Day Two of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is headlined by a showcase event from Microsoft and Bethesda Softworks. Remember, the software titan acquired the maker of games such as “The Elder Scrolls” and “Fallout” last year.
The annual video game convention was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s event, which runs through Tuesday, will be online only.
Among the games, many are most anticipating updates about are 343 Industries’ “Halo Infinite,” due later this year for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Windows PCs, and “Starfield,” a space epic announced by Bethesda in 2018. Also on Sunday, Square Enix (Final Fantasy) and Warner Bros. Entertainment (“Back 4 Blood”) and a show devoted to PC games.
You can watch live starting at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on YouTube on the E3 2021 channel or the Summer Games Fest channel.
Want to catch up on all the news so far? Head to our E3 report from Saturday’s action. and from the Summer Games Fest kickoff on Thursday.
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Square Enix is launching Guardians of the Galaxy game
Fresh off launching Marvel’s Avengers video game, Square Enix is publishing a video game based on Star Lord and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The third-person action game is out October 26.
‘Redfall’: An open-world shooter with vampires
It’s Microsoft “one more thing”: A new open world, immersive shooter from Arkane Austin: the studio that created the hit action game Dishonored. Redfall features superpowered vampires and a squad of human fighters armed with a variety of cool weapons and teleportation gear. It’s also cooperative, supporting teams up to four players. It’s out Summer 2022.
A new Forza Horizon arrives this fall
Scratch the Forza racing series from your Xbox showcase bingo cards. Forza Horizon 5 is out November 9. The cars look gorgeous, it’s open world just like the previous release, but based in Mexico, and it’s all online.
Flight Simulator comes to Xbox
Microsoft Flight Simulator, already available on PCs, is making its debut on the Xbox Series X|S on July 22. There’s also a collaboration involving the upcoming file Top Gun: Maverick.
The Outer Worlds 2
The trailer offers a hilarious parody of video game trailers, complete with jokes about lens flare. Actual details about the game are a different story. “New solar system, new crew, same Outer Worlds,” reads a description on YouTube.
Atomic Heart
The game’s premise is interesting: it takes place in the 1950s but technology like the internet and robots already exist.
‘Shredders’: For the snowboarding lovers
According to a description on YouTube, Shredders “takes inspiration from snowboarding movies, the Amped games from the original Xbox, and the snowboarding heroes on social media.” It’s out this December.
Slime Rancher 2
Your character is armed with a weapon capable of sucking up then firing off cute, slimy creatures. It launches in 2022, and will be available on its first day through Xbox Game Pass.
Halo Infinite out this holiday
Halo is taking a page from Fortnite, Call of Duty and other action games by going free-to-play and introducing a format with seasons. Both the campaign and free-to-play multiplayer will launch this holiday. A preview of the game revealed a new AI companion for Master Chief, who will “face his greatest challenge yet, but you’re not alone in the fight,” said Joseph Staten, creative director of Halo Infinite.
Ready for Party Animals?
It’s reminiscent of Fall Guys, only you’re duking it out as cute furry creatures including tigers and unicorns. And corgis (we think). It’s available on Game Pass next year.
Future updates for ‘Fallout 76’
If you’re still playing Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic role-playing game Fallout 76, good news: two new expansions are arriving. Steel Reign wraps the game’s Brotherhood of Steel storyline, while a new expedition called The Pitt is on the horizon.
Psychonauts 2 coming in August
Coming this August: the action game Psychonauts 2. The platform-adventure game has players using a variety of psychic powers as lead character Raz, who seeks to save his friends from a mysterious villain.
Solve the mystery of Twelve Minutes
Daisy Ridley, James McCoy and Willem Dafoe voice the characters in a time-bending mystery “Twelve Minutes,” coming to Xbox on Aug. 19. The entirety of the game happens in just a few rooms of a home. The husband (McAvoy) comes returns from work and an intruder comes in to take his wife, claiming she murdered her father. The events continue to repeat until you solve the mystery.
Jack Sparrow joins ‘Sea of Thieves’
The Xbox’s popular pirate-themed online adventure game meets the Pirates of the Caribbean. A new journey featuring Jack Sparrow and friends arrives later this month.
Contraband
This super short teaser which kinda didn’t reveal a ton comes from Avalanche Studios, the creators of the action series Just Cause. Cool music, though. It will launch day on one Xbox Game Pass. It’s described as “a co-op smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan.”
Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl
Post apolayptic? Check. Open world? Check. Freaky creatures you have to defeat? Check. The first-person shooter will launch April 28, 2022 for PC and Xbox.
‘Starfield’ is coming November 2022
And we have one of our first big leaks of E3: The Washington Post released a trailer for the Bethesda project Starfield, which will launch November 11, 2022 on PC and Xbox Series X|S. It’s from the creators of Bethesda hits Fallout and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. But, goodness, the idea of a Skyrim style game in space sounds really intriguing.
On stage, Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard said Starfield features “a new universe set hundreds of years in our future. It’s an epic about hope our shared humanity and answering our greatest mystery.”
Follow Brett Molina and Mike Snider on Twitter: @brettmolina23 & @mikesnider
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