E3 is back! Kinda. For some time E3 was the world’s biggest gaming showcase, where the latest news and game releases were announced, but that’s not the case anymore. Big publishers such as Sony, Xbox and Nintendo, the holy trinity of gaming are big enough that they can launch their own shows. Even The Game Awards, PC Games and IGN have launched their own Summer game shows. So now it’s a battle to see which event showcase has the most exclusive footage of the year’s biggest games.
After tuning in for a month of game announcements from E3 2022, State of Play, Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase etc. etc. We can now look back at what was actually missing. I’m sure it’s obvious to many fans that some of the year’s most anticipated games were missing. Such as God of War: Ragnarok, Fable 4, The Outer Worlds 2 and so much more.
So let’s head into the list of all the games we were hoping to see at the Summer games showcases but didn’t. Let’s just hope that they’ll be featured before the year is out.
God of War: Ragnarok
God of War: Ragnarok is the sequel to 2018’s highly successful God of War. While technically it should be called God of War 4 the series did a spiritual reboot that has been very well received.
The game currently has a 2022 launch window with a rumoured November release date. You’d think with the year half over we’d be able to have seen some more footage this Summer of games. But with E3 2022 has come and gone, as well as Sony’s State of Play, we’re wondering when we’re going to see Kratos and Atreus again.
God of War: Ragnarok is probably the highest-profile absentee game from this year’s season of showcases. And considering that it should be launching within the next couple of months seems a little strange. Maybe Sony could be saving the news for a dedicated live stream. But if it is coming out this year definitely expect to be seeing new gameplay footage before Fall.
The Elder Scrolls VI
The Elder Scrolls VI wasn’t in E3 2022 because it would probably have been shown at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase. But it wasn’t there either. So, the popular theory is that Xbox and Bethesda were just focusing on games coming out within the next 12 months. And they were worried that The Elder Scrolls VI was going to overshadow the launch of Starfield. Understandably so.
The Elder Scrolls VI was announced way back in 2018 with little to no news of the game since then. It seems that the long-awaited sequel to Skyrim is likely being shelved for the Starfield development. Which is in its own right gigantic with tons of planets of systems to explore. It smells a bit of No Man’s Sky, so let’s see how the launch goes. In the meantime, we remain hopeful for more news on The Elder Scrolls VI!
The Outer Worlds 2
During last year’s E3 2021, Obsidian Entertainment revealed a sequel for the amazing RPG that is The Outer Worlds. A year later and we’ve still no news for this intensely story-rich RPG that had you deciding the fate of yourself and your companions.
Previously in 2019, the game was supposed to enter pre-production. Obsidian teased that “the developers haven’t finished the [main character’s] design. Or finished the story. Or finished any gameplay that’s actually ready to show. In fact, the only thing [the developers] have finished is the title.” A year later it’s safe to assume this sequel isn’t coming out for a while. But we’d still like some updates!
Pragmata
If Capcom could take one second to calm down with all their Resident Evil news we might get to see a new game sometime. Pragmata is the bizarre new IP from Capcom that was teased back in June 2020. It was expected to have a June 2022 launch according to the Capcom page but we’ll most likely only be seeing it in 2023.
Based on the teaser trailer, Pragmata looks to be some sort of dystopian science fiction adventure game. But that’s about all we know so far. We’re still waiting for more details on the story and gameplay. Based on the trailer it looks to be an action-adventure game where your main abilities stem from the astronaut suit you wear.
On the Xbox store page, it states that “Capcom aims to establish Pragmata as one of its core brands.” So this sounds like a franchise in the making, which is exciting!
Everwild
Everwild is the new adventure from Sea of Thieves developer Rare. Last introduced to us in 2019 and we were excited to see the lush and magical world of Everwild. You’ll play as the Eternals, beings who have a symbiotic relationship with nature. There’s a lot of mystery and story surrounding the game but since 2019 development news has been very quiet.
Everwild wasn’t anywhere to be seen in 2021. But according to VGC, they reported that the game was internally rebooted. So we shouldn’t expect news from this game for at least another year. Rare has pushed the title to 2024 but depending on what we see it could be even later than that.
Fable 4
In 2020, Microsoft announced a revival of Fable, the long-dormant series of fantasy games from Lionhead (RIP). The next entry is under the purview of Playground Games, which released the open-world racer Forza Horizon 5. Reportedly the game will be using the same engine as Forza and if you’re curious as to how the game engine will work with an RPG. We are as well.
What we do know about Fable is that the next game in the series will follow the spirit of the original games. Meaning that it’ll be an open-world RPG that is based on fantasy and the morality system. 2020 however was the last time we saw Fable and its presence missing this year means that it’s likely we won’t see this game for some time.
Indiana Jones
MachineGames in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games are working on an official Indiana Jones game. The game was first teased in January of 2021. Given the fact it’s been several years since the studio’s last release, Wolfenstein 2, we thought we might have seen something Indie-related at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase.
The official announcement describes the game as “a wholly original, standalone tale set at the height of the career of the famed adventurer.” With some big names on its back such as Lucasfilm Games and Todd Howard, it’s likely this game is going to be an instant classic. Following the footsteps of Uncharted fame.
The Indiana Jones film will release on June 30th 2023, so expect to see some news on this title then.
Project 007
In what can only be described as a match made in heaven, Hitman developer IO Interactive will work on the next James Bond game. The game right now has the working title of Project 007. And I’m hoping for Hitman-type spy espionage gameplay for our titular Bond hero. It’s been about 10 years since the last James Bond game and we think IO is the perfect studio to refresh the series.
On the game’s website, it states that Project 007 will have an original Bond storyline. So expect a new Bond hero and a storyline not following any of the movies. Right now the studio is in full hiring mode so it’s unlikely that we’ll see any news until next year.
