Game Informer

Friendships? They come and go, but you know what's forever? Memes. Memes last forever. Sound dorky? You're probably right, but the fact is that companies have been incorporating "meme culture" into marketing strategies more and more in recent years, and the effect is hard to deny. The team over at Xbox is a perfect example, handing over social media control to gamers that are passionate about the community and memes? There's no denying that's a universal language. The company of Xbox itself isn't afraid to get a little weird for a new promo. Case and point? The Xbox Series X fridge Microsoft debuted last year. We thought that was the end of that, but no, Team Green is back with another kitchenware item: the Xbox mini-fridge not too long after and now? Now you can buy one yourself. 

We interrupt your normally scheduled podcast to talk about anything and everything that happened during day two of E3 2021, which includes Starfield, Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, Back 4 Blood, Battlefield 2042, The Outer Worlds 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origins, and much much more. 

While we can't (Paladin) Danse if we want to because we left that friend behind, we can at least enjoy the fact that the Brotherhood of Steel has made the world of Fallout 76 much more interesting and it looks like that story is heading towards an epic conclusion. Bethesda shared an extensive new look at Steel Reign, which allows players to decide the fate of the Brotherhood, during the Xbox E3 2021 showcase and as far as narrative conclusions go, this looks pretty interesting. 

Knight Shin and Paladin Rahmani have some issues to deal with, to put it lightly, and that's what we will see with the upcoming update called Steel Reign. Players can basically decide the fate of the Brotherhood with the upcoming questline while uncovering the mystery of where all of the Super Mutants have suddenly disappeared to. 

As with any major update, Steel Reign will include new gear for players to earn, new locations for survivors to conquer, and new enemies to face. For those paying attention to the scoreboard for season 5, there will be even more loot drops there, as well. 

Good news space cadets, Obsidian Entertainment is working on a new The Outer Worlds. The original Outer Worlds released in 2019, and it was a special mix of Mass Effect and Fallout. We loved it, and have been hoping that Obsidian was working on a sequel. We got our wish. During Microsoft’s E3 2021 presentation the publisher announced that a new The Outer Worlds is headed to Xbox consoles and PC … sometime in the future. Look, there isn’t a date yet, and it doesn’t look like there is a lot of game yet either. This was just an announcement.

The original Outer Worlds was set in an alternate future in a solar system called Halcyon. You were a colonist who traveled to the system in cryofreeze on a ship called the Hope. You were looking to build a better life for yourself, but discovered that corporations were exploiting the local workforce. Obsidian packed that original title full of humorous moments and absurd world-building. The 2019 release was also fairly short for a modern RPG. We don’t know if the sequel will be more expansive, but if the revel trailer is any indication - then we can expect the new game to look better, as the reveal was very eye-catching.

Coming out of the Xbox E3 showcase featured a look at the console versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator as well as a big new cross-over with the upcoming film Top Gun: Maverick.

Having released on PC last August, it can be easy to forget Flight Simulator hasn’t made its way to Xbox Series X and S yet, but the wait will be over on July 27, 2021. A new trailer was captured using a Series X hardware in 4K resolution according to Microsoft. Planes of all kinds are shown flying over oceans, plains, forests, and under bridges. The footage runs smoothly and gives an idea of what players can expect from the conversion from PC to console.

Just after announcing the Xbox release date, we see a shot of the ocean and an aircraft carrier floating stoically in the water. Triumphant music begins to swell as a fighter jet launches from the ship’s runway, emblazoned beneath the cockpit window is “CAPT PETE MITCHELL ‘MAVERICK.’” Top Gun is officially coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator later this year with a collaboration with Paramount Studios promoting the sequel to the popular Tom Cruise movie. The expansion is set to hit sometime in the fall of 2021.

Back 4 Blood is the spiritual successor of Left 4 Dead, the beloved four-player FPS where players were tasked with surviving the zombie apocalypse while sprinting to safety across an infested America. Back 4 Blood continues that group-based tradition but with bonus modes for you and your friends to dive into. One such mode premiered at the Warner Bros. E3 Conference: a PVP-focused mode, called Swarm Mode, where cleaners (humans) and the ridden (infected) go head-to-head.

When I first got my hands on Back 4 Blood back in 2020, it became instantly clear from the closed-alpha that the developers behind the original Left 4 Dead hadn't lost their touch. The new co-op zombie shooter hit many of the highs of the Valve-published title while adding a new layer of strategy through its intriguing card system and intuitive enemy AI Director. But while the L4D like experience seemed to be coming together, it wasn't clear what the full package was going to be ahead of its October 12 release date.

The picture has become much clearer after developer Turtle Rock Studios' showcase of its new zombie-slayer, giving fans a look at the new Swarm PvEvP mode. Teams of four will square off against one another with one team compiled of the human cleaners versus the player-controlled undead ridden. 

To found out more, we went right to the source. Join Liana and Stadnik as they sit down with Matt O'Driscoll, the lead producer at Turtle Rock Studios! We discuss some of the big talking points surrounding the game, including the team's approach to the newly-announced versus mode, whether or not players will have to pay for cards and characters, and how fans will be able to participate in Back 4 Blood's beta, dropping on August 5, 2021.

The Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service that has, and I say this not as hyperbole, been a game-changer for the industry. Day one launch titles available at no additional cost? A chance for gamers to explore outside of their comfort zone without needing to shell out 60 bucks? It's great, and it's only going to grow from here. That being said, Xbox shared a lot of new Xbox Game Pass additions in its E3 2021 showcase. For those that may have missed out, here's what you need to know. 

With the show coming right out of the gate with an extensive look at Starfield and the confirmation that it will be on Xbox Game Pass at launch, here are all of the confirmed games that are coming to the service for this year and going into 2022. 

Koei Tecmo Games and Square Enix Japan have teamed up to develop “a bold new vision for Final Fantasy.” This new action game has been dubbed Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

The trailer was presented as the finale to the Square Enix E3 show had plenty of in-game footage. A t-shirt wearing blonde man named Jack battles alongside his cohorts Ash and Jed throughout gothic environment of the Chaos Shrine revealing this is a departure from the gameplay one would expect from a classic Final Fantasy. Combat looks to include a finishing moves which turn monsters and other enemies into crystal to be disposed of permanently. The trailer also features the classic Final Fantasy villain Garland who claims he has now become “Chaos,” a word that is uttered throughout the trailer footage. Jack claims he has a deep urge to destroy Chaos. While that term refers to Garland or a grander concept is unclear.

Life is Strange: True Colors is a game about empathy, but don't mistake the feeling-driven narrative for being something soft or "weak." With empathy comes a strength that is often buried. To feel so fully is a blessing and a curse, and Deck Nine is taking that complexity and transforming it into a new adventure for Life is Strange fans to enjoy, endure, and to overcome. 

With E3 2021 in full swing, Square Enix revealed another new look at Alex Chen's story in Life is Strange: True Colors. Before, the team at Deck Nine showed off the next step for the franchise, a tale of Alex desperately trying to solve the mystery of her brother's death. Just like Max in the first game, there is a supernatural element at play. Instead of the power to rewind time, however, Alex has the power of empathy. Sometimes, that power is too much, too overwhelming. Flowing from a mindless rage into a bottomless pit of grief, only to mosey on over to ecstatic happiness - people everywhere are going through something, so when empathy comes into play, especially in a powerful form like in True Colors, the impact can be immense and overwhelming. 

Announced today during the Square Enix E3 presentation, a pixel remaster is coming for the first six Final Fantasy games, hitting Steam and mobile platforms. While no date was given, the presentation did say they were “coming soon”.

While the old-school Final Fantasy games have been available on Steam and mobile platforms for ages, many players disliked the new graphic styles, UI, and interfaces of those versions compared to their classic pixel looks - including me. In fact, this announcement may be one of the coolest things to come out of E3, in a subtle fashion. While I absolutely love the classic Final Fantasy games, it can be an absolute pain to track down the hardware to play the old games in their original, pixelated incarnations. These remasters should give players like me exactly what we’re looking for, and it’s also wonderful for streamers that want to show off the games with their stylized, if simple, presentations.

With the exception of Final Fantasy II, which is more of a Saga game, the original lineup of Final Fantasy titles is impressive and mostly holds up, even in the face of the fabulous cinematic presentations and alternatives to turn-based combat that the series has embraced today. 

Earlier this year, Crystal Dynamics laid out a detailed roadmap for the coming months. The roadmap kicked off with the introduction of Hawkeye, and has continued with things like the Tachyon Anomaly, which allowed for duplicate heroes, and the introduction of MCU-inspired skins. Today, Crystal Dynamics showed off the next steps in the Marvel's Avengers roadmap, most notably the introduction of Black Panther into the hero roster.

We already knew Black Panther was coming to the game, but today gave us a new look at the story and content his War for Wakanda expansion will bring. As the name suggests, this expansion adds a new area for players to explore (Wakanda), and with it a new cast of characters, including a playable Black Panther. During today's trailer, we saw the in-game debuts of characters like Shuri, the Dora Milaje, and the main antagonist of the expansion, Klaue. Klaue is working with AIM to secure the vibranium housed within the borders Wakanda, and if the trailer is any indication, he'll stop at nothing to obtain it – even if it means setting off explosions and unleashing a giant sentry on Wakanda. Black Panther and the War for Wakanda expansion comes to Marvel's Avengers as a free update this August.

When I learned Eidos-Montreal was working on a Guardians of the Galaxy game, I assumed the superhero team dynamic would lead to a cooperative or multiplayer experience, much like Crystal Dynamics’ take on The Avengers. That surprisingly isn’t the case. Eidos Montreal is sticking to the script it knows well. From Thief to Deus Ex, this development studio has proved it knows how to make riveting single-player experiences that are backed by meaningful player choice. That’s exactly what Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is.

The player controls just Star-Lord, the Guardians’ leader, who will be asked to make difficult decisions that affect the story, the gameplay, and even the relationships with his fellow teammates. That doesn’t mean the other Guardians are tucked into the background. They are in the spotlight just as much as Star-Lord through an innovative idea called “solo teamplay,” a control input that allows the player to tell the Guardians when to use their abilities.

The Guardians of the Galaxy have been major players in the mainstream consciousness ever since they entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2014. Since then, they've starred in two movies (with a third on the way), taken part in the climactic Infinity War and Endgame, appeared in roster-spanning games like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 and Marvel Strike Force, and starred in their own episodic adventure series from Telltale Games in 2017. However, everyone's favorite ragtag space heroes are stepping into the spotlight with a new Guardians of the Galaxy game from Deus Ex studio Eidos Montreal.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy puts you in the shoes of Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord, in a single-player action game rife with hostile encounters, playful banter, and player choice. As with the recent adaptations of the Guardians of the Galaxy story (particularly the MCU movies), licensed music sets the tone, with Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" blaring over the opening parts of the trailer.

Today during Square Enix's E3 showcase, we got a new look at Babylon's Fall, the next game from developer Platinum Games, most known for its Bayonetta and Wonderful 101 series, and its work on Yoko Taro's Nier: Automata. 

The trailer shows The Babylon tower, built over 1,000 years, that has ultimately brought ruin to the game's world. The game pits players as four different protagonists, as they fight their way up and throughout the tower, battling various monsters, bosses, and the standard action game fare. Surprisingly, the game has an almost water color-like cel-shaded aesthetic, making it visually distinct from other recent Platinum games. 

The trailer for Babylon's Fall closes with the announcement that the game will now be coming to PlayStation 5. It will also be available on PlayStation 4 and PC. 

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes was shown off in today’s Xbox and Bethesda E3 showcase, but instead of just one announcement for this Suikoden successor, it looks like there are two games coming over the next couple of years.

Our first look at Hundred Heroes revealed it has a style similar to Square Enix’s recent 2D-HD games like Octopath Traveler and the upcoming remake of Dragon Quest III. Eiyuden Chronicle is using 3D scenery while its characters are displayed as 2D sprites, giving it a look as if it were intended to have come out on the original PlayStation.

The trailer began by showing off a bunch of characters as the camera panned past pictures of them overlaid with a very JRPG quote: “Their stories will be spun into a force that reshapes history.” In the gameplay shown we were treated to a glimpse of one of the characters, Nowa, walking around a watery village, running through a cave with a torch in hand lighting the surrounding environment, and a shot of some characters interacting in a story sequence.

We don’t get many dedicated snowboarding games anymore, which makes the newly announced Shredders a game worth watching if you're a fan of the sport. The upcoming extreme sports title debuted during the Microsoft + Bethesda E3 showcase and looks to be a faithful simulation of snowboarding that, as the game’s tagline describes, is “for riders, by riders”.

Shedders is described as being a love letter to snowboarding inspired not just by the sport but also snowboarding movies. Developer FoamPunch also states that the game draws inspiration from the Amped snowboarding series that began on the original Xbox. The premiere trailer didn’t have a ton of frills, just showing off some pure snowboarding gameplay, some of which is captured by an in-game camcorder. It also gives a glimpse of snowmobiles in action as well.

Shredders launches this December and is coming first on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox Game Pass.

What do you think of Shredders? Let us know in the comments!

At today’s Xbox and Bethesda E3 showcase, the “one more thing” happened to be a new title from Bethesda’s Arkane Studios. It’s an open-world, co-op first-person shooter that you can play by yourself or with up to three other friends. Redfall is an Xbox exclusive coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC summer 2022, and is slated to be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one. The teaser trailer had plenty of campy horror vibes as an eclectic squad of survivors ends up scrapping with some serious vampire foes. The footage is below, so take a look before we dive into the rest.

The town of Redfall (Hey, that’s the game name!) is a sleepy Massachusetts destination. That is until the vampires arrive. The vampire legions eclipse the sun, and then they start turning people into their minions or just downright consuming them. Yeah, the vampires are not really friendly. There’s also a cult that worships the vampires, and they’ll try to stop you too. 

When new consoles release, platform holders often look to racing games to showcase the power of the new systems. That's often been true in the past, with franchises like Project Gotham Racing and Gran Turismo, but so far, Xbox has only released a new-gen update for Forza Horizon 4. However, during today's Xbox Showcase at E3 2021, Playground Games revealed Forza Horizon 5, the next installment in its popular open-world racing franchise. 

After Forza Horizon 3 took us to Australia and Horizon 4 brought us to the U.K., Forza Horizon 5 is stamping our passports for Mexico. Playground Games says this game features the largest, most diverse open world in series history. The studio touts the power of the Xbox Series X/S consoles as being so powerful that they can render every last, tiny detail in the world, right down to individual needles on cacti. Playground says its interpretation of Mexico is "honest, authentic, and filled with love." We see that as players speed through idyllic seaside towns, discover scenic waterfalls, barrel down desert highways, and race along rocky volcanoes. Playground Games used special HDR cameras to capture real footage of Mexican skies in a stunning 12K resolution. The photorealistic skies made possible by Xbox Series X/S results in dynamic lighting for more immersive visuals, as well as a new volumetric lighting system that accurately captures the humidity of settings like rainforests. 

You can see the announcement trailer below.

Sure, taking to battle in a fast-paced shooter is fun and all, but have you ever weaponized a tornado? The answer is probably no, but with Battlefield 2042 you can get your inner Shia LaBeouf on and not let your dreams be dreams. The next step for the Battlefield franchise uses cutting-edge technology and new generational hardware to push the sky to the limit. While many games boast that, Battlefield 2042 looks to truly live up to that promise. From a way higher player count to a perfect blend of new and familiar, the upcoming FPS is ready to take back the crown within the multiplayer space. 

Battlefield 2042 sets the stage in the near future, in a world ravaged by the most profound refugee crisis known to man. Within this shooter, players will become something called No-Patriated, or No-Pats for short. No-Pats are farmers, engineers, soldiers - they are the survivors, they are the fighters that don’t fight for a flag. They fight for the future of the known world. 

A Plague Tale: Innocence’s gripping narrative made it one of the standout hidden gems of 2019, and it’s getting a sequel next year. Today’s Microsoft showcase revealed a cinematic trailer for A Plague Tale: Requiem that sets the table for another dark journey for the de Rune siblings. 

The cinematic trailer doesn’t give too much away, but we hear protagonist Amicia de Rune conversing with an unknown man about her brother, Hugo, and how to put an end the supernatural rat scourge that plagued our heroes in the first game. Fans will remember that Hugo is cursed with dark magic directly connected to the plague. Will Amicia have to stop her own brother, who she says she’d “protect with her life?" We’re excited (though perhaps a bit apprehensive) to find out. Also of note: Amicia has a crossbow now, suggesting combat might be more involved compared to the largely stealth-focused gameplay of the previous game. 

Almost a year after its initial release, Hades was included in this year’s Xbox E3 show with the announcement it is coming to Xbox consoles on August 13. The standout action rogue-lite from last year was also announced to be coming to Game Pass upon release.

Hades follows Zagreus, the son of the titular ruler who is trying to get out of his hellish home. He fights Greek-inspired gods and monsters wielding a variety of weapons along the way. If he fails, Zagreus finds himself back at home where he can build bonds with the characters he meets on his journey out of the underworld.

There wasn’t anything new content-wise in the trailer, which displayed a variety of awards it received since release. Hades was a game we also liked a lot! Check out why it ended up all the way at number two on Game Informer’s Game of the Year list for 2020, and here is our own Matt Miller’s review to get a critical breakdown of the game.

If you want more of E3’s big announcements and reveals, we have you covered. Take a look at our E3 hub full of stories from the show.

Today’s Xbox Showcase gave us a look at Replaced, from Sad Cat Studios. Replaced is billed as a “cinematic retro-futuristic action-thriller set in a dystopian version of the '80s USA.” Whew! That’s a mouthful, but it gives us at least some sense of what we can expect out of the project, which offered up some great animation and art in today’s trailer.

Players control an A.I. that has been placed inside of a human body, and follows along as that individual explores a bleak and almost post-apocalyptic world. The combat, in particular, looks to offer some really compelling twists, focusing on cool moves that you might see in a high-end action flick. We also saw the main character traversing ruined buildings in some tense platforming sequences.

Meanwhile, the art itself was especially striking, using pixel graphics to paint a potent and realistic world that seems to draw the player into the action. 

Replaced appears to be the debut project from Sad Cat Studios. The development house is based in Minsk, Belarus. The studio is getting publishing help from Coatsink.

Replaced is targeting release in 2022 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, and will show up day one on Game Pass.

Developer Monomi Park has announced Slime Rancher 2, the follow-up to its 2017 hit. One of the several surprise reveals of E3 2021's Xbox Showcase, Slime Rancher is set to come to Xbox consoles and PC in 2022.

Players once again assume the role of Beatrix LeBeau in order to catch slimes on the Far, Far Range. Slime Rancher 2's announcement trailer gives it a much more tropical feeling, as it starts off with the player arriving on a small set of islands, journeying through colorful foliage, and, of course, capturing that precious, precious slime. 

Check out Slime Rancher 2's announcement trailer from today's Xbox Showcase to see slimes of all shapes and sizes get sucked up into Beatrix's gun.

Slime Rancher, which launched in 2017, charmed us with its cute visuals, fun gameplay loop, and satisfying mechanics. In his review, former Game Informer editor Joe Juba scored the original game an 8.5 out of 10, saying, "Slime Rancher has the ability to keep you hooked for hours; I often looked out over my ranch, felt pride at my accomplishments, and eagerly ventured back into the wilderness to see what other strange things I could find."

Today during Microsoft's E3 showcase, we got a look at a brand-new game called Atomic Heart, a first-person shooter set in an alternate 1950s Soviet Russia. Albeit brief, we saw several of the game's characters, weapons, and gravity-breaking powers. All set to a fun Russian pop song highlighting the destruction, off-beat visuals, and gameplay on display in the trailer.

While details about Atomic Heart are scant, as the brief trailer didn't answer too many questions, the game is being developed by the company Mundfish, founded in 2017. Atomic Heart is the company's first game. 

Check out the game's new trailer from Xbox's showcase below:

While we still don't have a release date for Atomic Heart, we do know it's coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game will also be available on Game Pass.

For more news from today's Xbox showcase, make sure to check out E3 hub.

343 Industries and Xbox just dropped a new story trailer for Halo Infinite, and while we are still crying over the deleted Cortana experience, the studio still had more to share. Now that we have confirmation that the campaign and multiplayer are shipping together at the same time, let's dive into what the online component will have to offer.

In the video below, we see several new components to the Halo Infinite multiplayer experience, including more fluid combat, weapon loadouts, and more. But don't just take our word for it, check it out for yourself in the video below: 

Arena Multiplayer also returns and we got a new look at that as well. Arena has changed through the years, especially as Halo continues to garner respect in the esports realm. 343 is ensuring that the Arena experience is what players want with Halo Infinite. More will be shown off in the coming months, including a special showcase set for July. 

Multiplayer and the main story campaign are both set to release at the same time, despite rumors, which is something many Halo fans were concerned about. With the story trailer wrapping up some loose ends and multiplayer confirmed at launch, I think it's safe to say that the latest reveal is much more positive than the previous gameplay that caused the delay to happen in the first place. 

Since it’s announcement at BlizzConline, we’ve all been waiting for a Diablo II: Resurrected release date. Well, today Blizzard revealed that Diablo II: Resurrected arrives on September 23, 2021. My experiences with the title thus far have been incredibly promising, an immaculately reconstructed modern-day update that sits comfortably directly over the old game. Check out more of my nostalgia and immense respect for what the Vicarious Visions team is crafting here.

Diablo II: Resurrected launches on numerous platforms on September 23. You can take on every evil imaginable on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC. Of significant note, an open beta for the game is scheduled to take place in August, allowing players to take on the roles of Amazon, Paladin, Druid(!), Sorceress, and Barbarian. Assassin and Necromancer won’t be available until launch.

It’s been a long wait for Psychonauts 2, but the wait is finally almost over. With a release scheduled for later this summer, we’ll finally get to see what Raz and his buddies are up to. We were so excited about the project, that we recently featured the game on our cover. But today brought the opportunity to see more of the game in action via the E3 trailer for the project.

The trailer opens with Raz flying into the Psychonauts headquarters, directly following up on the events from the first game, which released way back in 2005. In the video, we also see a variety of surreal settings, from a maniacal judge swinging a giant gavel in an exaggerated courtroom locale to Raz riding a giant pinball/pachinko ball (and later bowling ball) as it rolls through a colorful environment. The action appears to move fast, with lots of creativity in Double Fine’s approach to traversal and navigation.

While it should come as no surprise, the game radiates the humor and witty intelligence that we've come to see as a hallmark of games from Double Fine Productions. But this trailer also makes a case that action gameplay has come a long way since 2005, and Psychonauts 2 is doing everything it can feel modern and competitive in that sphere. 

Psychonauts 2 is coming August 25 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, and will be included with Game Pass.

If you thought that Sea of Thieves was pretty neat but needed more story-based content then you weren’t alone. We loved adventuring with our buddies in the original release, but felt the content was a little thin at launch. Fortunately, Rare has done a great job supporting the game in the years since then. Now the studio is adding a full story mode, and it features the beloved Captain Jack Sparrow from Disney’s hit Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

The trailer for this new mode explains that an “ill wind blows from the horizon,” and only one man can stop this evil and make the seas safe for pirates again: Jack Sparrow (yeah, I guess we already gave that one away.) It seems that Jack stole a special treasure and now some kind of “darkness” has followed the pirate into our familiar waters. If that treasure is not returned then our world could be swallowed by evil shadows.

Xbox and Bethesda are joining forces this year for E3 2021, which means you just knew there were going to be some more Xbox Game Pass news regarding the recent acquisition. With so many Bethesda favorites already on the rotating library, the studio has just confirmed even more titles on the way.

From The Evil Within 2 to more Fallout experiences, here is what Xbox Game Pass members can expect from the year ahead. 

Xbox Game Pass Adds 10 New Bethesda Games

• Arx Fatalis
• Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
• Doom
• The Evil Within 2
• Rage
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
• Fallout
• Fallout 2
• Fallout Tactics
• Fallout 3

The acquisition of ZeniMax Media became official earlier this year, which means studios like Bethesda, id Software, Arkane, and Machine Games are all now under the Xbox umbrella. This year's E3 showcase is dedicated to showing that this acquisition wasn't a takeover; instead, it is a partnership that can give Bethesda the boost it needs. 

You can catch up on the other breaking news to come out of E3 2021 with our dedicated events hub here. 

Thoughts on even more Bethesda titles coming to Xbox Game Pass? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below! 

Fans of Left 4 Dead or good old-fashioned zombie slaying with friends were treated to a new Back 4 Blood trailer. While the game’s main attraction is teaming up to take on zombies, the trailer revealed that you can also battle other humans in a new PvP mode.

The mode is called Swarm and puts human players against human-controlled zombie hordes. The trailer doesn’t provide any specific details, but does show off a player-controlled zombie manhandling opposing players. Of course the video also gives excited fans another look at the different ways you can tear zombies down alongside their friends.

During the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase today, we got a quick dip into the upcoming survival/horror mix of Stalker 2 … along with a release date! Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl arrives on April 28, 2022. Yes, that’s next year. Considering all the elements that go into crafting one of these games alongside the devastation and setbacks that COVID-19 has issued around the world, that timeline is actually a nice surprise to this writer. We’ll be back basking in radiation in no time. Stalker 2 is an Xbox console launch exclusive, so it won’t be available elsewhere for a bit after the launch. Check out the gameplay trailer below!

Xbox has announced Contraband, a new title set in the fictionalized 1970s world of Bayan, known as a smuggler's paradise. The game is developed in partnership with Avalanche Studios, perhaps most well-known for its work on the Just Cause franchise, which could serve it well, as the game is an open-world, co-op game. The teaser trailer, set to Steely Dan's "Do It Again," gives us an idea of the tone the game is going for, but little else.

As mentioned before, Contraband is an open-world, co-op title. As the 1972 classic rock hit plays, we get glimpses of what the game might be. A map sprawled out on a table gives you the idea of the heists that might play a part in the game. We don't know what the "Sun River Job" is, but it appears to involve extracting a fireproof safe from a private storage unit and crossing the border in a grand escape. We also catch a glimpse of the aforementioned fireproof safe, indicating that the job has already happened by the time this trailer is shot, seeing as how the team is back in what appears to be a home base of sorts, with some of the members sitting in chairs and talking, while another is performing repairs on the getaway vehicle.

You can see the trailer for yourself below.

Starfield has been an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in frustration, but Bethesda finally revealed our first official look at what the space game will have to offer during the Xbox E3 2021 showcase. We've learned a little bit about the new IP since its first reveal back in 2018, but mostly background information about the engine and assurances from Todd Howard that it is - in fact - a thing. Luckily, E3 2021 is that magical time, and we've got a new look to obsess over for the next year. 

Bethesda escewed its usual BethesdaLand celebration for 2021 to team up with Xbox. After the acquisition of ZeniMax went official earlier this year - the parent company to Bethesda, id Software, and other dev studios - the two companies paired up to celebrate the year ahead together. What better way to do just that than to talk Starfield. 

Earlier today, during Microsoft's E3 showcase, a new gameplay trailer for Somerville was shown off. The game looks eerily similar to titles developed by Playdead, makers of Inside and Limbo, which is probably thanks in part to Somerville's developer, Jumpship, partnering with Playdead's former CEO and co-founder Dino Patti back in 2017.

While the trailer was light on overall details, it did give brief looks at the game's ostensible main cast – a mother, father, and small child. From the looks of things, a cataclysmic event has rocked the planet, leaving the three to try and survive against post-apocalyptic odds. The trailer showed off many levels from the game, including beaches, mines, and underwater sections. Similar to Inside, the game is a side-scrolling adventure game, with added elements of futurism thrown on top. The trailer offers brief glimpses at a teleporting gunman, levitating monoliths, and the chaotic destruction said monoliths bring when they fall from the sky. 

Check out the game's new trailer below:

Today, during Microsoft E3's showcase, we saw gameplay from the recently-announced Battlefield 2042. While the trailer was light on overall specifics, it did give ample looks at the overall chaos players can expect from the online-only military shooter – including a deadly tornado that ravages the map. 

Most of the trailer was set on a desert-based city map, and featured a lot of the over-the-top gameplay moments first showcased in the game's reveal trailer a few days ago – only this time we saw these moments in actual gameplay. Included with the expected footage of gunplay and firefights was a glimpse at the nature-based setpieces, the ability to wingsuit around the map for quick getaways, and so, so many explosions. 

You can check out the full gameplay reveal below:

Thought the hype train would end with the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase today? Think again as publisher Square Enix is taking the E3 2021 digital stage as well. The Japanese publishing giant has plenty to be excited about and we can't wait to watch all the fun with you!

We'll be hosting a watch along steam of Square's Summer Showcase live starting at 2 p.m. CT! The Council of Alexes (Van Aken and Stadnik) are back to react to the biggest announcements, trailers, and hopefully some sweet gameplay. But what can fans expect from the day's festivities?

Square Enix has confirmed that we will be getting an update on Life is Strange ahead of True Colors' September 10 release date. We'll also be getting a look at Babylon's Fall, a Platinum Games action title that we haven't heard from in quite some time. Fans of Marvel's Avengers are also in for a treat as Crystal Dynamics will be present today to show off what's coming next for those who love Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

This year in the world of video games will go down in history for a plethora of reasons. Delays. Digital events. The reemergence of Elden Ring. But one of the other big trends of the year is bringing fan-favorite titles back for the new generation of players to revel in. We've seen strong entries from titles such as Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, and now Sonic Colors: Ultimate hopes to continue the trend. 

On this special episode of New Gameplay Today, we have a treat for the fans of the Blue Blur. Join Alex Stadnik and GI expert Brian Shea as they give you an exclusive look at one of the game's shiny new levels!

Today, we're showing off Planet Wisp and the updated visuals that come with the remaster. Mr. Shea does an excellent job of filling you in on all the upgrades players can expect now that the fan-favorite title isn't languishing on Nintendo systems of old.

Late last month, Sega held Sonic Central, a stream jam-packed with Sonic the Hedgehog news. In addition to information about merchandising deals and upcoming animated shorts, we learned about three new projects on the horizon for the speedster. Sonic Colors: Ultimate is up first, bringing the Wii favorite forward to modern platforms, followed by Sonic Origins, a compilation of classic games from Genesis and Sega CD. However, the news that everyone was waiting for came in the form of a cryptic teaser trailer for the next mainline game from Sonic Team. 

Unfortunately, there was next to no information in the teaser. While internet sleuths have pieced together some information, Sonic Team and Sega have been tight-lipped about the 2022 release, not even providing a title at the time of the announcement. With details scarce, I reached out to head of Sonic Team and longtime series designer, director, and producer Takashi Iizuka to learn more about the Sonic Central news and what the 30th anniversary means for Sega's Blue Blur.

The day has finally come for fans of all things Halo, Elder Scrolls, and Psychonauts as Microsoft and Bethesda will have their turn to take the digital stage and hopefully wow us with what's coming down the pipeline for Xbox fans. Today also marks the first time we'll get to see the two companies together since Microsoft's landmark deal to buy Bethesda earlier this year. 

We're going to celebrate this exciting day in style and watch one of the biggest E3 conferences of the week with the GI community live at 11:45 a.m. CT! Join the Council of Alexes (Van Aken and Stadnik) as they get hyped for new looks at some of the biggest games on the planet. But what exactly will those games look like?

Microsoft has been relatively quiet on what we'll see in the lead-up to their E3 2021 digital event, but we do know some things. Given the company's promotional art for the event included a certain John-117, fans should expect to get their first major update on Halo Infinite, especially since, as of now, this will be the game's last E3 showing.

Thanks to EA and DICE, we also know that we'll be getting our first gameplay look at Battlefield 2042 during the show, hopefully delighting first-person shooter fans the world over.