XBOX E3 Expo 2019 Highlights
Xbox recently held their E3 2019 press conference. There was quite a bit included throughout with there being new games, release dates, Double Fine joining Xbox Game Studios, Xbox Game Pass for PC, xCloud, and information about Project Scarlett (the next Xbox console). So let’s go ahead and dive into the good stuff. You can watch the full briefing below if you want to spend 1 hour and 40 minutes of your life on that.
Games
There were a lot of games shown off and announced. Some of the highlights for me included LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Psychonaughts 2, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, and Phantasy Star Online 2. Here’s the full list of games featured in the briefing. Keep in mind that these are not all new games, but may feature games coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC:
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
The classic RTS is being remastered to support up to 4K resolutions
Beta is launching soon for Xbox One and PC
Batman: Arkham Knight
Xbox Game Pass
Battletoads
That’s right, they’re coming back!
Blair Witch
Releases on Xbox One and PC on August 30, 2019.
Blazing Chrome
Bleeding Edge
Technical Alpha Launches on June 27, 2019 for Xbox One.
Borderlands 2: Commander Lilith & The Fight For Sanctuary
New DLC mission for Borderlands 2 designed as a lead-in to Borderlands
Available to Borderlands 2 owners now for free.
Borderlands 3
Releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on September 12, 2019.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
Contains Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and all their DLC
Available on Xbox Games Pass for PC
Creature in the Well
Cross Code
CrossfireX
First Crossfire entry on consoles and in the West.
According to ScreenRant, the game will “be getting a single-player campaign, battle royale, and exclusive content for Game Pass subscribers when it arrives stateside.”
Releases on Xbox One in 2020.
Cyberpunk 2077
Keanu Reeves shocked everyone with his appearance for this game.
Releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on April 16, 2020.
Dead Static Drive
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Previously Called Project Z
Releasing on Xbox One and PC in early 2020.
Dying Light 2
Releasing on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in Q2 2020.
Elden Ring
The cool looking game from George R.R. Martin
Felix the Reaper
Football Manager 2019
Available on Xbox Game Pass
Forza Horizon 4: LEGO Speed Champions
Next expansion for Forza Horizon 4
Releases on June 13, 2019.
Gears of War 5
This will feature a new 3-player game mode called Escape.
Releases on Xbox One and PC in 2019.
Gears Pop!
Coming soon to iOS and Android, with pre-registration available now.
Halo Infinite
This was the crowning glory of the show at the very end.
The game will be a launch title for Scarlett and brings Martin O’Donnell back for the musical score
Releases at Holiday 2020
Halo Kart Racing
Halo: Master Chief Collection
Xbox Game Pass for PC
Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition
Ikenfell
Imperator: Rome
Killer Queen Black
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
New LEGO Star Wars game that covers all 9 core Star Wars films.
Releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC in 2020.
Leisure Suit Larry: Conjugal Visit
Lord of the Rings Living Card Game
Marcus Fenix Files His Taxes
Metro Exodus
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Releases on PC in 2020, Xbox One at an unannounced date.
Minecraft Dungeons
A dungeon crawler in the Minecraft universe
Releasing on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC in spring 2020.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Follow-up to Ori and the Blind Forest
This game looks beautiful.
Releases on Xbox One and PC sometime 2019.
Pathologic 2
Phantasy Star Online 2
This SEGA title is finally coming to North America and I’m stoked! I remember playing the first one on Gamecube with my friends and it was a lot of fun.
Releases on Xbox One in 2020.
Psychonauts 2
Releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC sometime 2019.
Riverbond
RPG Time: The Legend of Wright
This game features a very interesting art style including hand-drawn paper animation and I dig it.
Releases on Xbox One in spring 2020.
Sea of Thieves
Anniversary Update
Secret Neighbor
Spiritfarer
Releases on Xbox One and PC in 2020
Star Renegades
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on November 15, 2019.
State of Decay 2: Heartland
Next bit of paid content for State of Decay 2
Now available for purchase.
Supermarket Shriek
Tales of Arise
Releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in 2020.
The Good Life
The Outer Worlds
Releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in 2019.
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
Totem Teller
Twelve Minutes
Undermine
Unto the End
Wasteland 3
Releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in 2019.
Way to the Woods
Releasing on Xbox One and PC in 2020.
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Shadow Realm Simulator
Xbox Game Pass for PC and Ultimate
PC gamers can now subscribe to Xbox Game Pass for PC ($1 for the first month if you hurry, and it’s still in beta) so you can get instant access to over 100 games. You can find a full list of compatible games on Microsoft’s website, but some highlights include Hollow Knight and Halo: Master Chief Collection (when each of those games launches). Xbox Game Pass for PC will normally run $4.99 during the beta before a price hike to $10 a month..
If you have an Xbox and PC for gaming, you can also get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate which offers Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for PC, and Xbox Live Gold. This bundle will run about $15 per month. Not bad if you already get those things separately.
Elite Controller Series 2
I’ve never understood the appeal of these Elite controllers for Xbox, but I’m also not a hardcore gamer, nor a professional gamer. If you’re one of those though, you’ll probably want to check out the new elite controller for Xbox One that can have up to 3 profiles saved. You can also adjust the tension of the thumbsticks.
xCloud
I felt like this was passed over way to quickly. All we learned was that people at the conference would get to try it, you could turn your Xbox One at home into a personal xCloud server, and it’s coming in October.
Project Scarlett
I’ve been thinking of picking up an Xbox One recently, but this E3 convinced me to not do that because of Project Scarlett. You see, the number one selling point in my opinion to people like me who didn’t get an Xbox One is that the next Xbox console will feature backwards compatibility for three generations. That is all previous Xbox consoles. That will let me get rid of my old Xbox and Xbox 360 and free up some space which I always love doing.
If that doesn’t have you sold quite yet, Project Scarlett is also boasting super powerful performance with a processing power 4x more powerful than the Xbox. Combine it with the GDDR6 RAM and new SSD for a new machine being touted as 40x more powerful than the current generation of consoles. Can we get a remaster of Mass Effect with a faster elevator on the Citadel? Xbox is claiming 120 frames per second too for fluid gameplay. There’s a lot more technical speak too including the ability to use ray-tracing.
Also, if you like physical media, don’t fret yet. In an interview with Eurogamer, it was confirmed that there would be an optical drive.
Project Scarlett will launch Holiday (October-December) 2020.