Microsoft announced it is doubling its game development studios by adding five new creative teams to the Microsoft Studios family. New investments include the formation of a brand-new studio The Initiative, the acquisition of Playground Games, and letters of intent to acquire Ninja Theory, Undead Labs and Compulsion Games.
New Windows 10 Games Announced At E3
Microsoft also announced its Biggest Xbox Sale of the Year where gamers can find discounts on hundreds of games, accessories, Xbox Game Pass and Live Gold subscriptions, plus $50 off ANY Xbox One. For more information, visit Xbox Wire.
For additional news, highlights, exclusive reveals and a behind-the-scenes look at some of your favorite games throughout the week of E3, watch Inside Xbox: Live @ E3 on Monday, June 11 at 3 p.m. PDT and tune in to live streaming on Mixer Tuesday, June 12 and Wednesday, June 13.
Microsoft brings Xbox 360 games to Xbox One, unveils a huge lineup of Xbox One games at E3 2015, Xbox One will get a major software update, Windows 10 Mobile build 10136 rolls out, Windows 10 build 10147 leaks onto the web, and much more.
This week on tech, E3 happened, and Microsoft made all kind of major announcements. The company unveiled a huge lineup of new Xbox One games coming in 2015-2016, including a number of exclusive games.
The second biggest announcement during the Xbox E3 event was the new major software update coming to Xbox One. The software maker announced that Xbox One will get a new user experience and Cortana integration. The update will be available later this fall and it will include a brand new dashboard with flyout menu, faster access to friends, parties, messages, and notifications.
Windows 10 build 10147 leaks onto the web, making the ISO files of the operating system available for download from torrent and file sharing sites. The new preview, which is likely not to roll out to Windows Insiders, includes a number of improvement and tweaks, such as new icons, UI enhancements, improvements in Action Center, Cortana, Tablet mode, and more. Microsoft Edge also received a number of improvements as well, such as a new dark theme, password manager, drag and drop tabs to create new windows, and more.
No new gaming hardware was revealed, though Microsoft announced it was starting work on the next-generation Xbox, whereas Sony had discussed its own preparatory work for the next PlayStation consoles, both which were released in 2020. Most announcements at E3 were focused on new games, many set to release from late 2019 through early 2020. A strong emphasis was made on subscription services, such as Xbox Game Pass and Uplay Plus, as well as streaming services such as Stadia.
Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that they would not be attending E3 2019, after having been a presence in all shows since the show's inception. Sony's CEO Shawn Layden stated in a February 2019 interview that with changes in retailer procurement, their own switch to fewer but more quality titles, and the rapid spread of news via the Internet that having a trade show as late as June was no longer helpful, and that Sony had to create its own Destination PlayStation experience in February as to secure retailer sales.[6][7] Both Microsoft and Nintendo stated they would still attend E3.[8] Due to the lack of Sony's presence, the show drew about 3,100 fewer attendees from E3 2018, for a total attendance of 66,100.[1]
Microsoft held its press conference at the Microsoft Theater on June 9, 2019.[9] They also demonstrated games through Inside Xbox on June 10, 2019.[10] Among games promoted during the presentation included The Outer Worlds, Bleeding Edge, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Minecraft Dungeons. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Blair Witch, Cyberpunk 2077, Spiritfarer, Battletoads, The Legend of Wright, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Wasteland 3, Psychonauts 2, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, 12 Minutes, Way to the Woods, Gears 5, Dying Light 2, Forza Horizon 4: Lego Speed Champions, State of Decay 2: Heartland, Phantasy Star Online 2, Crossfire X, Tales of Arise, Borderlands 3, and Elden Ring. Microsoft also announced its acquisition of Double Fine and the publishing rights to its upcoming Psychonauts 2.[11][12]
Bethesda Softworks had its press conference on June 9, 2019.[21] Featured games included Fallout 76, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, Ghostwire: Tokyo, The Elder Scrolls Online, Commander Keen Mobile, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, Rage 2, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Deathloop, and Doom Eternal.[22] They also revealed their Orion software, a middleware package that is aimed to help improve the speed and latency for playing games over a stream.[23]
Ubisoft broadcast its press conference on June 10, 2019.[30] Among featured games included Watch Dogs: Legion, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Brawlhalla, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint (including a brief presentation by Jon Bernthal), Tom Clancy's Elite Squad, Just Dance 2020, For Honor, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Quarantine, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Roller Champions, and Gods and Monsters.
Ubisoft announced its "UPlay Plus" subscription service to its catalog of games for PC users and later on Stadia, starting in September 2019. In addition to games, Ubisoft announced that there would be an Assassins' Creed symphonic tour in 2019, featuring music from the various games. Rob McElhenney announced that he would be producing and starring in a series inspired by Ubisoft called Mythic Quest for Apple TV+.
Square Enix streamed its announcement broadcast on June 10, 2019. This slot has been previously occupied by Sony and has used it for its press conference in previous years.[31] Featured games included: Final Fantasy VII Remake, Life Is Strange 2, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Octopath Traveler, The Last Remnant Remastered, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Dragon Quest XI S, Circuit Superstars, Kingdom Hearts III, Battalion 1944, Final Fantasy XIV, Dying Light 2, Romancing Saga 3, SaGa: Scarlet Grace, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Outriders, Oninaki, Final Fantasy VIII, and Avengers.
Nintendo held an E3 Nintendo Direct presentation on June 11, 2019.[32] Games featured included Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Dragon Quest XI, Luigi's Mansion 3, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Trials of Mana, Collection of Mana, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 6, No More Heroes III, Contra: Rogue Corps, Contra Anniversary Collection, Daemon X Machina, Panzer Dragoon, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Astral Chain, Empire of Sin, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Cadence of Hyrule, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.[33] Nintendo went into more details about these games and other titles through their Treehouse Live event streamed throughout the convention.[32]
While Google did not attend E3 2019, they presented detailed information about their Stadia game streaming platform on June 6, 2019 just prior to the event.[34] Among games highlighted during the presentation for the Stadia platform included Baldur's Gate III, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Gylt, Get Packed, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, and Destiny 2.[35]
Bungie held a streaming presentation on the upcoming changes to Destiny 2 on June 6, 2019, following Google's presentation on Stadia. Among major changes announced included the reveal of its next major expansion, Shadowkeep, the game adopting a free to play model, cross-save across platforms, shifting the PC distribution from Battle.net to Steam, and new support for Stadia.[36]
UploadVR broadcast a pre-recorded presentation, including new game reveals, on June 10, 2019.[41] Among featured games were: Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency, Garden of the Sea, The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets, Pistol Whip VR, Golem, Hotel RnR, I Expect You to Die: Seat of Power, Echo Arena, Arizona Sunshine, Hotdogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Angry Birds VR and Boneworks.[42]
Limited Run Games, a boutique publisher, broadcast its press conference on June 10, 2019.[43][44] The company announced over fifty planned releases of various indie games for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, as well as several titles for the PlayStation Vita.[45] Additionally, they announced planned collectors editions of several old LucasArts games from the Star Wars and the Monkey Island series.[46]
The games that were announced included Night in the Woods for mobile devices. For the PlayStation Vita, their last physical games are Deadbolt, Guacamelee, Super Mutant Alien Assault, Pix the Cat, Revenant Dogma, Mutant Blobs Attack, Rocketbirds Hardboiled Chicken, Rocketbirds 2: Evolution, Atari Flashback Classics, Super Meat Boy, Damascus Gear Operation Osaka, Damascus Gear Operation Tokyo, and Metal Slug 3. They also launched a Power Rangers game called Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid. 2ff7e9595c
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