Checkpoint #4: The E3 Report
Xbox Project Scarlett, Breath of the Wild 2, Doom Eternal, Watch Dogs Legion, Marvel's Avengers and more
Welcome to another week of Checkpoint. For this week’s issue, we’re reporting on the highlights from all the major E3 shows. Back to our usual format — whatever that means! — next week.
Giveaway Alert — Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Do you have a friend who you’d like to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with? We’re giving away a PC copy (requires a Battle.net account)!
Any new subscriber who signs up before next week’s issue will go in the draw. Send your friends a link to Checkpoint’s homepage and get them to punch in their email address to enter: http://checkpoint.rocks
There’s a lot of news to digest, so enough fluffing on about freebies. This issue is long enough that it may be truncated in Gmail, but you can click here to read in your browser if you prefer. Onward:
Microsoft: A new Xbox generation, Game Pass, Elite controller Series 2 + more
Xbox Project Scarlett
Big ticket items first: Microsoft announced that the upcoming next-generation Xbox, codenamed Project Scarlett, will be hitting stores in time for holiday 2020 — we’ve got about 18 months to knock off our current-gen backlogs.
According to what we’ve heard of Scarlett’s specs, it’ll make your new-ish Xbox One X look quaint. Scarlett will support 8K resolution — which is, to say the least, quite a long-term bit of future-proofing. It’ll have a solid state drive, real-time ray tracing, a CPU four times more powerful than the one in the X, and support up to 120 frames per second.
Naturally, Scarlett will support the xCloud streaming service.
We should hear a lot more at E3 2020. In the meantime, here’s Polygon with everything we know about the console, trailers, ray-tracing demos and more.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
We knew that Game Pass was going to be extended to PC, but Microsoft delivered an unexpected home run for player value at this event.
Microsoft announced Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which brings Xbox Live Gold ($9.99), Xbox Game Pass ($9.99), and the new Game Pass for PC ($9.99) into one bundle at $14.99 per month.
It seems Microsoft is willing to take a hit to revenue to continue executing on the platform strategy that has been shaping up under Satya Nadella and Phil Spencer. If you’re paying for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass already, you’ll be saving money and getting more for it.
When you switch over or sign up, you’ll get your first month for a special introductory price of $1. Get all the details at The Verge.
Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2
Available in November, the popular Xbox Elite controller is getting an update.
The Series 2 will feature Bluetooth, an internal rechargeable battery pack that offers 40 hours of play per charge, and adjustable tension on the thumbsticks.
The adjustable triggers now have three levels of depth, up from two. And the rubber grips now wrap all the way around the device to stop them from falling off, as they sometimes did on the original.
Start saving your US$180, and in the meantime, learn more at Windows Central.
Project xCloud: October public beta
Project xCloud is Microsoft’s game streaming service. All eyes have been on Google Stadia in recent weeks, and we didn’t hear a lot of new info about xCloud at E3, but we do know one thing: we’ll all get to try it out in October, when it goes into preview.
Backwards compatibility
There were a couple of important announcements around backwards compatibility this year.
Firstly: Microsoft is going to great lengths to ensure that anything you can play on the Xbox One today will be playable on Scarlett. That means Xbox One games, and it also means 360 and original Xbox games that have been made backwards-compatible for Xbox One.
Unfortunately, that list isn’t going to grow much from now on. Microsoft announced that its next batch of backwards compatibility releases will be its last. Check out the list of releases on Kotaku. If you’ve been hanging out for a port and it’s not listed there, I’m sorry to say that you won’t be getting it at all.
Right now Microsoft’s most interesting work is happening on the hardware and platform side. There were a bunch of exciting game reveals that shouldn’t be missed, though:
Halo Infinite will be an Xbox Scarlett launch title (and is also coming to PC)
Cyberpunk 2077 is finally releasing on April 16, 2020, and Keanu Reeves is playing a part in the game
Gears 5 will release on September 10, featuring a new Escape mode and a Terminator crossover
Elden Ring, a game from FromSoftware, Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin, was confirmed and has a very exciting trailer
Minecraft Dungeons is a Diablo-style dungeon-crawler, and is coming out in spring 2020
Those are the big ones. A few other notables:
Borderlands 2 gets a free DLC in the lead up to Borderlands 3
Bleeding Edge, a 4v4 brawler that looks like “a melee Overwatch”, gets a technical alpha this month
Microsoft acquired Double Fine (and showed off a Psychonauts 2 trailer)
Microsoft Flight Simulator is getting its own reboot, complete with a side of nostalgia, no doubt
Age of Empires II, the best game ever released, is getting a Definitive Edition in glorious 4K
Forza Horizon 4’s newest expansion is Lego Speed Champions, and looks to be as fun as Forza Horizon 3’s Hot Wheels expansion
Bethesda: Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Orion cloud gaming platform + more
Bethesda announced Orion, a software platform that apparently improves cloud gaming performance dramatically. Orion aims to give players on slower internet connections a better quality streaming experience.
Orion is not a streaming service in itself, as Google Stadia and Microsoft’s xCloud are. Instead, it’s a library that can be implemented by game publishers to enhance performance on services like Stadia and xCloud.
A beta test will be available later this year. More details at The Verge.
Doom Eternal got a trailer, a release date (November 22), and details about its multiplayer mode. The game will be available for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch and Stadia.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood, the upcoming co-op adventure, will release on July 26 and be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch and Stadia.
Deathloop is a new IP from Arkane Lyon (Dishonored, Prey), in which two assassins kill each other in an unending cycle.
GhostWire: Tokyo is a paranormal action-adventure game from Tango Gameworks, for which very few concrete details are available.
The Elder Scrolls Online is getting two new DLCs this year: Scalebreaker & Dragonhold.
Commander Keen is getting a long-overdue reboot as a mobile game.
Devolver Digital: Fall Guys, Bootleg, Carrion + more
Devolver Digital had a bunch of new games to announce. Most of the coverage focuses on the shtick, so let’s focus on the real:
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a new IP that blends game-show-style obstacle courses with Battle Royale gameplay.
Devolver Bootleg is a silly 8-in-1 game collection of self-parodies, available now on Steam.
Carrion is a horror game in which you play the monster, and it’s coming to Steam in 2020.
Enter the Gungeon is getting an arcade game and The Messenger is getting a new DLC, Picnic Panic.
My Friend Pedro is a game about a banana who wants you to kill, coming out on June 20
Ubisoft: Watch Dogs Legion, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey updates + more
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has gotten a story creator mode which allows you to create your own quests, and is getting an educational mode later in the year.
Watch Dogs Legion is coming in March, 2020. Set in London, you’ll be able to recruit and play as any NPC in the game. It’ll be available on PC, Xbox, PS4, and Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint releases on 4 October and stars Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, The Punisher), part of a growing trend of celebrity actors starring in AAA games.
Rainbow Six Quarantine hopes to do for PVE co-op what Siege did for competitive PVP, and is coming to PC, Xbox, and PS4 in early 2020.
Uplay Plus is Ubisoft’s entry into the “Netflix for games” market. It’ll feature over 100 titles (including DLC) and launch on 3 September.
Roller Champions is Rocket League on rollerblades, coming to PC in 2020.
Gods & Monsters is an adventure about a forgotten hero on a quest to save the Greek gods, coming to PC, Xbox, PS4, Switch, and Stadia in February 2020.
Three episodes are coming to The Division 2 as part of its Year One pass.
Tom Clancy’s having a big year. Elite Squad is a 5v5 mobile game coming to iOS and Android, at an unknown time in the future.
Square Enix: Marvel’s Avengers, Final Fantasy + more
Square Enix’s main reveal involved its long-awaited Marvel game, now officially titled Marvel’s Avengers. It’s coming to PC, Xbox, PS4 and Stadia on May 15, 2020, and there’s a trailer. The game will take place outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Final Fantasy
A Final Fantasy VII remake is coming to PS4 in March 2020, and there’s a trailer and a bit of gameplay footage already.
The Final Fantasy XIV expansion Shadowbringers, launching on 2 July, got a new dungeon trailer, patch notes and other new details.
Final Fantasy VIII is getting a remaster — it’s coming to Xbox, PS4, Switch and PC sometime later this year.
New titles
Outriders is a dark shooter from the makers of Bulletstrom, and it’ll come to PC, Xbox and PS4 next summer.
Oninaki, originally revealed during a Nintendo Direct, is an action RPG that has you moving between the lands of the living and the dead. It’s coming to PC, PS4 and Switch on 22 August.
Nintendo Direct: Breath of the Wild sequel, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Cadence of Hyrule + more
A sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is in development. We saw a trailer and we know the game will come to Switch (no surprises), but there’s no release date in sight yet.
The game may or may not feature co-op or a playable Zelda — the game’s producer is being particularly cryptic on these points. Tellingly so? You decide. The sequel uses the same world and many of the same art assets as the original, but has a distinct horror vibe to it.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is heading to the Switch and loads of new details were revealed during the Direct. Luigi is on vacation, and the mansion in this game is the hotel. Luigi’s gooey friend can be summoned to help you get past obstacles, and can be controlled in co-op (hey, it beats being a hat).
The game will also feature new multiplayer modes, and launch sometime in 2019, though no specific release date was announced.
The next new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters will be Banjo-Kazooie and the hero from Dragon Quest XI.
We got our first look at Animal Crossing: New Horizons, only to learn that the game has been delayed to March 2020. Serious business, apparently, because Nintendo lost $1B in share value on the news.
Nintendo is remaking Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, a Game Boy classic, for Switch, releasing on 20 September.
We know that cult classic Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal is getting a new Netflix show, but now we know that it’s getting a tactics game too. It’ll be available on PC, Xbox, PS4, and Switch sometime in 2019.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition is coming to Switch!
Cadence of Hyrule is a rhythm game from the makers of Crypt of the Necrodancer, set in the Zelda world. It’s out now and is already a bit of a hit.
Konami is developing a new addition to the Contra series with Contra Rogue Corps, which comes to Switch on 24 September.
A Trials of Mana HD remake is coming to the Switch next year.
Mario and Sonic at the Olympics gets a new Tokyo 2020 instalment.
Panzer Dragoon, beloved classic of the Sega Saturn, is getting a Switch remake, releasing this winter.
Finally, we got a look at Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.
Pokémon Sword and Shield came up, but we didn’t hear a lot about it that The Pokémon Company hadn’t already covered last week.
PC Gaming Show: Borderlands 3, Baldur’s Gate 3, Evil Genius 2 + more
The PC Gaming Show is a big one, with news from many organizations, so let’s crunch through the highlights.
We got more details about Borderlands 3 and Baldur’s Gate III
Rebellion reveals first trailer for Evil Genius 2 at E3 PC Gaming Show
We saw a Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 gameplay reveal
*Zombie Army 4: Dead War* pits four players against Cloud Hitler, the hitler made of clouds
Starmancer is your next space colony sim obsession from Chucklefish
Midnight Ghost Hunt pits you against a squad of ghost hunters
Unexplored 2, a sequel to action roguelike, is comin next year — and it’s got jaw-dropping good looks
Funcom says Conan Chop Chop is not an April Fool’s joke after all
The Last Oasis pits giant walking sculptures against each other on a scorched Earth
Paradox gives us another look at Age of Wonders: Planetfall, due in August
Planet Zoo is a conservation-focused zoo simulator
Per Aspera lets you build a colony on Mars, without useless humans holding you back
Valve reveals Dota Underlords, an official take on Auto Chess
We saw a trailer for Warframe’s next expansion, Empyrean
Samsung’s CRG5 is a curved, 240Hz G-Sync compatible, 1080p gaming monitor
EA Play Recap: Star Wars Jedi, Sims 4, EA Originals
We covered EA’s event in last week’s edition, but to ensure this E3 report is complete, here are the highlights:
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a futuristic swashbuckler, scheduled to arrive on November 15. You can watch nearly 15 minutes of gameplay footage already.
The Sims 4’s next expansion is Island Living. Players will spend time on the island of Sulani, where they’ll be able to work on their tan, swim with dolphins and mermaids, and try new careers such as conservationist and lifeguard. You’ll be able to live out your island adventures on June 21 (Win/Mac) or July 16 (PS4/XB1).
EA has also announced a bunch of promising indie games that it’s publishing under the EA Originals label. [eurogamer]
Battlefield 5’s next chapter will bring four new maps with it, starting from June 27.
That’s it for this edition.
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- Flob