This year’s E3 ought to be a strange one – Square Enix is remaking one of the most beloved games of all time, Bethesda is coming off the heels of a lackluster Fallout game, and Sony and EA are gone from the event entirely. Microsoft has a new generation to plan for, Ubisoft has a new Ghost Recon coming to market, and Nintendo… well, really, can anyone really predict Nintendo?
Just like Nintendo, E3 is a tricky thing to forecast, but thankfully, the internet sometimes gifts us with rumors and leaks to help sort things out a little. This year in particular, we have a lot of information spilling out of the old rumor mill, from new Xbox models to ambitious Switch ports to a new fantasy-esque FromSoftware game.
Here are five of the biggest E3 rumors heading into this year’s expo. As always take these with a grain of salt. We cannot confirm any of these, they are in fact, just rumors. Here we go…
Microsoft Will Reveal Two Next-Gen Xbox Models to Release with Halo Infinite
Rumors have been circulating about the next generation lineup of Xbox hardware for some time. Last year, there was the initial rumbling of a dual-console release called Xbox Scarlett, split between the more powerful Anaconda and the less powerful Lockhart.
Reportedly, these two consoles are to be linked by a common streaming service called Xbox Scarlett Cloud, similar to cloud-based streaming platforms like Nvidia Shield and the upcoming Google Stadia.
Then, this February, French site Jeuxvideo reported that these two consoles will be unveiled during E3, and will release alongside Halo Infinite, announced in 2018. This report was further backed up by Thurrott, adding that we should not expect pricing details at E3.
Considering that the PlayStation 5 is imminent, and the Xbox One is a nearly 6-year-old generation of consoles, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Microsoft blew the lid on their next generation. What remains to be seen is if Xbox Scarlett comes to fruition at E3 2019.
Playground Studios Will Unveil a New Fable Game
It’s a bit iffy, but there’s a possibility the long-dormant Fable series will be revived with a reveal for a new game. Last January, Eurogamer reported that Microsoft-owned studio Playground Games (developer of the Forza Horizon series) is working on a new Fable game, and that it’s set to be an “open-world action-RPG.”
Since then, Microsoft has given no word on the game, but Head of Xbox Phil Spencer mentioned in an Inside Xbox presentation that their new studios “are gonna have things to show” at E3 2019. Among these newly-acquired studios just so happens to be Playground, hence the possibility of the new Fable entry.
Sure, it’s nothing too substantial, but considering that Playground opened a second studio in 2017 to develop an “open-world action RPG,” this Fable certainly might have been in the oven for a while. The time is ripe for an announcement.
Larian Studios Will Reveal Baldur’s Gate 3
Larian Studios, the team behind the two Divinity: Original Sin games, are teasing a threequel – but it may not be for Divinity. The teaser video on this site, an ominous looking roman numeral “III,” seems to contain some sinister secrets for a sequel to one of the most beloved RPG’s of all time: Baldur’s Gate 2.
As Twitter user Kunken found out and PC Gamer reported, opening the video in a text editor reveals some telling code, such as a title “BaldursGate_logo_III” and a publisher “©2019 Wizards of The Coast.” Seems pretty telling.
It’s been nearly 20 years since Baldur’s Gate 2 came out for PC. Today, it’s seen as a seminal classic, and marked influence on modern western RPG’s.
In many ways, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate 2. A third Baldur game from Larian would only make too much sense – we’ll have to wait and see if there are any E3 announcements.
FromSoftware Will Unveil a Collaboration with George R. R. Martin
Game of Thrones might be over, but original series author George R.R. Martin is still keeping himself busy. In fact, in a blog post a couple of weeks ago, he wrote that he’s “consulted on a video game out of Japan.” Now, what could that possibly mean?
Thanks to Spawn Wave’s sources, we might have a clue. Allegedly, Martin is working with FromSoftware (of Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro fame) to create an open-world video game.
Spawn Wave noted this game will contain multiple “kingdoms” to explore. Gematsu reported that the project is known internally as “GR,” has been in development for the past three years, and contains horse-riding.
A while back, FromSoftware CEO Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed that they have two unannounced games in development. With that in mind, if this George R.R. Martin collaboration project is far enough in development, there’s certainly plausibility for an E3 reveal trailer.
The Witcher 3 Is Coming to Nintendo Switch
The Witcher 3, one of 2015’s most technically demanding and storage-sucking games, may be coming to Switch. Despite how unbelievable that might sound, there are many images to back the rumor up.
As ResetEra user Jim_Cacher discovered, listings of the critically-acclaimed RPG cropped up on Asian marketplaces over the course of a few days. One of these stores even goes so far as to state that the port will be coming in September.
The closest we’ve seen of a Switch game this graphical caliber is Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which, importantly, is only available for streaming in Japan. Perhaps this is the same case?
Then again, the physical cases on the Japanese storefronts seem to suggest an honest-to-goodness physical version of Witcher 3 on Switch. If it is indeed real, E3 would be a primetime for Nintendo to showcase the port.
Published: Jun 5, 2019 10:21 am