E3 2016 Coverage

It's that time of year again! E3 has arrived and we will be keeping our eyes and ears out for the latest news and consolidating it all here for you! This article will remain pinned throughout the week so be sure to check back frequently!

Sunday, 6/12

Bethesda Press Conference

• Opened up with Quake Champions. Looking to re-enter the competitive shooter arena, and with the hugely successful Overwatch launch now behind us, Bethesda teased unlocked frame-rates for those who wish to push their gaming rigs to the limit, while also promising a fun and engaging experience for those not wholly dedicated to FPS's as a genre. More information will be revealed at QuakeCon this year (8/4-8/7)
• Elder Scrolls Legends, a strategy card game, will be released on Android, iOS and PC later this year.
• Announced some upcoming changes to Fallout 4, including a Nuka-Cola inspired theme park? Sign me up!
• Ok so this next one surprised a few people: Skyrim special edition on PS4 and Xbox One is coming! They demonstrated some pretty significant graphical upgrades, and will bring the sprawling open-world RPG to another generation of gamers.
• A new Prey title is coming. Yay?
• The first level of the new Doom game will be made available for free for people to check it out. Might be a good opportunity for those who might still be on the fence.
• Gamers got a look at the upcoming expansions to The Elder Scrolls Online, including the dark brotherhood content. Probably more interesting was the announcement of "One Tamriel" - they are working on developing a system that will allow players to explore the entire world regardless of level, with monsters and characters levels adjusting appropriately. Sounds pretty ingenious to me!
• Bethesda also staked a claim in the VR field by announcing that Fallout 4 would be available for the HTC Vive in 2017.
• The conference wrapped up with some gorgeous gameplay of Dishonored 2, which was announced last year.

Monday, 6/13

Microsoft Press Conference (Live at 9 AM PST)

• Microsoft opened with Xbox One S - a slimmer, more powerful version of the Xbox One. 40% smaller than the original with improved hardware, 4k video and more, Microsoft opened their conference with a bang!
• Rod Fergusson steps on stage to announce Gears of War 4 and Xbox Play Anywhere - which allows players to play the game on Windows 10 as well as Xbox
• Laura Bailey takes the lead to demo Gears of War 4
• Gears of War 4 demo shows off the improved graphics of the Xbox One S, and a wide array of weaponry.
• Gears of War 4 slated for release October 11th 2016
• Limited Edition Controller for Gears previewed as well
• Rukari Austin takes the stage to talk about Killer Instinct
• Gears of War General Raam announced for Killer Instinct Season 3
• Gorgeous gameplay of Forza Horizon 3
• Ralph Fulton takes the stage to lead the demo for Forza in a thrilling head to head race
• Forza coming out September 27th, 2016
• Gameplay for Far Eden, introducing Joule, Mack, Seth and some of the other central characters.
• Hajime Tabata takes the stage to discuss Final Fantasy XV!
• Matthew Kishimoto introduces the special "Trial of Titan" to showcase FFXV gameplay and graphics
• Preview for new Division content  - "Underground" coming 6/28
• Battlefield 1 available 10/13 for EA access players
• Changes to Xbox Live - coming to multiple devices/platforms: iOS, android, PC, etc
• Clubs on Xbox Live: Create communities and come back to the same gamers who have the same likes that you do
• Looking for Group: "A want-ad for gamers" a way to bring more gamers together
• Arena for Xbox Live: New tournament platform - discover, register, compete in your favorite games
• Minecraft going Cross Platform with the help of Xbox Live!
• Minecraft VR on display - demonstrating cross-platform play across an ipad, a surface and an Xbox
• Custom Controllers
• Limbo free to all XBLA Users
• Tons of new content on XBox Live Arcade.
• Ark owners get free access to the game on Xbox Anywhere.
• New Psychological Thriller "We Happy Few" gameplay.
• CD Projeckt Red officially announcing Gwent. Will be both Single-player and Online Multi-player. Coming September 2016.
• Tekken 7 announced for Early 2017.
• Dead Rising 4 Trailer with Gameplay. Crazy combo weapons are back Winter 2016
• Scalebound gameplay shown off. Looks like Dark Souls meets Monster Hunters. Slated for 2017.
• Sea of Thieves trailer and gameplay.
• State of Decay 2 trailer. Announced for 2017
• Halo Wars 2 Cinematic and gameplay Trailer. Announced for 2017.
• New console called Project Scorpio. They're saying that it's going to be optimized for 4k and VR. Will be fully compatible with Xbox One and Xbox One S. Slated for Holiday 2017.

We're still gathering our thoughts regarding the conference, but you can find our reflections here.

Ubisoft Conference (1 PM PST)

• Opened with Ghost Recon Wildlands (Release: March 17, 2017)
• New South Park title - Fractured, But Whole coming December 6th, 2016
• Time for The Division!
• June 28th release on Xbox One/PC, August 2nd for PS4
• Further expansions for The Division planned
• Celebrating 30th anniversary of Ubisoft, 3 exclusive outfits for the Division based on Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six
• Eagle Flight VR - Fall 2016
• Star Trek: Bridge Crew - Fall 2016
• For Honor - Releases February 14, 2017
• Grow Up - August 2016
• Trials of the Blood Dragon - Out NOW
• Watch Dogs 2 - November 15, 2016
• Steep - December, 2016

You can find our reflections on the Ubisoft conference here.

Sony Conference (6 PM PST)

• Sony opened up with a live orchestral arrangement set to some amazing gameplay. After last year's fantastic showing, Sony's got a high bar to meet. Will they hit it?
• Gameplay for a new Viking God of War title - looks amazing. --Confirmed at the conference, this installment of God Of War will link back to the original PS2 series.
• Trailer for Days Gone by the Bend team
• Sony debuted some new intellectual property - looks very "Last of Us" like. We'll see how it turns out.- Days Gone
• Last Guardian - new footage and release date - October 2016
• New footage and "mech monsters" revealed in Horizon gameplay footage.
• Fantastic multiple scenario game debut - "Detroit: Become Human" - has a very "Heavy Rain" feel to it-- all the choices! Tons of scenarios and multiple endings.
• Horror game? Ringing phone, cryptic messages, creepy dolls...what is it?
• Resident Evil: Biohazard! January of next year!
• Discussions around Playstation VR - 40 million systems ready to run it
• October 13th Playstation VR will be released!
• $399 at launch
• 50 titles by the end of 2016
• Far Point trailer reveal
• Virtual Reality is here to stay and it brought some new friends/titles to play with
• VR for Star Wars
• VR for Batman
• VR for Final Fantasy
• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare trailer. Honestly, was never inserted in COD--this trailer makes me want to pick up the franchise and play!
• Crash Bandicoot returns to the Playstation 4 completely remastered from the ground up.
• KOJIMA MADE AN APPEARANCE. So much fangirl.
• Kojima Productions revealed the trailer for Death Stranding
• Norman Reedus is in it!--naked. With lots of dead fishes and whales. It was a serious WTH moment, but it was too pretty to look away and too interested to stop watching.
• Confirmed Norman Reedus is starring in the game
• Confirmed Del Torro is NOT working/collaborating on Death Stranding
• Kojima has confirmed that Death Stranding WILL take some time to complete---wont be seeing it  for a while!
• Insomniac Studios to make Spider Man game!
• Ended the conference with live game play to Days Gone
• Zombies. Lots of zombies. Hordes of them. You watch the character kite a wave of zombies with a single gun. Very much "run and gun," type game play.
• Game play ends with the character surrounded by a swarm of zombies at all sides-- RIP.
• Demos! All kinds of demos available tonight!

Tuesday, 6/14