Bethesda at E3 2017: What to Expect Them to Show

Bethesda at E3 2017

The time has come for all the final predictions just ahead of E3 2017. For some developers, the chatter about what could be coming down the pipeline has only recently hit an all time high. In Bethesda’s case, however, the rumor mill started churning back in April after the Fallout developer released a pretty telling press conference invitation.

At first glance, the invitation simply looked like a whimsical way for Bethesda to pay homage to their biggest titles. A theme park style image clearly shows attractions based on Prey, Dishonored 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, DOOM, Quake Champions, and Fallout 4. The inclusion of these titles hints that there could be some news at E3 related to each of these existing IPs. That, in and of itself, is exciting news, but what’s even more exciting are the two areas of the theme park that are still under construction. It isn’t clear if these titles are new additions to beloved franchises or if Bethesda will shock everyone with some new IPs. So what could the developer have up its sleeve for E3 2017?

Wolfenstein: New Colossus

Bethesda hasn’t actually confirmed what the two games “under construction” might be and the developers clearly hope to keep the announcement a surprise for E3. As it turns out, however, the Internet is a magical place where secrets are hardly ever kept and nothing is ever forgotten. At last year’s E3, Bethesda made a not so subtle hint that a new Wolfenstein game was on the way. One of the images that was displayed during Bethesda’s E3 2016 press conference was a faux boot up screen with a list of titles with dates next to them. In that list, you can spot the Wolfenstein games in order right before you arrive at a mystery title that isn’t connected to any of Bethesda’s existing games—“New_Colossus.” Where other titles had dates next to them, this title donned asterisks instead. It surely seemed to be a nod at an upcoming Wolfenstein title named New Colossus but an interview with one of the franchise’s voice actors seem to all but confirm that speculation.

Brian Bloom, the voice actor behind BJ Blazkowicz, sat down with Two Left Sticks for an interview last fall and addressed the rumors. “I’ll be safe with this answer,” Bloom said, in reference to the tease from E3 2016. “If you look at Bethesda’s E3 2016 lineup there was a title hinted at in a cool way. It sparked a bit of a wildfire. The subtle, very simple DOS language, going through the titles. Perhaps we’re working on that as we speak.”

It seems very likely that one of those under construction theme park attractions belongs to the Wolfenstein franchise.

Evil Within 2

Many game developers accidentally blow the cover of new games in development by posting job openings that just give away a bit too much. About a year ago a Reddit user stumbled across a job listing from Tango Gameworks—the studio behind Evil Within. The listing suggested that the developer needed an employee who could help with “translating and Q&A bug reporting for Psycho Break 2.” For those who aren’t familiar with the title, Evil Within is also known as Psycho Break in Japan. The information shared on the forums was never confirmed so all the alleged “evidence” pointing to a Evil Within sequel announcement should still be treated as nothing more than baseless rumors. We’re just hoping, however, that that’s not the case.

It seems incredibly likely that the second attraction under construction at Bethesdaland is all about Evil Within 2.

First Look At Skyrim on the Nintendo Switch

Let’s be honest. Skyrim’s upcoming arrival on the Nintendo Switch isn’t groundbreaking news or particularly exciting news at that. Porting an old game over to a new console just isn’t something that really gets the hype trains going anymore unless it was demanded for by fans. While The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim certainly has an impressive, unfaltering fanbase, this audience probably isn’t too interested in the port. After all, they are probably already waist-deep in Skyrim goodness on another console or PC.

Despite all that, there is still reason to be excited about possibly seeing Skyrim on the Switch at E3. There are a few reasons actually. For starters, it’s one of the few third party titles that has been confirmed for the Switch so it’s exciting to see Nintendo really opening to the doors to more outside parties as they attempt to push the Switch forward. The other reason a detailed look at Skyrim on the Switch will be worth paying attention is the simple fact that it may help Nintendo prove the power of its hybrid console. Sure, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a powerful, gorgeous game that ran well enough on the Switch but there wasn’t a way to compare the game’s performance on the Switch to other current generation consoles. Skyrim will finally give us a chance to do just that.

This presentation could show whether or not the Switch really has the ability to carry the same titles that are coming to other current gen consoles without forcing Switch owners to make any major sacrifices.

Elder Scrolls VI Rumors Will Remain Just That… Rumors

When E3 time rolls around there will, without a doubt, be many Elder Scrolls fans hoping, wishing, and begging for Bethesda to announce a sixth installment of the game. Rumors have been flying for quite some time that Elder Scrolls VI could be unveiled soon but with so many of those rumors having little to nothing to support their claims, the Elder Scrolls forecast just isn’t looking too great. In fact, it’s looking like a drought may be on the way.

While there are multiple rumors that some hoped pointed to a new Skyrim announcement soon, like a sudden haul of new hires joining Bethesda and a job listing from the developer asking for someone with 3D animation experience, there are simply way too many reasons why Elder Scrolls VI seems so unlikely this year. For one, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim isn’t coming to the Nintendo Switch until this fall. To announce the release of a new Elder Scrolls game while the previous one was still awaiting its arrival to a new generation console seems like a strange move and it certainly doesn’t sound like something Nintendo would agree to. After all, if Elder Scrolls VI is on the market, why would people even be remotely interested in trying out Skyrim on the Switch? Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

But all this speculation is null and void when you remember that the team behind Elder Scrolls has already told us not to expect anything new for quite some time. Back in December, Bethesda’s VP of marketing and PR Pete Hines responded to a fan’s question about the possibility of Elder Scrolls VI with a disheartening answer.

it will be many years before we are talking about it.

— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) December 5, 2016

by all means, mark them. i didn't say it would be many years as a head fake. it's just the truth.

— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) December 20, 2016

So yeah… don’t get your hopes up.

Details, Release Date for Quake Champions

Quake Champions received a cinematic trailer at last year’s E3, but since then the waters have remained pretty quiet. The Quake series was clearly represented in Bethesda’s E3 press conference invitation and it seems like it could be a reminder that Bethesda hasn’t forgotten about the franchise. It’s been more than 10 years since we received another main entry to the Quake series and the wait could finally be over. The game’s beta wrapped up earlier this month so it definitely seems like the game is ready to hit shelves before the end of the year. We’re predicting that Bethesda will not only give the game an official release date but that they will also bless us with some gameplay footage to tide us over until we can get in on the action.

Dishonored 2 DLC Announcement

Dishonored 2’s appearance in the Bethesdaland invitation is reason to believe something new is coming to the franchise. A third Dishonored game at this time sounds just about as likely as bacon raining from the sky—we can wish all we want, but it’s not going to happen. What is far more likely is that some sort of DLC or expansion is in Dishonored 2’s near future. Nothing has been confirmed or announced from Bethesda just yet regarding possible more content for the game but users on Steam noticed something rather interesting. If you take a look at the packages tab, it shows “Blacksparrow for Beta Testing” three months ago. That’s likely the DLC.

As if that wasn’t enough, a novel description on Amazon also seemed to accidentally spill the beans. Earlier this month a Reddit user found an Amazon page for an untitled third Dishonored 2 novel from author Adam Christopher. What’s particularly intriguing is the description for the novel.

“The official sequel to the new video game Dishonored 2, picking up the adventure where the game left off and weaving into the additional digital content the game studio will continue to release for a year after the game’s release.” [Emphasis ours]

There you have it. Looks like Dishonored 2 is getting some new content soon.

DOOM Mobile Game

This sounds strange. I know, but hear me out. Every game that was depicted in Bethesda’s E3 invitation has at least one strong chance of receiving a sequel, DLC, or is otherwise attached to some exciting news—except DOOM. Some gamers believe an expansion or DLC is on the way for DOOM but we’re willing to go out on a limb here and say Bethesda is working on something else with the franchise. DOOM’s Bloodfall DLC was described as the “third and final” DLC pack for the game so it seems odd that Bethesda would come to E3 with yet another expansion despite already christening Bloodfall as the final one. Is it impossible? No, but it’s reason enough to think again about what the DOOM news could be.

Remember that mobile game Bethesda Executive Producer Todd Howard mentioned last year? Remember how he said the game would be very different from Fallout Shelter and that the game would be such a unique entry to the mobile game market that the team isn’t looking to any other mobile game for inspiration or guidance? It very well could be a DOOM mobile game. What kind of mobile game it would be exactly is hard to say considering the type of game DOOM is, but that’s all the more reason why it seems fitting for Howard’s description. It may seem like a long shot. We are aware. But an expansion or DLC doesn’t seem likely and it feels like it’s too soon to release a whole new DOOM game. Its’s possible, sure, and we might be looking at the DOOM 4 that never was at E3 this year. For now, however, bets are placed on a really cool mobile game.