These Are Some of the Biggest Games Announced at E3 2021

After being postponed last year because of the COVID-19, the biggest gaming event of the year has finally returned in an all-digital version.

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After being postponed last year because of the COVID-19, the biggest gaming event of the year has finally returned in an all-digital version.

E3 2021 marks the return of the annual video game industry event, which often brings plenty of exciting new game announcements. This year is set to be an especially interesting one, especially since it’s the first E3 since the arrival of Sony and Microsoft’s new PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Nintendo is also expected to unveil a hardware revision to Switch, which could bring with it enhanced graphical capabilities. 

Some of the biggest publishers in the industry will be streaming as part of the broadcast kicking off this Saturday, June 12, with Ubisoft’s conference being the first major show. Gearbox, the developer behind the Borderlands series, will follow with a short showcase. Sunday, June 13 will bring the Xbox E3 games showcase in the first major showing for Microsoft’s gaming division since acquiring Elder Scrolls publisher and developer Bethesda last year.

Square Enix is also scheduled to present a showcase on June 13, while a PC Gaming-focused show and the Future Games show will conclude Sunday’s broadcast schedule. Verizon, Take-Two Interactive, Mythical Games, and Capcom will all be among those offering updates for fans and investors on Monday, June 14. The final day of broadcasting on Tuesday, June 15 will bring Nintendo’s highly anticipated E3 Direct showcase, and an hour-long presentation from Bandai Namco.

Sony’s PlayStation is notably absent from this year’s festivities, although it’s worth noting that a gameplay presentation for Horizon Forbidden West was released in late May. Whether there will be much from PlayStation’s first-party lineup at the show remains to be seen.

Check out a round-up of the best titles announced at E3 2021 below.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

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Within a few seconds of viewing the trailer for the forthcoming video game Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s clear that Square Enix has made vast improvements following the release of last year’s Marvel’s Avengers. This third-person game allows you to solely take control of Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord as he leads Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Rocket through a “crazy, wild ride.”

Console: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One

Release Date: Oct. 26, 2021

Marvel's Avengers: War for Wakanda

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Speaking of the Marvel’s Avengers game, War for Wakanda isn’t a new title, but deserves, at least, a mention since this expansion marks the long-awaited debut of Black Panther, joining Kate Bishop and Hawkeye. War for Wakanda was teased back in March, and this latest footage surely appears to be living up to the hype. 

Console: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One. 

Release Date: August  

Forza Horizon 5

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Forza Horizon 5 will take you on a breathtaking journey through Mexico. Developer Playground Games has called this latest installment the “largest and most diverse open world ever in a Forza game,” and is so proud of their attention to detail that a newly-introduced single-player mode called “Expeditions” will give players an opportunity to freely explore the map. 

Console: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One

Release Date: Nov. 9, 2021

Starfield

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Set over 300 years in the future, Bethesda Game Studios executive producer Todd Howard described Starfield as “NASA meets Indiana Jones meets the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a group of people that are still searching for answers.” The comparison alone is quite fascinating, but Howard also hints that the game will touch upon some heady subject matter in science and religion, saying, “We ask some big questions in the game – the kind that people have asked when they look to the sky, you know? ‘What’s out there? Why are we here? How do we get here?’”  

Console: Xbox Series X/S

Release Date: Nov. 11, 2022

Halo Infinite

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Halo Infinite creative head Joseph Staten said the game will expand on the story of Master Chief and Cortana while also introducing a new UNSC AI known as “the Weapon,” which was created to stop Cortana. The trailer, however, centered around the free-to-play multiplayer experience and single-player campaign coming later this year.  

Console: Xbox Series X/S

Release Date: Holiday 2021

Diablo II: Resurrected

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A remastered version of 2000’s Diablo 2 and its “Lord of Destruction” expansion pack is coming later this year with improved cinematics and sound, as well as the addition of an eight-player co-op. A multiplayer beta version will drop a month prior to the launch of Resurrected.  

Console: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One

Release Date: Sept. 23, 2021

Atomic Heart

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Atomic Heart is intriguing, yet mystifying. All we know is that it’s set in an alternate reality in Soviet Union around 1955 where holograms and robots have already been invented. Again, what is going on? But also, sign us up!  

Console: Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One

Release Date: TBA

Twelve Minutes

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The Luis Antonio-developed game Twelve Minutes has received a significant upgrade since it was first showcased six years ago. James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe have lent their voice to this story about a man stuck in a 12-minute time loop inside his apartment. 

Console: Xbox Series 

Release Date: Aug. 19, 2021

Replaced

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In 1945, the United States conducted the first nuclear test in New Mexico under the code name Trinity. Replaced explores an alternate world where that experiment didn’t go as planned in the town of Phoenix-City through a format inspired by the 1980s side-scrolling presentation. 

Console: Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One

Release Date: 2022

Redfall

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The Xbox and Bethesda presentation concluded with Redfall, an open-world, first-person shooter game about a group of survivors with seemingly their own powers attempting to fight off a mob of vampires that have isolated themselves in the island town of Redfall, Massachusetts. While the game doesn’t come out until next year, people have already grown an attachment to Layla. 

Console: Xbox Series X

Release Date: Summer 2022

The Outer Worlds 2

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The trailer for Outer Worlds 2 doesn’t offer up insight into what we can expect, but we were won over by its tongue-in-cheek presentation which pokes fun at the all-too-common format of trailers with narration that concludes with an honest assessment of where the developers are in the process.  

Console: Xbox Series X/S

Release Date: TBA 

Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl

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It has been a long time coming for Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl. Rumblings of the game’s existence date back to 2011 when there was rumored uncertainty surrounding the future of studio GSC Game World. After canceling development on the follow-up to 2007’s Shadow of Chernobyl the following year, the project rose from the ashes several years later to where we are today. The trailer leads us to believe that it will be well worth the wait. 

Console: Xbox Series X

Release Date: April 28, 2022

Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life

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Developer Rare has partnered with Disney for a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed update that will bring Jack Sparrow to Sea of Thieves. Rare executive producer Joe Neate and creative director Mike Chapman spoke with Variety about the partnership with the Mouse House that has been in the works for at least two years. While Neate and Chapman saw Pirates as an inspiration for Thieves and jumped at the chance to include the iconic character in their world, they wanted to ensure that they had “something that fundamentally moved the Sea of Thieves world forward.”

Console: Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One

Release Date: June 22, 2021

Psychonauts 2

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Much like Stalker 2, the original Psychonauts game was released in 2005. While the gameplay will reflect its predecessor in that kids with psychic powers will be able to go through people’s minds, Raz is a reflection of the gap between both games. Raz is now a recent graduate who currently interns at Psychonauts Headquarters. Feel old yet? 

Console: PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One

Release Date: Aug. 25, 2021

Battlefield 2042

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Electronic Arts and DICE announced the arrival of Battlefield 2042 a few days ago with a entertaining trailer, but it wasn’t until today that people got to see some actual gameplay which could be best summed up as three minutes of absolute insanity, broken up by a brief elevator ride. The game surely lives up to the promise of the same old Battlefield you know and love, but on a grander scale with the option of having 128 players compete at once, real-time destructive weather, tornadoes and sandstorms, and futuristic weaponry since this is 2042 after all.  

Console: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One 

Release Date: Oct. 22, 2021

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