Before Electronic Entertainment Expo Begins: What to Expect

Prediction is the keyword of the 2010s; keyboards predict what we type, search systems know our requests better than we do, and mail services write whole sentences for us. Not trying to be the next Cayce, we can approximately predict what Electronic Entertainment Expo (2019) has in its sleeves.

EA: Ahead and Outside of All

Electronic Arts formally will not participate in the Expo, but its presentations are scheduled on June 8-9, before the official start, named EA Play. They are supposed to cover new products by EA, including both DLC and new titles.

It’s official that the new content is ready for The Sims 4 (this title seems immortal), Battlefield V, and predictably Apex Legends. As for new titles, EA will expose something about Madden NFL 20, NBA 20 (it happens yearly), and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (for its ally is Episode IX, and a powerful ally it is). All these games and DLC’s will be presented at 9:15 am PST on June 8.

Probably, the next day the publisher will present highly rumored sequels of Plants vs. Zombies and Need for Speed. But these have only been rumored about.

Bethesda: Remix Party

It’s clear what Bethesda will definitely show this time: Wolfenstein: Youngblood is already announced, and Prey by Arkane Studios and Doom Eternal by ID Software are likely to appear too. But it all will resemble some nostalgic party with mostly 1990s’ hits remixed, unless the publisher gets something really new out of the sleeve. But it will be neither Elder Scrolls 6 nor Starfield.

Square Enix: Nothing but Titles

This time we’ll probably take some rest from Tomb Raider, concentrating on Final Fantasy VII remastered, Marvel’s Avengers, and Dying Light 2, and also some unknown projects instead. There will be no new Call of Duty installment either; instead there’ll be a conference about what it should be.

Ubisoft: Long Live Tom Clancy! And More

This year we’ll see another evidence that Tom Clancy reincarnated as a brand has become immortal. Two Tom Clancy’s games are expected: Ghost Recon Breakpoint and The Division 2, and also a new Splinter Cell installment is rumored. Other games probably include Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Steep, For Honor, Trials and maybe something new.

Microsoft: UnXBoxing

It’s time for new generation consoles to replace the current ones. Roll over, Xbox One, and tell PS4 the news. We don’t even know the name of the Xbox One’s successor, but it will be probably revealed at E3 2019. While Xbox One is still here, there will be new and updated titles for it by studios controlled by Microsoft. These may include Halo Infinite and Gears 5, as well as DLC for Forza Horizon 4 and Sea of Thieves. There will also be a special event on Minecraft; it’s going AR, so the Trump Wall can finally be built, but there’s much more to it in the next 10 years.

Sony: The Ghost Guest

Though this year Sony decided to ignore E3, it cannot withdraw its influence completely. Many titles are being prepared for the upcoming PS5, and some of them have been exposed a bit, like Death Stranding, an odd futuristic action by Kojima, starring Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen. And some developers may shed an unintended ray of light over the upcoming console. Maybe also Microsoft will tell more about their collaboration over a cloud gaming service.

Nintendo: No Switch from Switch

Unlike Sony, Nintendo is here with a big presentation. Instead of boasting a new generation console, it proves that Switch has some potential to develop with its current hardware, and its presentation will mostly show new titles for Switch (including Super Mario Maker 2, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Pokémon Shield and Pokémon Sword, and the long-awaited The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order). But they will be numerous for sure, as after streaming the prerecorded Nintendo Direct it will conduct Nintendo Treehouse Live, a real circus for developers. And, to warm it up, there will be the world championship in Super Smash Bros! Ultimate.

The Influence

The most game-changing (pun unintended) event to expect is probably the new Xbox revealed (or at least announced). Lots of new trailers may show what it will look like. But this event seems incomplete, and it’s not about Sony and EA posing away. It looks like the world only has consoles and PCs to play on, but even Microsoft and Sony prove it wrong, two rivals together launching a cloud-based streaming project.

There is another electronic entertainment world rising. Google launching its Stadia, an HQ streaming service that makes games available in a Chrome tab. Apple prepares its Arcade streaming and also connects Xbox and PS gamepads to Apple TV and iOS devices. Facebook becomes a gaming platform as well as social.

The big industry cannot pretend that there’s no life in outer space. The schedule includes conferences on VR, on mobile games interacting with sports, and on social impact of gaming.

The Schedule

The official schedule can be found on the E3 site. So we’ll add some unofficial events to it, based on those made by participants.

Electronic Arts (June 8)

• 9:15 PT: Countdown to EA PLAY
• 9:30 PT: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
• 10:00 PT: Apex Legends
• 10:30 PT: Battlefield V
• 11:00 PT: FIFA 20
• 11:30 PT: Madden NFL 20
• 12:00 PT: The Sims 4

Microsoft (June 9)

• 13:00 PT: Xbox E3 2019 Briefing live (stream)
• UBISOFT (June 10)
• 13:00 PT: Press Conference (stream)

Square Enix (June 10)

18:00 PT: Square Enix live (stream)