After a year without the event in 2020, E3 is finally returning this summer. As such, a number of publishers and developers around the video game industry are preparing to make some major announcements about titles that are going to release in the future. Hot off the heels of merging together earlier this year, Xbox and Bethesda are poised to specifically have a major showing at E3 when both companies hold their showcase on Sunday, June 13.
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Ahead of that time, however, many fans are wondering just what Xbox and Bethesda might opt to reveal during this forthcoming event. With rumors and reports circling as they always do around this time each year, it’s hard to know what to expect when the conference will actually take place.
Well, for our money, here are five announcements that we think are most likely to transpire from Xbox and Bethesda during their E3 2021 presentation later this week.
Halo Infinite Multiplayer and Release Date Revealed
It’s a forgone conclusion that Halo Infinite will be showing up during Xbox’s showcase, but it remains to be seen what 343 Industries decides to actually show off to fans that have been patiently waiting for the next installment in the first-person shooter franchise. Based on the teaser image that Xbox released for to promote this E3 event, it seems likely that we’ll finally get a look at the multiplayer aspect of Infinite. Up until this point, this is something that 343 has only talked about in passing but hasn’t actually shown off publicly.
In addition to finally highlighting multiplayer, there’s also a great chance that we’ll hear word on a new release date for Halo Infinite. At this point in time, all we know for certain is that the project is going to launch at some point this fall. Considering this is the biggest venue in which we’ll likely see Halo Infinite prior to its release, though, there’s a good chance that Xbox and 343 Industries will commit to a new date after previously delaying the game out of 2020.
Starfield Takes Center Stage
Starfield is essentially another guarantee to show up at some point during Bethesda’s section of this upcoming conference. Not only was Starfield teased in the image that Xbox released for this showcase event just like Halo Infinite, but rumors and reports have been circling for weeks at this point telling us that this is the venue in which Bethesda Game Studios is finally going to talk more about its new IP.
Considering this showcase as a whole is only going to be 90 minutes long, we likely won’t get an extensive deep dive on Starfield like we have from Bethesda in the past when it revealed Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. Still, gameplay is very likely to be shown off in some form, giving us a better idea of how Starfield will play. And if previous reports end up holding true, we should also get a release date for the title during this event as well.
Psychonauts 2 Release Date Announced
Sticking with games that are certain to appear, Double Fine is absolutely going to talk more about Psychonauts 2 in some capacity during this presentation. While we’ll likely see a new trailer and additional gameplay footage come about, the most notable piece of information that will surely come about at this time will be related to the game’s release date.
Double Fine has been very vocal in recent weeks that Psychonauts 2 is incredibly close to launching. As such, expect to see the long-awaited platformer’s release date finally divulged at this time. Based on some previous leaks, however, we might already have a good idea at when it could be arriving.
Forza Horizon 5 Is Confirmed
Even though Xbox Game Studios has already announced that Forza Motorsport 8 is in the works for Xbox Series X and PC, a new entry in the larger Forza franchise is likely to be arriving sooner. That game, specifically, is Forza Horizon 5, which we think should be unveiled here during the Xbox E3 showcase.
Rumors have been circling for a long time at this point indicating that Playground Games has been hard at work on the next installment in the Forza Horizon series. All of those rumors – which have quite a bit of validity to them – also tell us that Forza Horizon 5 is going to take the franchise to Mexico this time around. Best of all, it should be releasing later on in 2021. Expect Xbox to confirm all of these rumors and reports during E3 by announcing the project’s existence in a formal capacity.
Fable, Avowed, and Perfect Dark are All No-Shows
With only 90 minutes to talk about its upcoming games, Xbox isn’t going to be able to touch on every project that it currently has in the pipeline. As such, there’s a good chance that some titles that were unveiled in the past won’t be popping up here at the publisher’s E3 2021 event. Fable, Avowed, and Perfect Dark are three of those games that I don’t expect us to see during this presentation.
The main reason why I think this will be the case is because these three games in mention are all still pretty early on in development. Xbox Game Studios has made clear in the past that some of its first-party titles are still not coming any time soon. Because of this, I think Xbox will focus more on the games that it has releasing in 2021 and early 2022 rather than giving fans a look at things that are much further out.
Even though all three of these games will likely be mentioned in passing, I wouldn’t get my hopes up to see a new trailer, gameplay, or anything else of the sort coming about during this showcase. Maybe next year.
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So what do you think Xbox and Bethesda could have in store for this upcoming presentation? Let me know your thoughts either down in the comments or over on Twitter at @MooreMan12.
