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'Forza Motorsport 7' makes the jump to 4K on Xbox One X
It's official: Forza Motorsport is back. Microsoft unveiled the latest iteration of its flagship racing series at E3 2017, and as you'd expect, it's upgraded for the current era with nods to Windows 10, eSports and Project Scorpio -- excuse us, make that the Xbox One X. Turn 10 boss Dan Greenawalt showed off Forza Motorsport 7 running at 4K and 60 frames per second, while also adding dynamic weather effects. Adding feature players have been asking for repeatedly throughout the last few years, rain (but not snow?) can impact your races, with puddles forming on the track dynamically. The unveiling also served as a premiere for an all-new car, the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS. We'll be able to try that car out virtually this week, and so will you -- along with 700 others -- when the game arrives on October 3rd. Interestingly, the YouTube description lists the release date on Xbox One X as "holiday," so it's possible the upgraded version may arrive later. Update: The press release says the game is coming to the Xbox family of devices (plus Windows 10 PCs) on October 3rd, and that Ultimate Edition buyers will have early access starting September 29th.
Microsoft unveils the $499 Xbox One X, the most powerful console ever
Say hello to the Xbox One X, the next member of Microsoft's Xbox One family. Previously known as "Project Scorpio," it was first teased at last year's E3, and we caught a glimpse at its powerful hardware a few months ago. At E3 today, Microsoft revealed that the Xbox One X will land on November 7th for $499/£449. The big takeaway: It's significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 4 Pro, so much so that it can run some games at 4K/60 frames per second.
'Need for Speed: Payback' and the business of car crashes
Need for Speed and Burnout are completely different franchises. Both are arcade racers, sure, but the former kind of starts and stops with outrunning the cops in Lamborghinis and other supercars at extremely high speeds. The latter used unlicensed knock-offs for its races because its main dynamic was portraying car accidents with near-pornographic detail. Something you just can't do when a game developer is essentially "borrowing" cars from their real-world owners. Enter the just-debuted Need for Speed: Payback which blurs the lines between the two divergent franchises in its depiction of vehicular mayhem, pushing the boundaries of how much carnage is possible with a real-world car.
We're live from Microsoft's E3 2017 Xbox One X event!
Microsoft will answer three important questions today: How much Project Scorpio, its high-powered Xbox One, will cost; what the console's name will be; and when we can actually buy it. Lucky for you, you can follow along with your favorite members of the Engadget gaming crew as we deliver the blow-by-blow from Redmond's annual E3 media briefing as it happens and as those questions are answered, on this very page.
Watch Microsoft's Xbox E3 2017 event live right here at 5PM ET
Microsoft is getting down to business a little early this year and kicking off its E3 announcements on Sunday. We're on the scene in Los Angeles ready to bring you all of the news as its announced -- including the latest on Project Scorpio. However, if you'd like to follow the action on stage live, you can do so with Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Mixer streams. The event is also available on Xbox consoles and broadcast live on Fuse (the TV channel). Just remember: The news is always best served with our witty commentary on the side, so you'll want to keep an eye on our liveblog as well. Microsoft's big event starts at 5PM ET/2PM PT, and we've embedded the livestream below to make things easy for you.
For 'NBA Live 18,' it's about bringing 'the magic' back
Long since its groundbreaking launch in 1995, EA's flagship basketball game has had a troubled run this decade, but NBA Live 18 shows that it may be able to turn things around. After missing last year entirely (following a hiatus between the 2010 and 2014 editions), its return is based on both revamped gameplay and a new story mode titled "The One." Each element takes aim at some of the best features its competition, NBA 2K, has refined over the last few years, while trying to bring back what producer Mike Mahar called "the magic" of previous games.
'FIFA 18' isn't out yet and I'm already in love
There was a brief period of time last year when I was playing Pro Evolution Soccer more than FIFA. It was hard to wrap my head around that, considering EA's franchise had been my number one choice since it was known as FIFA International Soccer back in the '90s. But, despite all the welcomed graphics and gameplay improvements we see on each yearly release cycle, I felt the game was getting stale and decided to experiment with Konami's own -- which I much preferred in its Winning Eleven days. This didn't last long, though. FIFA 17 brought a story mode for the first time ever, known as "The Journey," and I was sold almost immediately. Because, let's face it, it's the closest I'll ever get to experiencing the enchanting life of a footballer.
Microsoft's Project Scorpio could cost $499
There's no doubt that Microsoft's Project Scorpio will be expensive given its 4K-ready hardware. But just how expensive? Apparently, Geoff Keighley knows. The well-connected gaming persona now has "confidence" that Project Scorpio will sell for $499 -- about twice as much as the regular price of an Xbox One S as of this writing. He allows himself some wiggle room ("unless something changes today"), but there's good reason to believe he's on the mark: He's the host of both E3 Live and the Game Awards, so he's in a position to know.
'Star Wars Battlefront II' is a friendlier 'Battlefield'
It's hard to talk about EA's multiplayer Star Wars shooter without accidentally stumbling over your words and mentioning the company's other large-scale war series: Battlefield. It's only natural. Long before Disney gave Electronic Arts the exclusive rights to create Star Wars video games, the Battlefront series was taking notes from DICE's own shooter -- draping science fiction trappings over the WWII game's vehicle combat, large battlefields and even its name. When EA took over the franchise its own game inspired, however, the resulting game was accused of being gorgeous, but shallow. Fortunately, the company seems to have heard player complaints. According to Star Wars Battlefront II executive producer Matt Webster, the next game in the series could play like a more accessible, but still sufficiently deep, Battlefield title.
The passion behind the prison break in 'A Way Out'
There's one scene in A Way Out that operates as a continuous tracking shot, seamlessly following two convicts as they tear through the interior of a large hospital, leaping over gurneys and slinking through air vents with a cadre of police officers hot on their tails. It's the only moment the screen isn't bisected -- the rest of the game plays out completely in split-screen co-op, either local or online. This singular moment of unity doesn't exactly turn A Way Out into a traditional single-player game. The action flows between Leo and Vincent, the game's protagonists, putting one player in charge of the scene before passing control to the other, and back again. Both players see the same screen, but only one person directs it at a time, deciding whether Leo and Vincent make it out of the hospital alive. Even when A Way Out looks like a standard game, it isn't. "This is not a game where you level up or something," says director Josef Fares. "We need the players to be there all the time, talking with each other all the time and being in the moment, like, 'What the fuck is going on?'"
Watch EA's E3 2017 event in under 13 minutes
The action at E3 2017 has officially started. EA tipped its hand yesterday with an event full of big announcements. If you weren't able to catch the news on Madden 18, FIFA 18, Battlefront II, A Way Out, Anthem and more already, don't worry. We've distilled the news down to less than 13 minutes so you can catch up with a quickness over the weekend. Oh, and be sure, too, to check out our conversation with EA's Patrick Soderlund on what the company has planned for the rest of the year. Follow all the latest news from E3 2017 here!
'Kingdom Hearts 3' trailer shows combat, but no release date
Our long wait for Kingdom Hearts 3... is probably not close to ending. Still, fans can enjoy a new trailer that Square Enix premiered tonight at the LA performance of the Kingdom Hearts World Tour. There's plenty of gameplay and combat, as Sora, Donald & Goofy team up with Hercules in a Mt. Olympus level, as enemy bosses Maleficent, Pete and Hades discuss a mysterious box that could be linked to last year's Kingdom Hearts 2.8. Four years after our first glimpse of the game we still don't have a release date, but this ends with a tag promising another trailer and a new world at the D23 Expo on July 15th. Last month Square Enix informed investors that KH3 (and the Final Fantasy 7 remake) are part of its release plans for fiscal year 2018 and beyond, so keep those PS4s and Xbox Ones on ice, for now. Oh, and dedicated fans can expect patches tomorrow that will fix some issues on the PS4 Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX edition.
Xbox One S bundles will be $50 cheaper starting tomorrow (updated)
Microsoft's Xbox One S is getting a $50 price cut in the US tomorrow. That brings the regular, non-bundle price down to $199, which is $50 cheaper than the 1TB, gold PS4 "slim" which Sony announced last week. It's not clear, however, if this is a permanent price cut or a limited-time offer. (We've reached out to the company for clarification.) Clearly, this is a move to push Xbox One S sales ahead of Project Scorpio's launch. The new, high-specced system will be Microsoft's focus this holiday, but the One S could still serve a purpose, and be successful, if it's dramatically cheaper. Update: Microsoft has clarified the announcement for us. The tweet below refers to select Xbox One bundles, including a 500GB model with Battlefield 1 and a 1TB model with Forza Horizon 3. The new deal means all 500GB bundles are $249 this week and all 1TB bundles are $299 this week.
What EA learned from 'Mass Effect' will shape its future
When I spoke to Electronic Arts Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund last week, Kotaku's report about why Mass Effect: Andromeda turned out so poorly hadn't been published yet. Nonetheless, when I asked him about the flawed game's development cycle, he was incredibly candid -- just as he had been in 2013 when I'd interviewed him about his company's move from myriad game-design toolkits to just two. Here are his thoughts on several key topics.
'Star Wars Battlefront II' campaign looks like a spin-off movie
Star Wars Battlefront II is definitely much bigger than its predecessor -- but we knew that. EA's E3 presentation did its best to balance new multiplayer tid-bits (Chewbacca, the planet Naboo, Yoda, Darth Maul, Rey and more) with the highly-anticipated campaign mode, which appears to center on the "good" Imperials fight to beat the upstart Rebel Alliance. The sequel will focus on its story more than pretty much any Star Wars game that's come before it. As Janina Gavankar, who plays Inferno Squad Commander Iden Versio, puts it herself, it's all about "in-depth cinema-caliber stories in a game". Battlefront II will apparently bridge the story gap between Return of the Jedi and the The Force Awakens, similar to how spin-off movie Rogue One connected older Star Wars chapters. And it'll all look a little bit like this:
'Anthem' is BioWare's brand-new open world
The team behind Mass Effect has something new up its sleeves. BioWare today revealed Anthem, a new open-world franchise seemingly set in a futuristic, jungle-ridden universe. The teaser shows a mech of some kind and a big beastie screeching into the lush wilderness. It definitely has Destiny, Star Wars and Far Cry vibes. "It is vast, dangerous, beautiful and unexpected," said EA executive vice president Patrick Soderlund. BioWare will reveal more details about Anthem tomorrow during the Xbox press conference. We'll be live from the show with all the news then, so stay tuned.
‘A Way Out’ is a splitscreen-only prison break game
It's been a while since we heard anything about Hazelight, the Stockholm-based studio led by Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' director Josef Fares. The team broke cover at The Game Awards in 2014, a brief teaser trailer in tow that showed two men travelling on a train by moonlight. Today, at EA's E3 press conference, the project has been reintroduced as A Way Out. It's about two inmates who forge an unlikely alliance to bust out of prison. The game is splitscreen-only (local and online multiplayer will be supported), meaning you'll need a friend in order to break out and escape the law.
'FIFA 18' will continue 'The Journey' of Alex Hunter
One of the best additions to FIFA 17 was "The Journey," a mode that put players in the shoes of a fictional young star called Alex Hunter. Today at EA's E3 press conference, it was confirmed that FIFA 18 will pick up his story after the events of the last game. A brief trailer teaser shows a wealth of real-life stars including former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand speculating on Hunter's future and a possible transfer. Presumably, you'll be taking the up-and-comer to a new club, in the hope of impressing more managers and earning silverware. We can't wait.
'Madden 18' story mode looks a lot like 'Friday Night Lights'
The rumors were true: EA is bringing FIFA 17's story mode to the realm of American football. EA has revealed that Madden 18 will include a Longshot campaign that sees you fill the cleats of Devin Wade, a "forgotten prospect" hoping to make the cut in the NFL draft. From the early glimpse, it's akin to every football movie and TV show you've ever seen, complete with big name actors: There's fatherly drama (Moonlight's Mahershala Ali), the loyal best friend (appropriately, Friday Night Lights' Scott Porter) and even real-world legend Dan Marino serving as a mentor.
Watch EA's E3 2017 event live right here at 3PM ET
The big names aren't waiting until next week to reveal what they have for us at E3 2017. EA is kicking things off today with its event at 3PM ET/12PM PT. We're expecting details on games like Star Wars: Battlefront II, FIFA 18, Madden 18, NBA Live 18, Need for Speed: Payback and much more. We'll be there to bring you all of the breaking news as it happens, but if you want to following along live you can do so via Twitch and YouTube streams. Being the kind folks that we are, we've embedded the stream down below so you can watch right here when the time comes. Follow all the latest news from E3 2017 here!
