Microsoft
With the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo well underway, it can be overwhelming to keep up with all the news pouring out of the conferences. In case you do not have the time or opportunity to watch it yourself, here is a recap of everything you need to know from the Xbox Media Briefing on June 13, 2016.
Phil Spencer started out with a nice, brief message and moment of silence for those affected by the tragedy in Orlando.
The show opens with a video officially announcing the new Xbox One S. It is 40% smaller, has a 2TB internal HDD, integrated power supply, HDR Gaming, 4K Ultra HD video, and Blu-Ray. It also comes with a new, redesigned Xbox One controller featuring increased range and new grips. The whole package comes in white for $299 starting this August.
Phil Spencer invites Rod Fergusson, The Coalition’s Studio Head and Gears Co-Creator, takes the stage to announce that “Gears of War 4” will be one of the first in the Xbox Play Anywhere program – where an Xbox game gets you a Windows 10 PC version that syncs progress and achievements. It will also support cross-play in every game mode! Laura Bailey, the voice of Kait, shows off some gameplay. The game looks great. There are some noticeable visual upgrades since the beta. New weapons and enemies are shown off. Gears is Gears- and that is not a bad thing. An October 11th, 2016 release date confirmed, followed by a video teasing a Gears version of the Elite controller that will be available for pre-order.
“Killer Instinct” community manager, Rukari Austin takes over. He thanks the community and totes some of the accomplishments of the games. After reviewing some of the awesome characters that have joined the roster, he reveals the next guest character. General Raam, from the “Gears of War” series, is coming to “Killer Instinct,” and he is available free to play this week.
Next is a video teasing a new Forza game, “Forza Horizon 3.” Ralph Fulton, from Playground Games creative director, makes the official announcement and shows off the gameplay. As is to be expected from any Forza title, the game looks phenomenal. It also boasts the largest open world they have ever created and the most extensive car roster (in the Horizon series). The game will feature a 4-player co-op campaign for the first time. It releases September 27, 2016.
A new video for the Microsoft exclusive “ReCore” shows off gameplay for the first time. It also introduced the cast of characters. The visuals seem to have taken a small hit from their cinematic reveal trailer – but then again, what cinematic reveal trailer has not made promises it could not keep? It is also, presumably, still a work in progress as the game does not launch September 13, 2016.
Hajime Tabata, Director of Square Enix, shows of “Final Fantasy XV” via a game demo. Much like Gears is Gears; Final Fantasy is Final Fantasy. Mathew Kishimoto, the Senior Product Marketing Manager, plays the demo after providing a small backstory. The game looks great, and the demo shows off a three-way battle with a massive Titan and an opposing army. Kishimoto boasts the “fast and fluid battle system which has never been achieved in any of our past titles.” After the demo wraps up, a September 30, 2016 release date is revealed.
Ubisoft shows off new content for “Tom Clancy’s The Division,” dubbed the “Underground Expansion.” It has randomly generated missions, more urban combat, and lots of neon lights. It is coming first to Xbox starting June 28.
Patrick Bach, General Manager of DICE, shows off “Battlefield 1.” He expressed the team's desire to bring a unique experience from World War I. The game will feature destructible environments, a wide variety of vehicles and weapons, and dynamic weather to ensure no battle is the same. Bach says the Battlefield series will be “more immersive than ever before.” He then announces an October 21, 2016 release date, with an early release on October 13, 2016 for Xbox One members with EA access. The trailer looks stunning and shows off a variety of gameplay and huge set pieces. Oh, also some explosions, explosions, and explosions.
Mike Ybarra, head of platform engineering takes the stage. He discusses the growth of Xbox Live and promises ever-growing expansion, including more live servers closer to where gamers are, resulting in a faster, more reliable network. There are also new features coming this summer, such as Background Music, Cortana, and Language Region Independence, which allows you to choose a preferred language regardless of where you live. Xbox Live is going to be on all devices – Xbox, Windows PC, Android, or iOS. Ybarra then announces three highly demanded features are coming soon. The first is “Clubs on Xbox Live” – communities you can go back to (like groups on Facebook). With this comes “Looking for Group on Xbox Live” – it helps you find people for specific games and specific goals. Last, competitive gaming gets a nod with “Arena on Xbox Live” – a new tournament platform that allows you to discover, register, and compete all in one place. He also promises that EA is bringing their biggest games to Arena… “in the coming years.”
The “Minecraft” team takes the stage as Saxs Persson and Lydia Winters discuss cross-play across devices (including iOS) via “The Friendliest Update.” It will feature dedicated servers, known as “Realms,” so friends can play in your world even when you are not online. John Carmack from Oculus shows off the Oculus VR version of “Minecraft,” which is… exactly what you would expect it to be. Also, texture packs are immediately available on Pocket Edition and Windows 10 edition, with add-ons – essentially regulated mods for animals and mobs – coming this Fall. Reams can be tried for free with an Xbox account on a phone, tablet, or Windows 10 PC.
Next up, a video shows off customizable and personalized Xbox One controllers, promising “8 million ways to make it yours.” The Xbox Design Lab is online now at Xbox.com/XboxDesignLab and is taking pre-orders now.
An ominous trailer teases a new game from Playdead, the makers of Limbo. Much like its predecessor, it has a unique style, but it is difficult to say what the game is really about. “Inside” is launching June 29. Chris Charla, Director of ID@Xbox, takes the stage and announces that Limbo will be free to all today as a celebration of Playdead’s announcement. Then a video rolls showing a variety of ID@Xbox titles coming soon – including the highly anticipated “Cuphead,” “Slime Rancher,” “The Culling,” and many other titles. Charla notes the massive accomplishments of ID@Xbox program, specifically with “Ark: Survival Evolved.” Anyone who purchased it on Xbox One will get it free on PC this fall (as part of Xbox Play Anywhere). Charla finished by announcing “Slime Rancher,” “The Culling,” “Everspace,” and “Day-Z” specifically as titles coming to Game Preview soon.
A new game shown off by Guillaume Provost, the Creative Director & Founder of Compulsion Games. “We Happy Few” has a Bioshock vibe and looks equal parts creepy and awesome. It is set in a dystopian, alternate-universe 1960s where everyone in a small British town takes drugs to make them forget terrible things that happened during the war. The main character refuses to take his pills and suffers from horrible flashbacks, causing him to black out. You then find out that the townspeople apparently don’t like it when you do not take your drugs. After an all-too-short gameplay demo, it announces that “We Happy Few” is coming to Games Preview on July 26, 2016.
CD Projekt Red Lead Designer, Damien Monnier, announces “Gwent – The Witcher Card Game” as a stand-alone title with cross-platform multiplayer and a full single-player campaign mode. It will feature skill-based gameplay centered around the same core mechanics and a nice visual upgrade with a wide variety of cards to acquire. The better you play, the better your rewards. “Gwent” will have a closed beta coming September 2016 – exclusive to Xbox One and PC. You can register at PlayGwent.com.
Bandai Namco Entertainment teases a new fighting game that flows right into gameplay demo. “Tekken 7” includes an all-new story mode that, much like this demo, seamlessly transitions from cutscenes to gameplay. Look for it to ship in early 2017. To celebrate, “Tekken Tag Tournament 2” is available via backward compatibility and will be completely free for Xbox Live users this week only.
Christmas in July - er, June? Actually, it is a teaser – complete with snowfall in the auditorium – for “Deadrising 4,” which has Holiday 2016 release window. It looks pretty goofy, entertaining, and bloody. Basically, “Deadrising 4” is all the absurdity you could hope for from a Deadrising title backed by the power of the Xbox One.
“Scalebound” gameplay is shown off by Hideki Kamiya, Creative Director at PlatinumGames. It is the biggest boss-fight PlatinumGames has ever made. “Scalebound” is an impressive looking game – very colorful, very smooth. Great, natural-sounding banter from the character adds to the authenticity. The demo shows off the game’s co-op battle mechanics and looks like a blast. What’s not fun about fighting with Dragons? It will be part of Xbox Play Anywhere sometime in 2017.
Cue the trailer with a dreary sea chantey and smoke machines. It is Rare onstage with “Sea Of Thieves.” Studio Head Craig Duncan talks about Rare’s “most ambitious game yet” and it is a rich, open-world experience. A world premiere of gameplay is shown off, composited from the experiences of a few fans who got to play the game first. They were grouped up, then set off into the world with no tutorials or explanation. As expected, they had some issues, and one group failed their first battle, but they all had a blast exploring the world and just doing pirate things. “Sea Of Thieves” was confirmed to be a part of Xbox Play Anywhere, but no release date has been announced despite being expected to arrive sometime this year.
A trailer for another Xbox One/Windows 10 exclusive rolls, showing a few people mowing down zombies in an old T-bird before getting out to take on the horde. It is “State of Decay 2.” The game certainly looks good, but probably suffered from debuting so close to “Deadrising 4.” However, those looking for a more survival-oriented experience in this genre will certainly be happy.
Next comes a cinematic trailer with all-to-familiar game assets. It is “Halo Wars 2” with a breathtaking trailer, reminiscent of the highly acclaimed “Halo 3 Believe” ad campaign. No real gameplay is shown off, but the experience is magnificent. Dan Ayoub, studio head of Strategy Games at 343 Industries takes the stage to discuss the new title. The game launches February 21, 2017 as an Xbox Play Anywhere title. Better yet, the week-long beta launches NOW! Now a glimpse of the gameplay is shown off in a second smaller trailer.
Phil Spencer returns to the stage and recaps the conference. He discusses the launch of Xbox 15 years ago and teases “exciting, new opportunities on the horizon.” He states that the next step is to support true 4K gaming and high-fidelity VR. A video plays toting a new console that “the developers asked us to make.” The powerhouse features eight CPU cores, 320 GB/S Memory Bandwidth, and six teraflops of GPU power for true 4K gaming resolution. Project Scorpio is the next edition coming to the Xbox Family during Holiday 2017. All games and accessories will work across every Xbox One, Xbox S, and Project Scorpio console, so “no one will be left behind.” Phil Spencer then goes on to say that they believe it will be the most powerful console ever to be released.
The conference closes out with a montage trailer recapping all of the amazing games shown off during the event, and the 2016 E3 Xbox Media Briefing is over.