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Halo Infinite, Gears 5, and a new Battletoads are revealed at the Xbox E3 2018 press conference.

Microsoft came into this year’s E3 with a lot to prove, again. Under the stewardship of Phil Spencer, the Xbox One has clawed back its reputation through a range of player-friendly services, and an impressive hardware revision.

Recent exclusives such as Sea of Thieves and State of Decay 2 – along with continued console exclusivity for PUBG – have also helped, but games remain the one area where the PlayStation 4 has an undeniable advantage.

This year’s E3 press conference showed 50 different titles, with 18 having complete or timed Xbox exclusivity. And although many games on show are not due in 2018, it was a clear statement of intent from Microsoft that was also backed up by the company’s addition of five new Microsoft Studios.

Here’s a whistle-stop tour of every game that was announced.

List of Xbox E3 2018 announcements

Halo Infinite (Xbox Exclusive)

  • Halo Infinite revealed in new cinematic trailer.
  • The game is powered by the new SlipSpace Engine.
  • “Master Chief’s greatest adventure yet,” says Phil Spencer.
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox Exclusive)

  • New cinematic trailer for Moon Studios aesthetically stunning sequel
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

  • A new action game developed by From Software and published by Activision.
  • Release date: 2019

Fallout 76

  • Todd Howard makes a guest appearance to present a new trailer for Fallout 76.
  • A prequel to all previous Fallout games. It’s set in West Virginia and has a map four times the size of Fallout 4.
  • Pre-orders open from June 15 on the Microsoft games store.
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit

  • Reveal trailer for a new game set in the Life is Strange universe focuses on a young boy, and the interplanetary exploits of his imagination.
  • Release date: June 26, 2018.

Crackdown 3 (Xbox Exclusive)

  • Crackdown 3, again! A much more impressive trailer showing combat, and traversal.
  • Release date: 2019

Nier Automata

  • Coming to Xbox One with all previously released downloadable content.
  • Release date: June 26, 2018.

Metro Exodus

  • New trailer featuring gameplay footage.
  • Release date: February 22, 2019.

Kingdom Hearts III

  • The Kingdom Hearts franchise comes to Xbox for the first time.
  • New footage shows Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy, plus characters from Frozen, Monsters Inc, Wreck-it Ralph, Rapunzel, and Toy Story.
  • Release date: January 29, 2019.

Sea of Thieves (Xbox Exclusive)

  • Future content updates: Cursed Sails and Forsaken Shores revealed.
  • Release date: July and September, 2018.

Battlefield V

  • A short preview of the War Stories Nordlys content for EA’s upcoming World War II shooter.
  • Release date: October 19, 2018

Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox Exclusive)

  • Forza Horizon 4 is set in British Isles with countryside and city locations, including Edinburgh.
  • Features dynamic seasons that affect the racing environments of the shared online world.
  • There are also sheep, and you can drive a Black Cab.
  • The game will have a 60fps mode on Xbox One X.
  • Release date: October 2, 2018

Microsoft sets up new studio and acquires four others

  • So that’s how you fix your first-party problem. Phil Spencer announces the formation of The Initiative, a new Microsoft Studio based in Santa Monica.
  • Spencer also reveals the acquisition of Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, Playground Games, and Ninja Theory.

We Happy Few

  • A new trailer from Compulsion Games.
  • Release date: August 10, 2018.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

  • The Sanhok map is coming to PUBG on Xbox One in Summer 2018.
  • War Mode is also due this year.

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition

  • Remastered digital release of the classic 2008 JRPG.
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

The Division 2

  • Full reveal of The Division 2, developed by Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment.
  • The game is set six months after the outbreak in an autumnal Washington D.C.
  • Gameplay footage shows a mission set among the wreckage of a downed Air Force One.
  • Release date: March 15, 2019.

Xbox Game Pass update

  • Algorithm developed by machine learning powers the new Fast Start feature that helps start Xbox Game Pass titles faster. Coming in the service’s June 2018 update.
  • More third-party games added to Xbox Game Pass for day-and-date release, including Ashen, and Afterparty.
  • The Division, Fallout 4, and The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited are all available on Xbox Game Pass from today, plus a huge selection of ID@Box titles are on the way.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

  • A new trailer for Lara Croft’s latest adventure.
  • Release date: September 14, 2018.

Session.

  • Session is a new skateboarding game from creā-ture Studios.
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

Black Desert

  • A new trailer for the Pearl Abyss-developed MMORPG, Black Desert.
  • Release date: 2019.

Devil May Cry 5

  • The latest game in Devil May Cry franchise. It looks like a reinvention as much as it does a true sequel.
  • Release date: Spring 2019

Cuphead

  • MDHR Studio’s new action platformer gets a new DLC add-on, The Delicious Last Course.
  • Features new character, Ms. Chalice, plus new weapons and bosses.
  • Release date: 2019.

Tunic

  • More footage of Tunic, the super-charming third person adventure puzzle game from Andrew Shouldice.
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

Jump Force

  • A new fighter from Bandai Namco featuring characters from DragonBall Z, One Piece, Naruto, and Deathnote.
  • Release date: 2019.

Dying Light 2

  • Reveal trailer and gameplay demo for Techland’s zombie apocalypse sequel.
  • Features a new parkour system, and improved melee combat. A functioning eco-system based on decision points will affect the environment, and the life of its inhabitants.
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

Battletoads

  • No gameplay footagem but the name is enough. Battletoads is back!
  • Features 4K 2.5D graphics, and multiplayer features.
  • Release date: 2019.

Just Cause 4

  • Rico returns in a new open-word adventure that offers more of the same in a way that we completely appreciate.
  • Release date: December 4, 2018.

Gears Pop

  • A Gear of War game featuring Funko Pop characters. Luckily, it’s on mobile so we can all ignore it.
  • Release date: 2019.

Gears Tactics

  • A new turn-based PC strategy game, set 12 years before the first Gears of War.
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

Gears 5 (Xbox One Exclusive)

  • First look of the next full Gears of War title shows Kait and JD engaging in some soap operatics.
  • There’s also a brief glimpse of some varied and beautiful new locations, from forests to glaciers.
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

Cyberpunk 2077

  • Reveal trailer for the latest game from CD Projekt Red.
  • Think, well, Blade Runner, with more colour and sunshine. It looks amazing, frankly,
  • Release date: To be confirmed.

Check back throughout the week for more E3 2018 coverage from Thumbsticks.


More E3 2018 from Thumbsticks

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