E3 2019: Ten predictions for this year's show

The Electronic Entertainment Expo may not have the importance it once did - what with companies declining to attend, holding their own events, or making their big announcements at other events (such as PAX or during the Game Awards) - but it's still a major event on the game industry calendar. Thus, it's still an event that is prone to big surprises and exciting reveals.

One of our favorite pastimes during this time of year is trying to guess exactly what will be announced during these three or four days in June. Sometimes it's a calculated prediction, based on what's previously been announced and other factors. Other times, it's just wishful thinking. Like "oh man, wouldn't it be awesome if..." type of thinking. It rarely comes true, but it's fun and we're not making these predictions for our health.

So, whatever the thought process, here are ten things we think are going to be announced or, at the very least, happen at E3 2019.

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Microsoft releases more Halo Infinite details (i.e. literally anything)

If Microsoft is going to "go big" at E3 2019, like they've said they're going to, the Halo franchise is going to have to be a major part of it. No other game series is associated with the Xbox brand like that one, and we already know that this title is in the works - what with them, you know, announcing the damn thing last year.

What they present will, obviously, depend on how far along development is, and what - if anything - they have to show. Our guess is that we'll get a modicum of gameplay footage, as well as details as to what the game is going to be like. Will it be a "game as service" type multiplayer title, like Destiny 2 or Anthem? Will it be a more traditional Halo title, with a story meant to wrap up the saga of Master Chief? Or, will it be something we're not expecting at all?

Whatever it is, we're fairly confident we're going to find out in June.

We'll finally get some info on Square Enix's Avengers game

It's been well over two years since Square Enix and Marvel (yeah, Marvel - you didn't think we meant Avengers as in that old BBC show, did you?) announced they were partnering up to make top tier, AAA games based on the Disney subsidiary's comic book and movie properties. Along with that announcement, we got this short (albeit very cool) teaser video:

Since then? Zilch. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Personally, I'd rather developers stay hard at work on a game rather than trying to make a cool trailer. Still, two years is a long time and you think we'd have heard or seen something by now. Then again, this is the same company making the Final Fantasy VII remake, so...

However, if Square Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics have anything to show us, E3 2019 couldn't be a better time. What with Avengers: Endgame breaking box office records like a toddler does to... well, just about anything, really... and interest in all things Marvel at an all time high, announcing more details about this highly anticipated superhero title - hell, even a title would be something - would create massive levels of excitement.

More details, release date for Ubisoft's Skull & Bones

After playing Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, a good many of us began dreaming of a new game, just like it, but with more "pirate" and less "assassin." Then, at E3 2017, Ubisoft basically said "fine... here!" and threw the announcement trailer for Skull & Bones at us.

Skull & Bones, we learned, is going to focus less on jumping around and being all stabby, like Black Flag, and more on naval combat, like... I dunno... actual naval combat, I guess. Or, at the very least, like the naval sections of Black Flag and other Assassin's Creed titles. There's also going to be an emphasis on multiplayer fleet battles, although we've been assured there will be plenty of solo missions for the loner buccaneer out there.

A little less than a year ago, we we're treated to nearly half an hour of gameplay footage, and it looks pretty awesome. Still, we know very little about the game's story, single player content or even when in the blue blazes the game is even coming out. Well, other than this year, anyway.

We're predicting, however, that this will change during E3 2019, and that Ubisoft will not only be sharing the game's expected release date, but also more details on... well, all that stuff we just mentioned.

This is an important game for Ubisoft, who clearly see this game as a - forgive the pun - flagship IP, and thus would explain the delays and the limited amount of information released about it. Still, they need to reveal this stuff at some point, and we're guessing E3 2019 will be when.

Warner Bros. reveals Rocksteady's next superhero game

After the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady Studios went from being a studio nobody had heard of to one where their next game was anxiously anticipated by the gaming public. Previously, though, every upcoming game of theirs had one thing in common: Batman. Now that their Arkham trilogy is completed, there's even more mystery surrounding their next game.

Since then, the rumor mill has been churning pretty heavily - as rumor mills are wont to do - with speculation ranging everywhere from a Superman title, to a full-on Justice League game, to a Destiny 2-like loot shooter involving the Suicide Squad, possibly entitled Outlaws. Of course, only the fine folks at Rocksteady Studios (and Warner Bros., and the family of everybody who works at both of those companies and... look, you get the idea) know for sure and, as of now, they haven't said anything.

E3 2019 is coming up soon, though, and if Rocksteady's new game is being planned to launch on current generation hardware, that would be the ideal time to let us know.

Nintendo reveal details on the new Animal Crossing

It used to be that "fishing" and "paying your mortgage" and "talking to your neighbors" were also known as "things you did when not playing videogames." Leave it Nintendo to make those weird as well.

Animal Crossing put you in the shoes of a human being (a stretch, I know) who has just recently moved into a town inhabited by animals. The game involved doing all of those things listed above and more, and there was no real "goal" other than "have fun" and "pull weeds". Of course, it became one of Nintendo's most popular and enduring franchises.

During a Nintendo Direct presentation last September, the company announced that a new title in the series, made for the Switch, would be coming out this year.

Obviously, a new Animal Crossing isn't the only upcoming Switch title that fans are anxiously chomping at the bit for. But, considering Nintendo recently announced that development on Metroid Prime 4 recently went back to formula, it's highly unlikely that there's anything completed on it that's even remotely ready to show the public.

Nintendo certainly has a number of new game announcements and gameplay reveals to make this June, but this is one we're fairly confident in predicting will happen.

We'll get a release date - or, at least a release window - for the first Final Fantasy VII remake episode

The day we began cultivating this list, this particular entry was merely "we'll see a trailer for the FFVII remake." After all, it had been literal years since we saw any footage whatsoever. Then, of course, this happened a few days ago:

And, with that, we were all ready to come up with a new entry or reduce this list to nine. And then, the trailer ended with this little tag:

Now, as you've probably deduced by now, June is when E3 happens. So, there's a good chance that "More to come in June" means "If you liked this, wait until E3."

So, our guess is that we'll more than likely going to get even more footage, but it's also possible that we'll get some sort of information on when we can actually play the stupid thing. If not an actual release date for the first episode - Square Enix has already said that this whole project is so big, it will have to be released episodically in order to do the whole thing justice - at least a month in 2020 (there's no way this thing is coming out this year) picked out.

Whatever information they release, we're just excited to find out what it is.

Xbox Game Pass... on Nintendo Switch

Read that again for a second. Now, imagine you're reading this same list, but just a couple of years ago. Say, I dunno, E3 2017 - the year Game Pass debued - instead of E3 2019. Yeah, seems like it would completely out of the question, wouldn't it?

And yet, with the way the gaming business has changed and evolved just in these past two years, it now doesn't just seem like it's in the realm of possibility, but that it's extremely likely - if not now, at least within the next few years.

From being all about that cross-platform multiplayer, debuting a console without a disc drive, and putting a lot of resources into their xCloud service, Microsoft has been shifting their focus away from hardware and more towards, well, platforms.

This was how Phil Spencer, Microsoft's head honcho of Xbox, put it while talking to Polygon shortly after acquiring the company's own cross-platform him, Minecraft.

We also know there are millions and millions of gamers who access Microsoft [in other ways,] whether it’s Windows, their phone, Skype — it could be many different things every day [...] I don’t want to dilute what the Xbox console customer feels. I want to expand what we’re able to do for more customers.”

Now, Microsoft has already started the process of helping developers connect their game communities through Xbox Live, no matter the platform. And while they've been coy about bringing that same functionality to Nintendo's console, they haven't outright confirmed out denied it, either.

Xbox Game Pass on Switch would be a win-win for both companies. It would bring more console-friendly games to the admittedly unique system (although some of those games would have to be tweaked a little bit, we imagine) without having to publish and market whole new versions of them. That could certainly mean getting the Switch into more homes. And Microsoft would also increase their Game Pass subscriber base - something they clearly find important for their future.

With Nintendo rumored to be announcing two new versions of the Switch - one of which supposedly an "enhanced" version - at E3 2019 (despite outright denying that's the case), a faster, more powerful version of Nintendo's popular sort-of-a-handheld could be just the thing to bring Microsoft games into the homes of more people.

It's certainly a long shot for this to happen, with Sony staying out of the show this year, both companies are going to be looking to use that absence to make a real splash - and this could be just the thing.

Speaking of Sony...

Sony isn't going to just sit on the sidelines

While Sony isn't participating in E3 2019 - or even holding their own event, like EA will be doing - it's hard to believe they aren't going to take advantage of having the collective attention of the gaming community focused at all.

Sony's State of Play presentation this month - just one month before E3, mind you - already had one big reveal (as we mentioned earlier) - and while Sony won't be running a booth on the show floor or holding a weird-ass press conference like they did last year, we suspect they've got something up their sleeve.

While Sony won't be making any first party title announcements of their own, other companies making their own announcements could simply do it for them. Who's to say that there won't be a new EA or Ubisoft game that will be a PS4 exclusive (timed or otherwise). Might as well let EA or Ubisoft handle announcing that, right? Sure, why not.

The point is that while Sony isn't going to be at the show itself, don't expect them to just stay silent the whole week while their competition is yelling at the top of their lungs.

Or, that's exactly what they'll do and I'll just look really stupid. Which wouldn't be the first time, so that's OK.

Rockstar will announce Grand Theft Auto 6

Rockstar Games are rarely a presence at E3. To be fair, they kind of don't need to be. They're arguably the biggest, most successful game studio/publisher on the planet, what with the release of the majority of their games frequently becoming outright cultural events, followed by said game selling a gajillion copies within six minutes or so of going on sale (OK, we might be exaggerating a little, but you get the point). Nearly every Rockstar release - especially the ones that have taken year to develop and have been delayed numerous times - usually is followed by a "biggest opening of any entertainment thing in the history of entertainment and things!" collection of news stories.

So, Rockstar doesn't exactly need E3.

But, as the late, great Phil Collins said... OK, fine... as the not dead but still pretty great Phil Collins once sort of sang, we can feel... something in the air... this, uh, E3 season. Look, for some reason, it just feels like we're going to get something from the Big R this June, most likely during a 2K Games presentation.

Now, it could be anything. Maybe it'll be an announcement for Bully 2. That would be an amazing E3 moment in of itself - the original Bully was a great game and has been deserving of a sequel for a long time. Heck, it could even be Table Tennis 2, and we'd still be pretty hyped. Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis was actually a fun game and a great way to debut their RAGE engine - so, hey, maybe a sequel would also be another way to debut a new engine. That would be E3 announcement-worthy in of itself.

However, we're going to go out on a limb here and predict we're going to get a teaser for Grand Theft Auto VI. Now, it could be a full on teaser like the original one for GTA V or it could simply be a title card, much like Bethesda did for Elder Scrolls VI. But, it's going to be something.

We can feel it.

Microsoft will reveal their next-gen console

Now, imagine this photo but the dude is holding a new controller, instead.

Microsoft and Sony will eventually release new consoles - that's pretty much a given. Considering how poorly the Xbox One reveal went back in 2013, however, Microsoft really needs a grand slam of an announcement for the Xbox Two - or whatever they decide to call it. If they've got anything at all worth showing, though, E3 2019 would be the event to show it.

Right now, it's clear to industry analysts (like us... loosely speaking, anyway) and the public alike that this current generation is winding down. People are expecting new hardware announcements any day now and rumors are flying fast and furious as to what features these new systems will have. Anticipation is high and both Microsoft and Sony want to strike while to iron is hot.

And E3 2019 is the perfect time to do it.

With Sony not attending the event this year - or even holding their own, apparently - all eyes are going to be on Microsoft. Make no mistake about it; E3 is still a big deal, even it's not as a big deal as it has been. Players and industry types both look forward to it year after year, if only because they're so used to doing so.

Not only can Microsoft be the first out of the gate with the console announcements, but they won't have a Sony press conference following them to mercilessly mock them if they make a PR stumble like they did in 2013.

The rest of the Internet will do that for them, anyway.

So, what do you think? Agree with any of our predictions? Any off base? Have any of your own? We have a comments section below, so let us know!