Countdown E3 2019 - The aces in the sleeves of Microsoft

As much as we regret admitting it, it is impossible not to acknowledge how the Xbox brand has proved unable to shine during this generation, with Microsoft products that since the first day of marketing of Xbox One has found itself at a great disadvantage compared to its rivals, either for some unhappy decisions in the marketing field, or for a line-up of exclusive titles not powerful enough to be able to attract attention of the public. However, a lot of water has passed under the bridges, and the Redmond house has long since embarked on a long journey towards redemption to bring both the most avid fans and the new generation closer to itself. From the arrival on the market of Xbox One X to the explosion of the Xbox Game Pass service and then to the acquisition of numerous teams that have become part of the Microsoft ecosystem, there are many targets that US society has been able to hit. Yet skepticism has rightly remained, largely due to a stock portfolio that has failed to assert itself as much as one would have expected, and many gamers await the upcoming E3 2019 to find out all that Phil Spencer will have in store for. us during the usual Microsoft conference, an event that could finally mark a new beginning for Xbox after these past years full of doubts, pessimism and difficulties.

When games make the console

Regardless of how you want to turn the omelette, in the end what people expect at a conference of this magnitude can be summed up in a single word: Games. Considering that this year's E3 will also be characterized by the absence of Sony - an event more unique than rare - it becomes easy to understand why the public expects fireworks from Microsoft, which now more than ever has the opportunity to fully catalyze all the attention of the videogame industry on himself. Not for nothing, recent rumors that seem to indicate a longer than usual conference could suggest a large amount of products to show, rumors that if they were to find some confirmation would make many users happy. Furthermore, it was just recently announced that the Xbox stage will showcase 14 new games in development at the Xbox Game Studios first party team, even if at the moment it is not clear if we are talking about titles never seen before or not. For sure, Gears 5 will be one of the pillars of the entire Xbox event, a thick title that fans await with drool at the mouth and whose release date will probably also be revealed. After a Gears of War 4 that had basically split critics and audiences - especially due to a lack of courage on the part of the team in proposing something new within the brand - the guys from The Coalition they now seem eager to impress more than ever with a high quality title. Furthermore, it is not difficult to imagine even a small presentation for Gears Tactics, XCOM-style turn-based strategy, and for the peculiar Gears Pop of which at the moment we know very little. However, even Halo Infinite could return to the spotlight in the middle of the conference with trailers and phases played that give us a clearer idea of ​​what the work aims to be, especially from a narrative point of view, a possibility that if it were to materialize would allow Microsoft to earn the graces of a huge slice of the public without too much effort.

To follow, as well Ori and the Will of the Wisps and the DLC of Cuphead should return to show themselves, widely expected products that have been talking about themselves for a long time now, and we do not hide from you that the absence of official release dates for both productions would leave us with a strong bitter aftertaste in the mouth. Wanting to add a pinch of pepper to the whole, we must not forget that during the Xbox conference held at E3 2018 we had the opportunity to see a short teaser trailer dedicated to Battletoads, historic IP disappeared from the videogame scene that at this E3 could finally show itself in all its effective splendor. There are many questions that revolve around the creature of Dlala Studios and an event of this appeal could be the perfect place to reveal the various playful characteristics that will characterize the production. Speaking of titles announced and then never shown again, the mystical name of immediately appears on everyone's lips Age of Empire, which with its fourth chapter is making us wait much longer than we could have expected. Again, the boys of Relic Entertainment they limited themselves to showing a meager teaser that told us little or nothing about the production, so it wouldn't be so unthinkable to imagine a presentation with great fanfare in the middle of the Xbox conference. In this maze of names, it is easy to imagine that Rare also wants to make a fleeting appearance to present some news in relation to his Sea of ​​Thieves, a pirate-themed multiplayer experience unfortunately released in a state that is not exactly excellent but has been constantly improving thanks to the continuous release of free expansions.

Obviously we must not forget the many teams that Microsoft has bought - or created - over the last 365 days, development studies whose projects could be unveiled right in the middle of E3. We already know that Obsidian Entertainment will return to the stage with his chat The Outer Worlds, Sci-fi RPG that seems to ooze personality from every pixel. According to some rumors, moreover, too inXile Entertainment she should be ready to show a trailer of hers Wasteland 3, Post-apocalyptic RPG that thanks to the contribution of Microsoft would seem to have become much larger and richer than initially estimated. The rumors about the new project have also become very insistent Ninja Theory, currently known as Bleeding Edge, as it would seem very likely the presentation of the new branded creature Playground Games, a production that according to some insiders should be a new chapter of Fable. Speaking of car titles, after the excellent release Forza Horizon 4 - of which, among other things, a generously sized DLC should be in development - many expect that now the guys of Turn 10 are to strike a shot with Forza Motorsport 8, although the team had stated in recent months that a new chapter in the brand would not arrive in 2019. Someone also hopes to see some news in relation to The Initiative, a studio that has become increasingly vast and full of potential over the last few months and which now appears to many as one of the most important first party teams at Microsoft.

Between multi-platform, services and next-gen

Although the Redmond company has surrounded itself with excellent teams potentially capable of bringing works of undisputed quality to our screens, Phil Spencer was keen to point out that other development studios will join the Xbox family in the near future, with the E3 conference being the perfect venue for some big announcement. Among the most eligible names that the various rumors have put into circulation appear IO Interactive  (authors of the Hitman series), the Asobo Studio who with their recent A Plague Tale: Innocence have been able to demonstrate all their value to the videogame people, and the aforementioned Relic Entertainment. As if this were not enough, we must not forget about all the multi-platform titles that will surely make their appearance during the conference, small and large productions that will not fail to amaze the vast videogame population. Among the many software houses that could be present, it is easy to think that the lack of the usual branded event Electronic Arts can lead the company - which has always had excellent relations with Microsoft - to take advantage of the Xbox show floor to show some of its projects, with Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order representing the most eligible title, although we wouldn't mind seeing some news for Anthem or, wanting to enter the circle of niche works, Sea of ​​Solitude.

If we consider the increasing attention that Phil Spencer is giving to the Japanese videogame world, it is easy to imagine that E3 2019 will also be the perfect place to showcase numerous projects from the Rising Sun.. Among the many, From Software undoubtedly appears as the most interesting software house, especially if we consider that the Microsoft conference of E3 2018 was the place where its appreciated was officially presented Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice. In fact, in the last few weeks there has been a lot of talk about a new project from From Software that seems to be an action RPG that the team would be developing in collaboration with George RR Martin, the author of The Song of Ice and Fire. , a work that according to many rumors should be presented during the event of the great M. Furthermore, although the software house has stated in the past that DLC dedicated to Sekiro would not have been developed, it would not be so unlikely to imagine the possible announcement of some expansion dedicated to the epic of our beloved shinobi. Still talking about Japanese companies, we do not find it hard to believe that too Capcom e Square Enix they will preside over the event with some of their flagship titles capable of catalyzing media attention. Among the many companies that we could still see, they figure Activision with his new one Call of Duty, Ubisoft which thanks to its numerous IPs could release some interesting announcements, THQ Nordic which in recent days has made it known that it is ready to show several new titles during E3, Bandai Namco that thanks to Code Vein is back in the spotlight again.

The Microsoft ecosystem, however, does not live only on exclusivity and indeed, in recent years even the services have shown themselves with disruptive force. In this sense, we are confident that the Game Pass will play a major role within the Xbox event, not only because several new titles will certainly be announced that will be included in the service - not to mention the plethora of indie games of which we will see just a few fleeting playful scenes - but also for the recent confirmation concerning the arrival of the subscription on PC. Let's be clear, the Game Pass has always been available also on Personal Computer, but in an extremely reduced version that included only the titles of the category Xbox Play Anywhere. However, the situation seems destined to finally change, with Microsoft itself ensuring great news in this regard. As a final note, it would be impossible not to dedicate a few words to the much-needed Next-Gen chat that everyone awaits with renewed interest. To be honest, we believe that E3 2020 will represent the real springboard for the so-called Xbox Scarlett, but considering the way Xbox One X was presented, it's not hard to imagine a similar approach for next-gen consoles as well. In short, a small teaser at the end of the event that could also shed light on the various rumors that would seem to indicate the release of at least two different consoles with hardware configurations at different levels would be very welcome.

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