The 2019 E3 Xbox conference is right around the corner! The hype is building for the possible next gen reveal of their next console, new exclusives, and maybe even a next gen launch lineup! Xbox fans are eagerly waiting in anticipation as this current generation was somewhat lackluster with many missteps in marketing, few exclusives and low sales compared to the competition. The Xbox team is promising that next time things will be different, better, that they will listen more to the fans with more games and features. Will they meet the expectations and keep their promise?
One area in which the competition had them beat this generation was in mega exclusives. The Xbox One era didn’t have many critically acclaimed fan favorite exclusives and that hurt them. For example, Halo 5 had a great multiplayer mode but the campaign was very divisive. They took off split screen multiplayer from the campaign and Master Chief wasn’t even the main character, he barely appeared in it. That among other things kept it from being the mega system seller they hoped it would be, but now for the next sequel they are promising a better experience.
Halo Infinite, the next entry in the Halo franchise was teased during last years E3. Almost no details were given, but many believe it will be a soft reboot and cross generational with the new Xbox console. Another big exclusive is Gears 5 which will have a different protagonist and is also rumored to be cross generational. This gears of war will most likely be the swan song, the final big game for the Xbox One. Lastly, an exclusive that was announced but nothing has been said about it since then is Battletoads which has many fans and it’s been over 2 decades since it's last entry, so we’re hoping to see gameplay and release date!
Something that helped keep the Xbox One afloat was the strong support of third party games. These games helped keep the fanbase satisfied and engaged. Some were even premiered on their conferences such as Dragonball Fighterz, Sekiro, The Witcher 3 and others. These game’s went on to be critical hits in the gaming community.
There have pre-E3 announcements of highly anticipated games such as Cyberpunk 2077, COD Modern Warfare, and Borderlands 3. Some details were given and gameplay footage shown of them, but only as teasers, and so they’re expected to be shown more fully at Xbox’s conference this E3. Of these 3 Cyberpunk 2077 is the most anticipated as their isn’t a set release date and not much is known about its world or features. The Xbox fanbase is known to lean more towards the FPS genre and all three of these would fit right into their showing this Sunday.
Now onto the “Rumors and Speculations” portion! This is part of what makes E3 exciting, the unknown. It is believed that this year Xbox will show not 1 but 2 maybe even 3 versions of their next console. One is believed to cheaper and only digital and the other more high end, higher priced and supporting physical games. Some believe it will launch late this year and others early next year. A game that was teased just recently is the next Watch Dogs game, nothing has been shown and so many believe it might be a next gen launch title and show up on Xbox’s stage! Other features such as the X-Cloud is thought to be spoken of and also other upcoming projects such the Halo TV series.
With just a couple days to go, the speculations are running wild and the expectations are high for Microsoft. With Sony out of the picture this year, this E3 is their‘s for the taking. Will they have the lead in the next generation? Will they show what the many studios they’ve acquired have been up to? We’ll soon find out on June 9th!