The Ten Biggest Xbox Games to Watch at E3 2017
By all accounts, the green team has at least one major new IP to reveal in addition to plenty of information on games we’re eager to play, like Sea of Thieves and this year’s Forza. Of course, all of this will be blanketed by the full Scorpio reveal, which is expected to bring a release date and the console’s official name.
Microsoft’s first-party presence won’t be the only portion of the show that interests those who play on Xbox, of course. Huge titles like the all but fully revealed Assassin’s Creed Origins and Destiny 2 will bring plenty of multiplatform heat to the console as well.
While we all have our own individual lists that could go here, we on the editorial team tried to find a happy medium in determining the games with the strongest proverbial wind behind them heading into the Super Bowl of gaming expos. It’s soon to get very busy on TA and elsewhere, and in large part that’s due to these ten games. This list will feature only games that we know are in development. In a few days we’ll also round up all the rumored titles and subsequently update the post several times over as the leaks are all confirmed in the days preceding the expo.
If you’re more video inclined, check out the link below from the TrueGaming Network YouTube channel. This one comes courtesy of Will, otherwise known as BruceWayne1008.
10. State of Decay 2
Three huge maps, four player co-op, one promising game.
We don’t know a whole lot about State of Decay 2 right now, but that looks poised to change in a big way soon. Undead Labs, the Seattle-based team behind the series, has already promised a release date reveal at E3. Add that to the fact that Xbox’s fall lineup is looking sparse right now, it seems likely they may be banking on this one to plug a hole and stand tall as a platform exclusive this holiday season. If all that’s true, we will no doubt get a lot of information on the game. Personally, I’ve written before about how I think the original game is the best zombie experience in video games to date. A bigger sequel isn’t better by default, but this one has plenty of potential.
9. Far Cry 5
The Last Supper. More specifically, your last supper.
Cults are in right now. Recent indies like Outlast 2 and the upcoming The Church in the Darkness tackled the subject, and now here comes Far Cry 5 to offer its take on those who cite religiosity to commit atrocities. The cast of villains, seen above, is impressive looking, but what we really want to see is how much the design of the game has evolved, if any. Since Far Cry 3, the series has seemed to stall. They’ve been fun games, but if you played all three series entries since 2012 you would be forgiven for feeling some fatigue, although the Ubi formula is not without its fans either. The setting, plot, and characters all hold plenty of promise, but they need to be presented in a world that feels like it’s raised the bar for Far Cry.
8. Crackdown 3
How about you crack down on getting the game shipped?
After the loss of Scalebound added to Microsoft’s already troubling lack of first- and second-party exclusives, all eyes shifted to Crackdown 3, another game seemingly stuck in development hell. Will we get a confirmed release date? Is the game still coming out in portions at a time as was once planned or have the delays allowed the whole game to hit at once at some point in the future? Some theorize (perhaps based on no evidence at all) that Crackdown 3 will now be showcased as a Scorpio launch title. That would mean it’s still coming to Xbox One, of course, but regardless we should see plenty of the title in a few days.
7- Star Wars Battlefront II
Female leads are totally in for Star Wars right now, but never before have we had one who fights for the empire.Female leads are totally in for Star Wars right now, but never before have we had one who fights for the empire.
The biggest gripe people had with 2015’s Battlefront was a perceived dearth of content. Critics said only the expensive season pass infused the game with enough modes, maps, and missions to justify the original purchase. EA has seemingly heard all the criticisms because they’re already marketing the sequel with such critics in mind. They’ve reiterated often just how much there will be to do in the game, and none of it is more exciting than the single player story mode. A Star Wars property not trying to tell a story just feels wrong, so it’s exciting to see EA and DICE committing to that portion of their audience with a narrative that just might stand proudly among the recent cinematic efforts.
6. Call of Duty: WWII
The mass market FPS community is a fickle creature. About a decade ago everyone said they’d seen enough of their military shooters focused on bygone eras. In turn, studios like Infinity Ward, DICE, and Treyarch spent the next several years reaching further and further into the future to depict what-if wars full of robots, AI, and eventually even shootouts in outer space. Now the dial has come back around and people are once again clamoring for historical wars of decades past. Enter Call of Duty: WWII, the latest entry from the biggest name in the genre. The early trailers show a Saving Private Ryan type of camaraderie among the young soldiers and it wouldn’t be a World War II game without some Normandy beaches to storm. Can Call of Duty reinvigorate the setting with fresh ideas, or will this just be a pretty rehash?
5. New Borderlands
As you can see in the above tweet, despite any hype trailers or official press releases, Gearbox hasn’t been quiet about the fact that they’ve been working on the next Borderlands. The timeline seems to suggest an E3 reveal is planned. While some respectable but smaller games have spent the last few weeks announcing their projects before they’re drowned out by the noise, a game like Borderlands 3 is certainly big enough to reserve some E3 time on stage to show off their long-awaited sequel, perhaps even with Xbox. Some whispers say they’ll be among the multiplatform games featured in the Scorpio showcase so Microsoft can display their strengths over their rivals in blue. Expect Pitchford to hit the stage next week and expect plenty of excitement from fans as a result.
4. Middle-earth: Shadow of War
The Nemesis system grows up.
Although it was just delayed, the build-up surrounding the sequel to the Tolkien spinoff is still very strong. Like Borderlands, Middle-earth 2 (as one may call it) is rumored to be heavily showcased during the Scorpio show-off. We’re dying to learn more about the improved Nemesis System, which was already a unique and great feature with the debut game years ago. It’s a surprise more studios haven’t tried to mimic those special mechanics but in the absence of such copycats, Shadow of War prospers. A more lively open world would come at the expense of the author’s canon but it seems few would be upset by this, especially considering the series has already defied a lot of Tolkien’s written word to tell their story the way they want. With free rein to deliver their own high fantasy on the foundation of a great game, the prospects of War are thrilling.
3. Destiny 2
Tomb raiding in the future.
The recent reveal event for Destiny 2 went to great lengths to tell us plenty about this fall’s huge sequel from Bungie, but the community surrounding the game is famously committed, so no matter how much they shared it was never going to be enough. Xbox gamers will have to tune into the Sony conference for the next big demonstration of the sci-fi MMO, as PlayStation has secured (as they often do) the marketing rights for the game. We recently rounded up every word of insight we could find on the internet and Bungie has since even told us a bit more. We expect a heavy dose of Destiny gameplay on stage this weekend, particularly more on the game’s debut raid that it will bring with its fall launch. Without a doubt this will be one of the best selling games this holiday season — perhaps even number one. That’s a lot of dance emotes.
2. New Assassin’s Creed
Ubisoft: leakier than Trump’s White House.
Let’s be frank: There’s about a 99% chance this game is officially titled Assassin’s Creed Origins, but because Ubisoft hasn’t officially revealed that, we’ll play along to remain consistent with the premise of this article. It seems the whole gaming world is well aware by now that the game will be set in Ancient Egypt, focusing on the very first assassin named Ba Yek. We know all of this and more because of a half dozen different leaks. What we don’t know is actually more exciting anyway. How will the game play? Ubisoft did what some other publishers refuse to do with their big money, annualized franchises; they took a year off. That extra time should pay dividends. Fans and critics alike are hoping for the Creed series to be revitalized. The open world, the parkour traversal, the story — all these things were desperate for a makeover and this very well might be the game for which some fans have been waiting more than half a decade.
- Red Dead Redemption 2
Delays can’t slow this cowboy.Delays can’t slow this cowboy.
For many people, myself included, there is anticipation of new games… and then there is anticipation of a new Rockstar game. By the time Red Dead Redemption 2 arrives, fans will have been waiting nearly a decade since its predecessor first debuted. They’ve told us almost nothing and we’re still searching for clues as to whether the game relates to the Marstons in any way, but it’s partly the slow burn of information that we all find so exciting. Recent screenshots were stunning and we really hope to see a trailer on someone’s stage time next week, be it Sony’s or Microsoft’s. That’s almost certainly all we’ll get, yet somehow that’s enough. Just as all other 2017 game creators breathed a massive sigh of relief when Red Dead 2 was pushed out of the fall window, we are hoping next week we can release all this pent up anticipation.
