E3 2019 Preview: Five Big Things We Want To See

New Batman: Arkham game

Rocksteady—the developer behind the critically-acclaimed Batman: Arkham series—will apparently not be in attendance at E3, but WB Montreal will be. If you didn’t know, WB Montreal created the prequel/spinoff called Batman: Arkham Origins, and they are heavily rumored to be releasing a new game centered around the iconic superhero (though nothing has been confirmed). Origins took place on Christmas, so I would love to see the holiday theme continue with a take on “The Long Halloween” comics.

 

Open-world Game of Thrones game

You might have heard by now that George R.R. Martin is working on a video game with a Japanese company (speculated to be From Software), but no other information has been provided. Could things have been kept under wraps to eventually surprise everyone with a Game of Thrones game? Imagine an open-world Westeros—perhaps hundreds or thousands of years in the past—using something similar to the For Honor combat system (except only one strike being enough to kill someone) as players choose their allegiances and fight for the glory, kingdoms, or honor.

 

Next Xbox console announcement with upgrade plan

Some people might want to get an Xbox One X to play Red Dead Redemption 2 or another high-end game in 4K, but it’s probably not worth blowing $400—the E3 discount price for the X—on a console that will be owned for not even two years before the new one releases. After their inevitable announcement of the 2020 consoles (codenamed “Anaconda” and “Lockheart”), I think Microsoft has a prime opportunity to get ahead in the next-gen console war by offering something unprecedented: pre-order the next Xbox console and get the Xbox One X for just $250. A move like that would give people on the fence a reason to buy from Microsoft.

 

Full console cross-play between Microsoft and Sony

Sony isn’t participating with a showcase this year, but could this vague tweet by Xbox be signaling a surprise appearance by them at Microsoft’s event? If the roof is going to be blown off the Microsoft Center or anywhere else at E3, it will likely be due to a cross-play announcement, and the two companies have recently teamed up on cloud services (Sony will use Microsoft’s Azure for cloud gaming) to hopefully keep Google and Amazon out of the mainstream market. Announcing full cross-play support—something most developers have pushed for—would be a win-win-win for Microsoft, Sony, and gamers everywhere.

 

NFL 2K

It would be tough to top a cross-play reveal, but this just might. Before people get their hopes up, though, NFL 2K returning is a complete longshot for a couple reasons. First of all, nothing has leaked, and something this big would almost certainly hit the rumor mill if it were happening. Also, the NFL unfortunately seems content allowing EA to put out a sub-par game because they’re getting paid for the license either way. But could you imagine the hype if NFL 2K actually returned out of nowhere at E3?