Bethesda E3 2019- Do's and Don'ts; Hopes and Fears

By: Ryan Ramakrishnan

With the Electronic Entertainment Expo excitedly returning in just a few days, there is certainly a lot of hype surrounding press conferences and appearances from publishers like Microsoft and Nintendo; however, others too will make their usual appearance. One of the publishers I am the most concerned for however is Bethesda Softworks. While the publisher is home to many a revered franchise including but not limited to “The Elder Scrolls,” “Fallout” and “Doom,” I am kind of excited but very skeptical of just how important a press conference can really be this time around for them.

Last year’s showing came with a surprising amount of promise; I’d say that the amount of announcements, many of which were pleasant shocks, made for a relatively good showing. Sure, fast forward a year and that “Fallout” title you play with your friends flopped, the mobile take on “The Elder Scrolls” didn’t fall far from the apple of success or lack thereof other games of its kind unfortunately have and the giant announcements are allegedly years away from release. Nevertheless though, it was exciting to see the tease for “The Elder Scrolls VI” and a new I.P. in “Starfield,” both of which are promised for the next generation of consoles. And the announcements of “Doom Eternal” and “Wolfenstein: Youngblood” are awesome. Those two are on the way and will no doubt appear at this E3 but what else?

The problem is that those big next generation games are guaranteed not to be at the show; it was already confirmed. This is definitely due to the fact that they aren’t going to be in our hands for some time and rightfully so, I think it's fair to not tease anymore when there is likely little to nothing to actually show. So check them off the list. What else? Well, as previously stated, we will probably see some “Wolfenstein: Youngblood,” which is a promising sequel, though a smaller one and not the proper “Wolfenstein 3.” Now whether or not the actual big third entry in the modern series gets announced is up in the air but truthfully I can’t imagine it would as we are just getting “Youngblood” this summer, so I’d argue that “Wolfenstein 3” is more of an E3 2020 game that ships in that fall, potentially with the next consoles.

Bethesda’s other revolutionary shooter that somehow is as strong as ever is “Doom.” The aforementioned “Doom Eternal” is one of the biggest games on the horizon and certainly a hotly anticipated for myself. I loved “Doom” in 2016 as so many did and realistically, the sequel is going to turn out good. When will it release hasn’t been confirmed yet but signs point to the fall of this year. It is safe to say Bethesda will show us some more gameplay. I think they have shown enough to sell anyone interested or curious, even concerned I suppose, but more gameplay wouldn’t hurt it thanks to the nature of the game being all about gameplay as opposed to story.

Aside from those games, I’d say we can expect some content of “The Elder Scrolls Online” and “The Elder Scrolls Legends” to have light shined on, possibly a big new expansion for the former. I respect these titles, though they aren’t for me in the slightest. With that, I unfortunately lose interest once they are the center of attention and I can’t help but feel they're a little more niche in comparison to some of the other games I have talked about thus far. DLC for the recently released “Rage 2” would certainly not be out of the question either, in fact I can almost guarantee we’ll see that. And I am actually for it, even if I haven’t come close to beating the game, I do like it and I do think they could ship something fun.

Some of the other I.P. owned by Bethesda include “Dishonored,” “Prey” and “The Evil Within,” all of which, if you ask the right person, are ready for their sequels. “Dishonored” post-”Death of the Outsider” seems to have come to a close for a while though. “Prey” shipped in 2017, as did “The Evil Within 2,” both of which seem to lend themselves well to a sequel two years later. I think that these sequels are likely. Which one will it be is anyone’s guess. I would obviously love to see both, one for this fall and one for 2020 (Probably spring) but you can’t have your cake and eat it too, even at E3. I believe the more likely candidate is “Prey 2” as “The Evil Within” already got its love a second time. My concern is that none of these games get sequels, leaving out even more titles from the press conference and show floor. I really hope I’m wrong and I think if I am right, it will be disappointing.

So right now, we have to assume there is a surprise or two on the horizon, potentially something that will release this fall; however, truthfully it’s always so hard to say. It is certain that some DLC and/or expansions get revealed or shown off for titles like “The Elder Scrolls Online,” “Rage 2” and maybe even “Fallout 76” in all honesty. “Wolfenstein Youngblood” and “Wolfenstein Cyberpilot” will surely be there, especially given their summer release dates. “Doom Eternal” is guaranteed to take the spotlight since it's a high caliber release for them and likely coming out in the next several months. Other than that, I think it all comes down to the element of surprise. I think that Bethesda is more than capable of pulling a few surprises out for us and giving gamers something to look forward to soon as well, as they have shown they can do with a June announcement, fall release. If they deliver on the expected content and give reasons to be excited, as well as provide some surprising reveals and pace the showing well, this could be an exciting E3 for fans of Bethesda. In the end, I believe that Bethesda will have good content but won’t be wowwing anyone all that much, even with one or two surprises, though time will tell for this beloved publisher when they have their press conference on the ninth of June.