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We're live from E3 2017 in Los Angeles!
Oh, how time flies. We are back in Los Angeles to cover the world's biggest gaming event, E3. As ever, you can expect the next week to be full of news about the latest video games and, of course, upcoming consoles like Microsoft's "Project Scorpio." This year, though, we're also going beyond that at the show. For the first time, Engadget will have a stage inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, where we'll be interviewing people from the industry, playing game demos and rounding up the news so you don't ever miss a beat. Think of it as an E3 version of what we've already been doing at CES.
'Assassin's Creed Origins' could arrive on October 27th
Ubisoft is expected to launch a new Assassin's Creed at E3 2017, but some Game Informer subscribers who got their next issue early might already have the details the developer plans to announce. Based on photographs of the magazine posted by HungryGhost57 on Reddit and Imgur, the new entry in the series entitled Assassin's Creed Origins will be released on October 27th with the tagline: "As an empire falls, a brotherhood rises." The announcement's accompanying illustrations show the titular assassin against a backdrop of pyramids and sphinxes, just like the retail pre-order card that was also leaked a couple of days ago.
Xbox exec reveals Scorpio has 9GB of RAM available for games
We're still a couple of days away from seeing Microsoft officially reveal its Project Scorpio Xbox, but details continue to dribble out. Xbox & Windows gaming platform VP Mike Ybarra tweeted that the team "unlocked extra GB of RAM for (game developers), now 9GB of GDDR5." In April, program manager Kevin Gammill told Gamasutra that Scorpio would ditch the Xbox One's 32MB ESRAM / 8GB GDDR3 setup for specs showing 12GB of GDDR5 RAM built in (the devkits that we've seen feature 24GB of RAM), with 8GB available for games. The rest of the resources are reserved to handle system features, multitasking apps and other non-game elements.
What to expect at this year's E3
Dazzling press conferences. Heart-stopping trailers. A convention center packed with video games large and small. E3 is a magical week for anyone who likes to spend their free time pushing buttons on plastic gamepads. It's like the Super Bowl, the Oscars and a presidential election rolled into one. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo stand out as the hardware heavyweights, while EA, Ubisoft and Bethesda lead the third-party-publisher tussle. Throw in Square Enix, Activision and the occasional Capcom appearance, and you have the makings of a truly special show. Did I mention the army of indie developers that show up too? As always, the Engadget crew will be in Los Angeles covering all of the major press conferences as they unfold. We'll then turn our collective attention to the show itself, hunting down the latest games and talking to smart developers who are shaping the industry. If you're curious, here's everything you can expect to see and read about on the site.
Samsung's beastly 49-inch QLED display is built for gaming
It would almost be ridiculous not to buy a 4K TV without HDR, since you can get such sets for under $500 -- so it's weird that we haven't seen many HDR PC displays yet. Luckily, Samsung has some big news on that front: The company is releasing three new QLED monitors that sound like a dream for gamers. All of them, including the 27- and 32-inch CHG70s, plus the rather insane 49-inch CHG90 model, offer a 1.07-billion-color palette, a one-millisecond refresh rate and wraparound 1800R curvature.
Turtle Beach’s new headsets pair seamlessly with Xbox One
When we think of gaming headsets, our minds run screaming toward Turtle Beach, the clear leader in the space. In the run up to E3, the company is wheeling out a pair of new headsets that are compatible with both the Xbox One(s) and PlayStation 4. It's people in the former camp who may be more inclined to check out these products, since they ship with Microsoft's relatively new Xbox Wireless connection tech. Because of that, these cans can easily pair with your XBox One, S or (whatever they wind up calling) the upcoming "Scorpio" console.
'Dissidia NT' brings ridiculous 'Final Fantasy' brawls to PS4
After making its transition from Sony's PSP to arcades, Square Enix's Dissidia series is coming back to PlayStation. While it's on the PS4 and not handheld this time around, it should ensure that that the battlers will look their best. Dissidia pits over 30 years of Final Fantasy heroes and villains against each other in a something more resembling a fighting title than an RPG. That said, you'll see all your damage shown in numbers, there are spells, summons, equipment, items and the rest. It's all still very Final Fantasy-esque.
Facebook is bringing gaming videos to the living room
Facebook is determined to become a destination for gaming videos, and that includes when you're lounging on the couch. It's adding a dedicated gaming tab to its TV app that will highlight videos from the games, developers, eSports teams and personalities you like on Facebook. If you want to catch a tournament highlight or a new game trailer, you won't have to pull out your phone or leave the living room.
Sony's new PS4 Slim is 1TB, gold and $249
Ahead of E3 (which kicks off this weekend) Sony has announced that it's cutting the price of the PlayStation 4, and giving it a new color. Between June 9th and June 17th you'll be able to get a gold PS4 Slim with a 1TB hard drive for $249. Last week rumors started popping up about such, and now it looks as though Sony has confirmed this one. According to The Verge, other accessories and games will be on sale during the same period, which makes this sound like a physical version of the PSN sales Sony typically runs during E3.
‘Need for Speed Payback’ adds higher stakes and familiar ideas
On paper, Need for Speed Payback sounds a lot like Grand Theft Auto V crossed with a modern Fast and the Furious movie. Tale of revenge? Check. Three distinct protagonists with differing skillsets? Check. Heist missions? You see where we're going with this. There aren't a ton of other details to go on, but Electronic Arts says that the arcade racer will once again be open world and will feature "jaw-dropping set pieces." Like a submarine surfacing in an ice floe?
PlayStation's E3 press conference is coming to a theater near you
E3 might be officially open to the public this year, but what if you don't want to book a flight to Los Angeles just to get a taste of what it's like to be there? Sony, at least, has you covered: it's bringing back its PlayStation E3 Experience for the third year in a row. Score tickets (thankfully, they're free) and you can watch a broadcast of Sony's June 12th press conference in 85 theaters across the Americas, including in Los Angeles itself.
'Far Cry 5' brings cult mayhem to Hope County February 27th
Far Cry 5 is going to be a little different than you might expect. The new announcement trailer paints a picture of pastoral life that lends itself surprisingly well to the franchise's familiar trappings: hunting, off-road vehicles, airplanes and guns. And it seemingly wraps it all together in a way that seems like a more grounded version of Grand Theft Auto V's depiction of a rural life of crime.
Microsoft’s Twitch competitor gets a new name and co-op streaming
While Twitch has been busy expanding the breadth of what you can watch on its platform, Microsoft has been quietly improving how you watch and broadcast with its Beam service. Just to get it out of the way, Beam will henceforth be known as "Mixer." There's a PR-speak reason for the change in nomenclature, but it doesn't really matter. What does is how the service is improving. Specifically, Mixer now offers co-operative streaming and broadcasts in 4K UHD.
Xbox's Game Pass offers 100 titles starting June 1st
Remember when we told you that Microsoft was launching its own Netflix-style subscription service for games? Well, thanks to Danny McBride, we now know that it's coming to an Xbox One near you on June 1st. As we reported previously, Xbox Game Pass will set you back $10/£8 a month, allowing users to download anything they wish from a library of over 100 Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles. The initial lineup looks fine, if unremarkable, featuring the likes of Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and Soul Calibur II. While we know a handful of other titles coming to the service, the vast majority of the 100 plus game library still remains unknown.
'Far Cry' is coming to America
Up until today, all of the Far Cry games have been set in far off locations. A tropical island, Africa, another tropical island, the Himalayas and prehistoric times have all played witness to the franchise's often morally ambiguous open-world first-person shooter. But now, the franchise is heading stateside. Series overlord Ubisoft has started teasing the next game in the franchise with a live-action trailer, as one does, and while there isn't a lick of CGI or gameplay, the 41-second clip does do a great job setting the game's tone.
'Madden 18' may follow 'FIFA 17' with a story mode of its own
It looks like American football is taking something from soccer beyond the sport's name. Well, as far as Electronic Arts' virtual versions go, that is. This year's Madden will feature a full-fledged story mode akin to what FIFA '17 had. In the very evocative trailer below, a young man stares out at the Indianapolis Colts' Lucas Oil Stadium, dreaming of either a burrito or being on the cover of a video game. It's hard to tell which considering all we can see is the unnamed protagonist's expression in the reflection of a hotel window.
Xbox chief envisions a Netflix model for narrative games
Microsoft has just tipped its hand for what the company will show off at E3 in June. In a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian, Xbox chief Phil Spencer laid out his plans for the future of Xbox software. Since (mostly) fixing a majority of the problems the Xbox One hardware and system software has suffered through since 2013 with the Xbox One S and the Creator's Update for Xbox firmware, Spencer is focusing on the other problem Microsoft faces: its dearth of unique and compelling reasons to buy into the improved Xbox platform.
Microsoft will unveil Xbox Project Scorpio on June 11th
If you're an Xbox fan who's been anxiously awaiting more news on Microsoft's Project Scorpio ever since it was unveiled at E3 last year, you now know exactly when you'll get the full scoop. Microsoft has revealed that its customary E3 briefing will take place on June 11th at 5PM Eastern, and the teaser graphic makes it patently clear that the 4K-capable Scorpio will be the center of attention. There are no fresh clues, to no one's surprise, but it's safe to say this is a big deal when the Redmond crew is shaking up its usual E3 schedule to garner maximum attention. One thing's for sure: we'll be there to give you our first-hand impressions.
