Going into E3 every year, there’s a certain anticipation for impending announcements. Maybe some details have been leaked in the months leading up to the expo that lead you to believe a certain title will be revealed. Perhaps you are just desperately hoping that story threads to an unfinished adventure get wrapped up in a sequel that will never happen. Then there’s publishers telling you straight to your Twitter-face what you’ll be seeing at E3, and the hope of the announcement turns into hopes that the details will match your expectations.
With just under a week to go to E3, we’re already seeing announcements pouring in, attempting to beat the rush of the actual expo by joining the rush of pre-show announcements. Now is a great time for developers to leave players’ jaws on the floor, so that they’ve got enough time to pick them up before more details wash over us next week. Even with all the pre-show announcements, we’re certain there are a few surprises in store, some of which might get your jaw to drop from wherever you are all the way to the LA Convention Center. With that in mind, we dove into our wishlist for the best hopes, dreams, educated guesses, and off-the-wall “not even a genie could grant this for you” wishes.
Here’s what we’d love to see in the E3 2018 announcements:
Our list is far from complete and includes both some obvious entries and some crazy theories. How plausible do you think some of these are? Are there any big announcements you are hoping get teed up next week? We’ll be doing an E3 post-mortem to gauge how our guesses fared and just how surprised we were. Join us for the discussion all next week on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Essential Reading
E3 2018 Announcements Wishlist
The Order: Eighteen-Eighty-Next
So The Order: 1886 gets a lot of flak for a lot of different reasons, but it's a really pretty game with a great story to tell and a lot of potential. Getting to the end of that game is like reaching the end of act one, and we're never going to get the next chapters. We'll mark this one as highly unlikely, though Ready at Dawn has been working on a new game . We can only dream about getting more werewolves and vampires in London.
Bluepoint's Next Remake
We know that Bluepoint has been working on another remake after the stunning job they did on Shadow of Colossus . The point that's been up for debate is which game that would be. We have to assume it's something within Sony's stable of titles, though bigger surprises have happened. Are they reworking something from the PS2 era again? Further back from the PS1?
Chances are good we at least get a teaser for Bluepoint's next, and if not here, we'll see one at PSX.
Devil May Cry 5
Devil May Cry 5 feels almost like a given at this point. So much evidence points to an impending announcement , and the creator has been discussing it for years .
What's more, Capcom has been teasing and hyping projects using Monster Hunter World . Mega Man and Street Fighter V are both relevant titles that Capcom is working with right now, so why include Devil May Cry in that lineup if the series isn't coming back soon? I may cry if this doesn't happen.
EA Star Wars Games
EA has a couple of Star Wars games waiting in the wings. We want to know more about the former Visceral/Amy Hennig title that went to EA Vancouver, but the recent changeover probably means that's a ways off.
That leaves Respawn's Star Wars game to shine a light on the Force at E3. We've known about this one for more than two years now, so it's time to catch a glimpse at what they've been working on.
New Elder Scrolls Game
Okay, Bethesda, if you are done beating this dead horse named Skyrim into the ground already (it's not playable on my watch yet, though!), it's just about time for another Elder Scrolls game.
Yeah, we know, you have Elder Scrolls Online , which is cool and all, but how cool would, I don't know, Elder Scrolls VI be? I feel like the studio has learned a lot in the years since Skyrim released and released again, and again. And one more time for good measure . It's time to explore another single-player adventure in that universe.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Wouldn't it be awesome if-- What's that? Yeah? Square Enix debuted this at E3 2015? Okay, so it's been revealed . Dreams came true. And then hearts were crushed as we've been forced to wait and wait for any real info. Three years Square Enix! My heart can't take it.
We know the Kingdom Hearts III release date is getting announced at E3, so once that's in the open, start feeding us those sweet FFVII Remake details. And let's not do it through off-screen images either.
Horizon Sequel
With Nathan Drake taking the bench after Uncharted 4 , Sony needs a new face to join the lineup of PlayStation mascots. Aloy has been present all over recent marketing, but she's worth more than a single game and expansion .
Let's get this Nora adventurer out on another adventure. There's a lot left to explore in that world, and I would love to see what they could come up with for a sequel . I wouldn't be surprised to see this at least teased to be on the horizon.
A New Fallout Game
Before Fallout 76 was announced , I maintained that Bethesda would be revealing a Fallout game this year. I just didn't think they'd skip 70+ numbered entries to get there, but here we are.
Now Bethesda will be dealing with the fallout of their creation. Will it wow? It's not Fallout 5 (what's with all these games being on their fifth entry), but the publisher seems pretty confident in it.
Ni no Kuni II Expansions
When Ni no Kuni II released, it came alongside a paid season pass that promised story expansions for the massive RPG. Special Editions of the game had this content included, but we haven't heard whisper about what the DLC is supposed to be or when it is coming out.
We're a fair amount of time past the launch of the game. Nearly one million copies have been sold . Not only is it time to tell us about these expansions, it's time to release them before we all move on. I already have my Platinum.
Remedy's P7
We know Remedy's mysterious P7 (working title) is going to be at E3, but what exactly is it? We know it's a third-person action game. It will be cinematic and focus on storytelling like their past games (Alan Wake, Quantum Break, Max Payne ). Is it a brand new IP? Is it a sequel? A spinoff? Let's hear more about it!
Resistance Revival
One of the best things to come out of the PS3 was the Resistance series, the bizarre what-if scenario that had monstrous aliens landing right during the first World War.
It's a formula that hasn't been recaptured since, and I feel like this is one of those announcements that would once again shock audiences and drop jaws. Why are Sony and Insomniac showing resistance to bringing this one back?
Twisted Metal Returns to its Roots
Can we forget that PS3 game for a moment? It wasn't what fans wanted out of Twisted Metal . It wasn't what fans loved about Twisted Metal . It was a fun reveal , but that was about it.
Twisted Metal is about the characters as much as the cars. It's the story of depraved people and their ludicrous wishes. Bring back the bright colors of Twisted Metal classic. Carnage in well lit environments. Twisted characters and the cars that define them. It would be surprising, but they've lied about the existence of a Twisted Metal game before.
Firmware Updates and Changes
E3 announcements don't have to be all about the games. If Sony wants to give us a peak at what they've been working on for the next iteration of the PS4 firmware , we wouldn't say no.
And no, I'm not asking them to get on stage and announce a system performance improvement or security update. That would just be silly. Talk to us about things like stat tracking and (I can't believe I'm going to say this) PSN name changes.
Splinter Cell
Here's another one that's basically a gimme with how much has been leaked about it . I almost feel bad for including it, but I need some points so that I can come back and point to this article and say I was right about something.
Splinter Cell is incoming , Ubisoft has some surprises to show at E3, and we'd be surprised if Sam Fisher's return wasn't one of them .
Just Cause 4
This is one of the many games that got leaked on Walmart Canada. When Walmart Canada said that those weren't real games and it was just a glitch, RAGE 2 got announced shortly after . Looking at that evidence, these other games are almost sure to be real too.
Just Cause 3 was a lot of fun, but its open world got monotonous after a long time in it (read: when grinding for that Platinum trophy). Hopefully Just Cause 4 gives me just cause to play it, but when you mix destruction with more destruction, I don't think it will have too hard of a time.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
You know, this list seems like a great place to predict the next entry in an often yearly franchise. What's even better is when that game gets leaked via a keychain and is already confirmed , so I can put it on this list as a prediction and still get to say I'm right.
What I really want to see is how this one shifts that Assassin's Creed formula? Will it do anything unique with its time period? Coming so soon after Origins , can Odyssey iterate as much as needed?
Watch Dogs 3
While I would have put Watch Dogs 3 as a shoo-in announcement a week ago, with Assassin's Creed Odyssey rumored for this year, I'm not sure we'll see another Watch Dogs quite yet.
If we do, and its set for release this year, the end of 2018 is going to be really crowded with great games to play.
Destiny 2 Forsaken and Year 2
I'm just stoked on Destiny 2 , all right? It's been making a lot of right moves recently and with as much as The Taken King did a year after Destiny released, I can't wait to see what Forsaken does.
Today begins the reveal, but that information will trickle out throughout E3 and beyond.
Death Stranding
Maybe, just maybe, Kojima can finally get us to understand what Death Stranding is at this year's E3? It seems unlikely, but that would be a jaw dropper. We know we'll see more at Sony's showcase , but I'll be damned if it doesn't just confuse us all more.
SSX (in the Style of Tricky)
I love extreme sports games that take a super arcadey twist. Some of my favorite games when I was younger were Tony Hawk and SSX . Recent entries into the series either flopped hard (c'mon Tony!) or changed up what we knew until it was unrecognizable (a survival-based SSX?).
Let's take a step back and get to those roots. What made SSX Tricky so good? Massive air? Fun courses? Awesome music? Crazy characters? All of the above! Keep SSX cartoony and arcadey, and reinvigorate my excitement in arcade extreme sports titles again.
PS Plus Enhancements
PlayStation Plus is kinda boring. I mean, it's a good service, don't get me wrong. It just hasn't had any new or exciting additions to its subscription service in a while and it could use a shakeup.
With PS3 and Vita games no longer supported by the free game collection next year , and with costs having recently increased , I feel like Plus needs a kick in the pants.
Work in the Now subscription ? Tie in Spotify somehow? Something else entirely? Get people excited about Plus again!
Cyberpunk 2077
We haven't seen this one in years! We got a false start when CD Projekt RED showed Gwent (I wanted so badly for that appointment to be Cyberpunk ! ), but patience has paid off. We're finally ready to see more of what CDPR has to offer in a sci-fi world, rather than fantasy.
While we're at it, can we get an update on when Gwent will leave early access? I want to earn trophies in that game already.
Square Enix Avengers Project
I'm not sure if I actually want to see details on this game this year or not. Coming right in between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 could cause some amount of confusion if the game doesn't tie in.
On the other hand, hype for Marvel's heroes has never been higher, so maybe now's the perfect time to get everyone hyped on a new Avengers game .
Blizzard's Next Game
We know that Blizzard has been working on a new game for a bit now. Overwatch is two years old , and while it's still successful, Blizzard may want to expand its stable of titles. I'm sure we'll hear more soon about the future of Overwatch , but I also want to know what else Blizzard has quietly been working on .
Bloodborne 2/From Software Title
Leaks already suggest Bloodborne 2 will get an announcement at E3, but even if it doesn't, expect to hear from From Software about whatever their next game is.
Personally, I'm holding out hope for a 3D Dot Game Heroes sequel.
Borderlands 3/Borderworlds
Borderlands has already been confirmed to not be at E3 , but, bear with me for a moment. What if that wording was carefully chosen? What if the next game is, as rumored, called Borderworlds and involves multiple planets, like the endings of previous games have suggested?
If Borderworlds shows up at E3, they never technically lied. Borderlands was indeed not at the show. The big question is whose showcase it would take center stage on. My guess would be Microsoft.
A Surprise PS4 Exclusive
I feel like E3 will be time to get a surprise exclusive announcement for the PS4 (could potentially be one of the many titles previously mentioned). They won't show off a lot yet, but it will be a little something to carry Sony even beyond games like Death Stranding , Ghost of Tsushima , and these others that will go into 2019.
Sony has been knocking it out of the park on exclusives and I don't think they are about to slow down. We'll see at least one more major surprise reveal that will have us talking for a long time to come. Announcements are one thing, we just have to hope that it doesn't flop when it eventually releases .