ve already done Wolfenstein and Doom, time for Quake!
Joshua:
• A sequel for the amazing Wolfenstein: The New Order
• A reboot or sequel to Quake from id Software, not another company
• Prey 2 will be re-announced along with a release date. . . I want it so bad
Dreyer:
• Skyrim – The Definitive Edition is a thing and will launch with full mod support
Ubisoft
Jen:
• A section dedicated to movies based on Ubisoft properties (Please not another Prince of Persia movie)
• Trailer for South Park: The Fractured But Whole
• Gameplay for Watch Dogs 2
• The conference will end with a teaser for a 2017 Assassin’s Creed game
Asher:
• Ubisoft will show gameplay demos for all of their already announced and leaked games
Jonathan:
• Gameplay demo of For Honor
• Watch Dogs 2 will have a short trailer, including glimpses of gameplay
• South Park gameplay will be shown and, of course, will be hilarious
• Ubisoft will unveil a new IP
Noel:
• There will be no Assassin’s Creed
• A trailer for upcoming downloadable content for The Division
• Gameplay and trailer for Ghost Recon Wildlands with a release date announcement
• Gameplay demo for Watch Dogs 2
• There will be a gameplay trailer for the new South Park game
Lewis:
• Large gameplay demos for Watch Dogs 2, Ghost Recon Wildlands and South Park
• An announcement for the next Assassin’s Creed game with a small glimpse of gameplay
• Ubisoft will announce a new IP like they do every year. It won’t look as good as the final release
• Ubisoft will finally announce a new game in the Splinter Cell series, hopefully sees the return of Michael Ironside as Sam Fisher
• Prince of Persia and Beyond Good and Evil 2 will not be announced, again.
Joshua:
• Ubisoft will play it safe, again. They will spend most of the conference showing off their big budget titles
• Assassin’s Creed may get a teaser trailer. We won’t get much information and it will not be released this year
• Will get a gameplay demo of Ghost Recon after the trailer has been shown during Xbox’s conference
• Ubisoft will announce at least five VR compatible games
Dreyer:
• Ubisoft will show off the next update to The Division
• Ghost Recon Wildlands will be their crown jewel this year
• They will tease the next Assassin’s Creed, with the movie launching this year
• They might have a big surprise this year, other than the Watch Dogs 2 reveal, which already happened
Super Special Noel Section:
• There will be Destiny, lots of Destiny. Rise of Iron gameplay as well as a teaser for Destiny 2! I love Destiny.
If you’d like to discuss any of these predictions with us, drop us a comment below or hit us up on Twitter: Jennifer, Jonathan, Noel, Ali, Lewis, Joshua, Dreyer
ICXM Team was a community contributor to ICXM, writing 4 articles in 2015–2016 covering Xbox news. ICXM operated as an independent Xbox and Windows gaming outlet through the run-up to Xbox One S and Project Scorpio, plus the broader Windows 10 gaming push, drawing from a rotating bench of editorial volunteers.