See what the internet appears to be excited to see in the upcoming “not E3” week.
Summer Games Fest is just days away, and similar to E3 a lot of events are happening around the event itself. June 2nd we get a pretty big State of Play from Sony, which for the first time in a while is being hosted in theaters and to game journalists. On Sunday, after the main event, Microsoft is hosting their own showcase and a special look at Gears of War E-Day. There are tons of announcements and for the first time in a while there are dozens of studios ready to show something off. So what are some games the internet seems excited to see? Let’s check it out!
Gears Of War E-Day
This will be the first time we get to deep dive into the gameplay and see what all is new with the game. The story is going back years before the original game to tell an origin story through the eyes of the iconic main character Fenix. Developed by The Coalition and People Can Fly, there is a lot of hope that the franchise returns to its golden time, and with Xbox having a full show dedicated to the game alone we can see they have some faith in it too. Plus we will finally get a release date for later this year, unless Microsoft pulls the window like they did with Fable.
Marvel’s Wolverine
Finally a PS5 exclusive that I’m personally excited about, it’s felt like a long time….well since the last Insomniac title that was released. Wolverine is being made by my personal favorite studio in the industry, and following the massive hit of Spider-Man my anticipation is through the roof. The interwebs seem to be just as excited as the game is topping the charts in mentions on multiple social sites, with dozens of topics asking what we will see at the State of Play. Similar to Microsoft, this is Sony’s big project for the year and is getting a dedicated segment in the show.
Fable
Perhaps it’s trending again due to the massive news that the game is being delayed yet again this week, but I’ve been noticing it trending rather well for some time. After all the game has been in development for nearly 10 years. However the team did say they still have content to show during the Xbox showcase and during Summer Games Fest, so we may get a new look at what to expect, along with a cemented date to finally get our hands on it.
Grand Theft Auto VI
This game is a monster. It broke the internet 3 times in one week purely based on speculation, and Rockstar didn’t even mention it themselves one time. People got wind of pre-orders, a new trailer, and some random announcement and went bonkers every single time. Once we finally (and I mean finally) get the opportunity to pre-order it, and get that new trailer, we might see internet servers explode. There is a reason so many developers have been fearing any type of release window around this game. The question is when will we see it? Sony holds marketing partnership with the game, which means their whole marketing campaign will include PlayStation logos (and probably special edition accessories, or console bundles) so we could see this as early as the State of Play.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3
This seems like a game right up the alley for Summer Games Fest itself. Square Enix likes to have some stage presence, and we are due for some details and a new trailer for the hit remake. The game is so good that it’s not even that upsetting that it was broken up into several parts. This is a game that could blow Summer Games Fest right open as an early reveal, or mid show hype.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Sony kind of, well…did, fumble the bag when it came to planning for this generation. They tried, and failed, to go the live service route, and due to this a lot of their studios have been dormant for nearly the entire generation. Can we finally be seeing what the highly acclaimed Naughty Dog studio has been up to with their new game? Well according to the PlayStation sections of multiple social sites, this game nearly tops Wolverine in mentions, so let’s hope so.
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Games that are a long shot to be seen… If we are to look at games we want to see, but likely won’t appear, we have these titles.
Bioshock 4
I debated putting Judas here, but with Take Two confirming the game is still upwards of 3 years away then that is a STRETCH. What we could be seeing however is Bioshock 4, in an attempt to stir up fans and get the interest back in the original series. Take Two likes to spread out their releases, and to keep fans (and investors) happy, it makes sense to show something post GTA and these two games have been in development since 2019. That’s the hope, but the real take is that Bioshock wasn’t even mentioned during Take Two’s most recent earnings call, which could note that the game isn’t even on the roadmap for the next 5 years.
LEGO City Skylines
Take arguably the best city building games and put LEGO in it, bam you got this new game that the internet is buzzing about. And the timing is lining up that this game will actually appear at Summer Games Fest, why? Because like most announcements a rating board leaked the existence of it just a week before the show. The only reason I put this in the stretch category is purely because we know absolutely nothing about it yet, or if the rating is for a later announcement. BUT if one game on the stretch list is going to make the show, this is the game.
The Witcher 4
We only got a tech demo for the game so far and it has the internet blazing at near levels of GTA so far. Will we see more of the game at SGF? Probably not. With Unreal Engine 6 being shown off a little early, the likelihood that CD Projekt Red is revamping their own version of Unreal Engine is high. We could however see some more details about a new upcoming DLC for The Witcher 3.
Some other games have the internet buzzing with rumors and hopeful dreams that are worth mentioning. Halo Combat Evolved has some interest, most of the talks about being on PlayStation though. Plague Tale is returning and fans of the series are incredibly hype to see a new trailer. Clockwork Revolution seems to be a growing fanbase. And Minecraft Dungeons II seems to be a major hope for multiple platforms of fans. We also have an early reveal of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4, which again proves the franchise power house fanbase is still active. And lastly Persona seems to be a major franchise that could close out the show with huge applause.
What we don’t want to see….
Consoles. Normally everyone would be hype around this time of a generation for the hint of new consoles releasing, but there are so many factors this generation that turns off a huge assortment of people. Console generations typically last about 7 years between announcements, it’s why people like the longevity of a console purchase vs a PC. However with Covid delaying major game productions by years, combined with skyrocketing costs to buy parts which made even current generation consoles unaffordable, there is no reason to be excited for new consoles at all. Based on social media if Xbox or PlayStation reveal the “next great thing,” I expect them to either fall flat or be extremely divided by fanbases. We can’t realistically expect a next generation console to be any cheaper than a budget PC, and that’s a big deal.
I will agree that the only saving grace in this field is the fact Sony does need some type of hybrid / handheld console to compete in the growing field of mobile gaming. The PS Portal is just not cutting it, however the sales of it does show the demand is there, but does that warrant a “PS6” reveal? The internet doesn’t seemed too thrilled with the idea of needing a new console for it, but seems to be open to some type of hybrid PlayStation.
