Bethesda hosted a very late night E3 press conference on Sunday night. The show was themed around Bethesdaland, a retro theme park that encompassed all of Bethesda gaming franchises and series, including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, and Dishonored. Two areas were under construction and would be announced during the show: The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
One big plus to Bethesda’s show – every game mentioned below is coming later this year.
VR Games
In our first mention of virtual reality at E3, Bethesda announced DOOM VFR and Fallout 4 VR. Both look like their recent releases but with the floating, handheld gun and immersive view.
Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind
Then Bethesda reminded everyone that Elder Scrolls Online is a thing, and that they recently released the Morrowind stand-alone expansion pack.
Creation Club
A new Creation Club program looks to bring back the concept of paid mods for Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition. Paid modes were a very controversial update in Steam Workshop a few years ago. The difference is that these new mods must be wholly original content (no retrofitting on previously free mods), and they’re approved and curated by an internal dev cycle. These are high quality mods guaranteed to work with the latest builds and compatible with achievements. If a mod is good enough would you pay for it to support the creator?
Skyrim on Switch
Remember when we saw Skyrim running on the Nintendo Switch during the first reveal trailer? Bethesda finally confirmed that yes, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is coming to Nintendo Switch. It’s not clear which version of Skyrim this is – it looks better than the original 2011 version but not as good as the 2016 Skyrim Special Edition. Skyrim on Switch will support Amiibo. The trailer shows a Link amiibo unlocking Link’s Master Sword. Skyrim on Switch will also feature full Joy-Con controls.
Elder Scrolls: Legends Expansion
A new expansion to Bethesda’s digital card game Elder Scrolls: Legends was announced. It’s called Heroes of Skyrim and features over 150 new cards and new gameplay mechanics such as Dragon Shouts. It’s coming June 29.
Blazkowicz in Quake Champions
Old school multiplayer arena shooter Quake Champions is still in Closed Beta. During the E3 show, Bethesda announced that Wolfenstein hero BJ Blazkowicz is coming to the Champion roster in a special E3 2017 update. The update also adds new maps, a new weapon, and some improved features. The beta will also be kept online with only brief periods of downtime.
The Quake World Championships were also announced. They begin this month and will end in a final showdown during this year’s QuakeCon in Dallas, Texas. A $1 million prize pool will be up for grabs.
Dishonored 2 DLC
Last year’s stealth-action game Dishonored 2 is getting its first DLC – Death of the Outsider. This time you’ll play as Meagan Foster neé Billie Lurk, one of the primary NPCs from Dishonored 2. The trailer shows her and Daud, an assassin from the first game (and protagonist of the Knife of Dunwall DLC) on a new mission to take on the Outsider.
The Evil Within 2
Now we get to our new game announcements. Both are sequels, which is disappointing if you were expecting any exciting new franchises. The Evil Within 2 is the sequel to the 2014 horror-action game. It’s set to launch on Friday the 13th this October.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Bethesda saved the best for last. The sequel to the surprisingly fantastic first-person Nazi-shooting reboot Wolfenstein: The New Order gave us one of the wildest trailers seen at E3 2017. Fake retro commercials, intense action scenes, funny dialogue, and emotional moments made for a fun-looking sequel in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. It’s also coming this October.
