Believe it or not, E3 2018 is here. The annual gaming extravaganza returns to Los Angeles for what is poised to be one of the biggest weeks of the year for gaming news, reveals, and trailers. As always, announcements will primarily come from the various conferences that take plays in the days leading up to E3; here's when all of those happen and where you can watch livestreams and liveblogs.
EA kicked things off on Saturday, June 9, with its EA Play briefing, while Microsoft and Bethesda will follow on Sunday afternoon and evening, respectively. Devolver Digital, a relative newcomer to E3 press conferences, will also host one on Sunday. Square Enix follows these on Monday morning; Ubisoft then takes its turn in the afternoon, with Sony's presentation slated for later that evening. The PC Gaming Show also happens on Monday. Nintendo then concludes the press conferences with its briefing on Tuesday morning.
Below we've laid out the exact schedule, complete with times, for all of this year's press conferences. We'll be streaming all of these press conferences here on GameSpot as well as on Twitter. The show itself runs June 12-14, and like last year, it's open to the public--here's how to get tickets.
For an idea of what to expect from the show, check out all the games confirmed for E3, as well as all the companies at the show. We've also rounded up the biggest E3 rumors to give you an idea of what might be announced.
E3 2018 Press Conference Schedule
Saturday, June 9
Electronic Arts (EA Play) -- 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET / 7 PM BST (4 AM AET on June 10) Watch livestream Follow live blog News roundup
Sunday, June 10
Microsoft -- 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM BST (6 AM AET on June 11) Watch livestream Follow live blog
Bethesda -- 6:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM ET (2:30 AM BST / 11:30 AM AET on June 11) Watch livestream Follow live blog
Devolver Digital -- 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET (4 AM BST / 1 PM AET on June 11)
Monday, June 11
Square Enix -- 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST (3 AM AET on June 12) Watch livestream Follow live blog
Ubisoft -- 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM BST (6 AM AET on June 12) Watch livestream Follow live blog
PC Gaming Show -- 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET / 11 PM BST (8 AM AET on June 12)
Sony -- 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET (2 AM BST / 11 AM on June 12) Watch livestream Follow live blog
Tuesday, June 12
EA had already announced its biggest titles, like Battlefield V, before its E3 keynote. But it showed up with a number of smaller announcements, including a new indie game that’s launching today, as well as some gameplay footage for the highly anticipated BioWare game Anthem. And the show was shot through with promises that EA isn’t going to repeat last year’s Battlefront II loot crate debacle. It was a low-key way to start a week of big reveals, but not a disappointing one.
Here’s the most exciting stuff from the show.
After being announced last year, Mass Effect studio BioWare’s new game Anthem was due for a bigger reveal in 2018. It’s a shared-world role-playing game set in a hostile future, where players don powered armor suits known as “javelins” to play cooperative missions. EA didn’t disappoint with its reveal: it offered a release date, some more details, and a few minutes of gameplay. The footage so far makes it look like a combination of mech warfare, Destiny-style massively multiplayer gameplay, and the epic science fiction that BioWare is known for. Anthem will be released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on February 22nd, 2019.
This isn’t a big surprise, since it feels like every game is getting a competitive multiplayer mode inspired by the massively popular PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite. But now we know that Battlefield V will let you fight to be the last player standing in a World War II battlefield. You know, just like in real life. In any case, we got a new trailer with a little bit of multiplayer gameplay and some detail about the game’s single-player “War Stories.”
The first Unravel stole our hearts with its adorable yarn protagonist Yarny, although it sometimes frustrated us with its challenging puzzle platformer gameplay. Now, it’s getting a sequel called Unravel 2, which is supposed to be “friendlier,” “more challenging,” and “more playful” than its predecessor. Among other changes, Unravel 2 will feature two Yarny characters, which means that either one player can control both, or two people can play cooperatively. Unravel 2 is not only being announced today, it’s being released immediately on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
EA picked up indie game Sea of Solitude some time ago, and it’s got a new trailer out at E3. One of the game’s core themes is that “when humans get too lonely, they turn into monsters” — and in this case, that’s literally the plight of protagonist Kay, who must explore a nearly deserted city finding others like herself. Sea of Solitude is shaping up to be a haunting little game when it comes out in early 2019 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Titanfall developer Respawn hinted at a new Star Wars game before the show, and now we know it’s called Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. We don’t know much more than that, unfortunately. The single-player story game is slated for release during the holiday season in 2019; it’s set after Revenge of the Sith, when the Jedi are being hunted; and it’s got a dark and gritty feel. Oh, and you can use a lightsaber.
Meanwhile, Battlefront II is getting expanded with material from the Clone Wars, including playable versions of Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku, General Grievous, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. We don’t know when that’s coming out, but there’s a Solo-themed expansion arriving on June 12th, featuring new environments on Kessel and a new starfighter mode, among other things.
Credit: Nibel/Twitter
E3 is nearly upon us, and that means that all the major publishers, developers and platform holders will be vying for eyeballs as they try to build hype for new releases in the fall and beyond. So far, it's looking like a big one: Nintendo is back as a company capable of generating excitement, and there are plenty of other big games rumored and confirmed from other publishers. Even Microsoft, which has been struggling as of late, might come to the table with some big announcements. So with that in mind, let's take a look at the 6 biggest games coming to the show in LA.
A few notes: this is for games confirmed to be coming to E3 2018. There are surely other surprises waiting in the wings, some of which have been leaked to the degree that they seem pretty likely at this point, but they're not on this list. Also, this list isn't necessarily the games that will wind up being the biggest when they release or anything like that. These are the games I've been waiting to see and that I expect to make a splash at the conference. Without further ado:
Credit: Nintendo
Smash Bros.: Smash Bros. on Switch is anchoring both Nintendo's fall release schedule and its E3 show. We don't know much about it beyond the fact that it exists and it will likely have everything we've come to expect out of a Smash Bros. title, but it's a big deal nonetheless. Smash Bros. is popular among the Nintendo faithful, and it has a hardcore competitive following in a way that other Nintendo games don't quite, though Splatoon 2 is getting up there and Mario Tennis Aces could well develop one.
Credit: Naughty Dog.
The Last of Us Part 2: Plenty of people have questioned whether or not we need a sequel to the singular The Last of Us, but this is the video game industry and we do like sequels. The Last of Us is a grim, post-apocalyptic creation from Uncharted creators Naughty Dog, and nothing we've seen about The Last of Us Part 2 so far seems to be short on grim. I expect to see some gameplay of this for the first time, as well as a possible release date. I'd be surprised if this wound up making its way to shelves in 2018, but if it did sony would pull off an impressive double tentpole along with God of War.
Credit: Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey: After a brief hiatus, Assassin's Creed returned to murderous form last year with Assassin's Creed Origins, taking the series back past its roots in the Crusades to Classical Era Egpyt, allowing the series' faithful to take a sigh of relief after two lackluster outings with Unity and Syndicate. And now that we've taken that year off we appear to be back on the furious release schedule the series is known for, conjuring up entire ancient worlds one year at a time. This years' title will take us back to Ancient Greece, and I'm hoping the "Odyssey" in the name means we get a seafaring adventure something like Black Flag.
Credit: Bethesda
Fallout 76: Bethesda teased Fallout 76 a little while ago, and we still don't know exactly what to expect out of it. The visuals look like the sort of Fallout game we've seen before, but rumor has it that that the new game will be a multiplayer survival sim more like Rust or DayZ, with a healthy dose of the base building mechanics from Fallout 4. Something like that is a natural fit for the Fallout universe, but it's likely to cause fans of the series to raise an eyebrow unless Bethesda also announces a more traditional RPG like Elder Scrolls 6 or something from its Starfield project.
Credit: Epic Games
Fortnite: Battle Royale: Fortnite doesn't have any big announcements planned for E3, though it might well give us an Android release date or make its way to the Switch. It's treating the show as a celebration with a big ProAm tournament and what it's calling "Party Royale," but it's still the biggest game in the world, and E3 isn't going to change that. A recent social media analysis found that even now, people are talking about Fortnite twice as much as they're talking about E3.
Credit: Ubisoft
The Division 2: Ubisoft's big post-apocalyptic loot shooter has had an interesting life. It launched to scattered acclaim, though problems with progression, a troubled endgame and muddled politics gave it trouble throughout its early phases. A long succession of free updates has given it new life and its players a whole lot more to do, as well as clearly giving the developers a better handle on just how to run the game going forward. Hopefully, that means its the moment is right for a numbered sequel, something to give lapsed players and curious onlookers a chance to sign onto an improved experience. Let's hope it goes better than Destiny 2.
It can be tough to keep up with all the reveals and new footage out of E3, so every year we put together a list of every game revealed or shown—even the ones that definitely aren't going to be on PC, because it's nice to know what might be influencing PC game designers in the coming years.
We'll be updating this list after each E3 press conference, including the latest trailers and our estimation of every game's PC release likelihood. Check back all week as we add new games.
Anthem
Coming to PC? Yep
When's it out? February 22, 2019
At EA Play we got to see more gameplay and a cinematic of Anthem. It's very much a co-op shooter with live elements, with the ability to fly and go underwater. BioWare made a point of letting everyone know that there won't be any lootboxes, though there will be microtransactions for cosmetics. There won't be any romances either, sadly, but the game will be out on February 22.
Battlefield 5
Coming to PC? Yep
When's it out? October 11 (with Origin Access)
As usual, Battlefield 5 was announced a little before E3, and we got the big reveal at EA Play. For more footage of the game in action, check out this Nvidia gameplay. Unsurprisingly, there will be a battle royale mode, to be revealed later this year.
Jedi: Fallen Order
Coming to PC? Almost certainly
When's it out: Late 2019
Respawn Entertainment's Vince Zampella cheerily announced a new singleplayer Star Wars game at the EA conference. It is set between Episodes III and IV, in a time when the Jedi are being hunted down across the galaxy. There's literally nothing in the way of screens or videos yet, but this could be awesome.
Unravel 2
Coming to PC? Yep
When's it out? Now!!?!
Unravel 2 was straight-up released in the middle of the EA conference this year. Yarny is back, but now he has a pal that you can control in drop-in co-op sessions. Unless you want to play co-op online, anyway. Check out the reveal and launch trailer.
FIFA 19
Coming to PC? Yep
When's it out? September 28
EA has wrestled the UEFA Champions League license back from PES, and it's going to feature in pretty much every mode in the game. The so-far excellent story mode is coming back too, starring Alex Hunter. Details on FIFA Ultimate Team are coming later in the year.
Sea of Solitude
Coming to PC? Yes.
When's it out? Early 2019
This very pretty indie adventure was announced at the EA E3 conference with a trailer and some sad music. It's set in a world where humans turn into monsters if they get too lonely.
Madden 19
Coming to PC? Yes, remarkably.
When's it out? August 10
EA's excellent American Football series is coming back to PC after a long, long hiatus. "Real player motion" is this year's incremental update, but for PC players the whole package will seem new and shiny because the last PC Madden game came out TEN YEARS AGO.
Command & Conquer: Rivals
Coming to PC? No, mobile only.
When's it out? August 10
The next C&C game will be a competitive 1v1 mobile game, which is obviously a bit disappointing, but hey it might be fun? The gulf between the cinematic and the in-game action is hilarious at least. And Kane looks like a guy running his own craft beer bar these days.
NBA Live 19
Coming to PC? Nope
When's it out? September 7
Hey, you can't win them all. While Madden is making its way to PC for the first time in years, we're not getting so lucky with NBA Live. But hey, we had FIFA make a proper re-entry on PC in 2016, and with Madden coming this year, you've got to hope EA is planning on making all its sports games available on PC eventually.
