E3 2020 is on. Amid speculation that the gaming industry's major annual event is facing an uncertain future, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has followed tradition and put up a banner on the third and final day of E3 this year, inviting attendees back for next year's expo. E3 2020 is set for June 9-11.E3 has been a very different show this year. The absence of Sony led to a much different show floor than usual, as there was no PlayStation press conference or booth on the show floor, which is normally one of the biggest areas at the expo. The event is also still in flux as it welcomes in public attendees in addition to media and industry professionals. Some repeat attendees (including GameSpot staff) have noted that the show seemed less crowded this year. Those factors led to questions about what the future would hold, but now we know that the show will go on for at least one more year. Microsoft has already said it's planning a big showing for Halo Infinite next year, and it's safe to assume that the new Xbox, Scarlett, will be on display ahead of its Holiday 2020 launch.The ESA also usually closes the show with a press release wrapping up the event and giving attendance numbers. If it follows suit this year, that may give a better idea of the perceived low attendance.More E3 news:E3 2019's biggest newsZelda: Breath of the Wild 2 teasedNew Xbox console, Scarlett, revealedXbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSDCyberpunk 2077 release date announcedFinal Fantasy VII Remake release date announcedMarvel's Avengers revealedInfo from Gamespot.com

While Microsoft unveiled its next-gen console plans in the form of Xbox Scarlett, the company also showed off some new Borderlands 3 gameplay during its E3 2019 press conference. One extensive clip sees a player taking control of Moze the Gunner, the upcoming looter-shooter's soldier class and most versatile character.The gameplay looks like standard Borderlands fare: shoot stuff, loot stuff. The player enters an area called Leery Hamlet--a likely reference to William Shakespeare's tragedies Hamlet and King Lear. What makes the new Vault Hunter unique is the level of customization that comes with her giant mech, the Iron Bear. Our own Jordan Ramee believes Moze "is able to accomplish a wide variety of tasks," making her what might be the most versatile character Gearbox has ever created. Check out the 10-minute gameplay clip below.Borderlands 3 launches on September 13 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The upcoming looter-shooter will also be a day-one Google Stadia launch title this November.More E3 news:E3 2019's biggest newsZelda: Breath of the Wild 2 teasedNew Xbox console, Scarlett, revealedXbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSDCyberpunk 2077 release date announcedFinal Fantasy VII Remake release date announcedMarvel's Avengers revealedInfo from Gamespot.com

E3 2019 has finally come and gone, which means it's time to reflect on the convention's biggest news and show-stealing announcements. There is a lot to dissect out there, from the new Xbox Scarlett system to Final Fantasy VII Remake and so much more. Be sure to head over to our E3 hub to read up on all the headlines as they slowly tumble in. For now, check out the list of the best game trailers from this year's E3 we've compiled below.Challenger Approaching: Banjo-Kazooie In Smash Bros. UltimateSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate's roster is getting bigger, with both Dragon Quest heroes and Banjo-Kazooie entering the ring, Nintendo revealed during the company's E3 2019 Direct. The honey bear-red breegull duo will arrive sometime this fall, and though no price has been confirmed, the two are part of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Fighter Pass, which retails for $25 USD / $31 AUD / £20 GBP.Cyber-Keanu-Punk Reeves 2077Not only did CD Projekt Red get Keanu Reeves to star in Cyberpunk 2077, but the prolific action star also attended E3 2019 to reveal the sci-fi, first-person shooter's release date. Cyberpunk 2077 launches on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 16, 2020.Watch Dogs Legion And Helen The Retired AssassinHelen looks like a nice old lady, but this isn't your grandma's grandma. She's packing heavy heat and isn't afraid to get down and dirty, easily becoming Watch Dogs Legion's breakout star assassin. Watch Dogs Legion launches on Google Stadia, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 6, 2020.Final Fantasy VII Remake Trailer SmorgasbordA lot of information came out of Square Enix's E3 2019 press conference, including details about combat for the hotly-anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake. Sporting two discs worth of gameplay content, the action-RPG launches on PlayStation 4 on March 3, 2020.Groundhog Day In 12 MinutesMicrosoft's E3 2019 press conference came with quite a thrill, as the company showed off a tense psychological thriller called 12 Minutes. Published by Ashen and Florence publisher Annapurna Interactive, 12 Minutes launches on PC and Xbox One sometime next year.Link's New Look In Zelda: Link's AwakeningPreviously announced back in February 2019, Nintendo showed a decent amount of footage of the reimagined Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening during the company's E3 2019 Direct, including an official release date. The cutesy Link's Awakening launches on Nintendo Switch on September 20.Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel TeasedNintendo closed its E3 2019 Direct with a brief announcement that a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel is now in development for the Nintendo Switch. No release date or window has been confirmed, but we do know Link will return to Hyrule for yet another adventure.Lego's Speed To Forza Horizon 4Forza Horizon 4's DLC continues to surprise us, with Microsoft unveiling the Lego Speed Champions expansion for the open-world racing game during E3 2019. Forza Horizon 4 is available now for PC and Xbox One, and Lego Speed Champions is available to purchase now for $20 USD / $29 AUD / £16 GBP. The expansion comes at no additional cost for those who own the Ultimate Edition, or either the Expansions or Ultimate Add-Ons bundles of Forza Horizon 4.Halo Infinite Returns To Xbox As Launch TitleMicrosoft gave details about its next-gen console, codenamed Project Scarlett, during E3 2019. Alongside the announcement of when to expect the new Xbox Scarlett system, Microsoft also announced Halo Infinite as a day-one launch title, both of which will arrive holiday 2020. Marking the first time a Halo game was an Xbox system launch title since 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo Infinite will also launch on PC and Xbox One.Back To Hell In Doom EternalBethesda showed off some extensive Doom Eternal gameplay during the company's E3 2019 press conference. We also got a look at a new asymmetrical multiplayer mode coming to the upcoming hell-infested, first-person shooter--and it looks devilishly gory. Doom Eternal launches on Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 22.Frights Return In Luigi's Mansion 3Luigi's off on another ghostly adventure in Luigi's Mansion 3, Nintendo unveiled during the company's E3 2019 Direct. Along with a release window, we also saw some gameplay of the ghost-wrangling adventure game. Luigi's Mansion 3 launches on Nintendo Switch sometime this year.More E3 news:E3 2019's biggest newsZelda: Breath of the Wild 2 teasedNew Xbox console, Scarlett, revealedXbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSDCyberpunk 2077 release date announcedFinal Fantasy VII Remake release date announcedMarvel's Avengers revealedInfo from Gamespot.com

Hot on the heels of Fortnite's 9.21 update, a new set of challenges is now available in Epic's hit battle royale game. As usual, this week's missions arrive in two categories: a small handful that are available to everyone, and some that are reserved for those who've purchased a Season 9 Battle Pass.As has been the trend this season, most of Week 6's challenges are self-explanatory and can be completed fairly easily with a little persistence. On the free side, there are two multi-stage challenges. The first begins by asking you to land at Lucky Landing, while the second starts off with searching chests at a Hot Spot. The final free challenge is to deal 500 damage to opponents using SMGs.Battle Pass owners have access to an additional four challenges to complete. These are likewise fairly straightforward. You'll need to deal damage to a vehicle driven by an opponent; use the new Storm Flip item in three different matches; eliminate three opponents either in The Block or Fatal Fields; and use two different vehicles in a single match. You can see the full list of this week's challenges below:Fortnite Season 9, Week 6 ChallengesFreeStage 1 of 5: Land at Lucky Landing -- 1 Battle StarDeal damage with SMGs to opponents (500) -- 5 Battle StarsStage 1 of 3: Search chests at a Hot Spot (3) -- 3 Battle StarsPremiumDeal damage to a vehicle driven by an opponent (200) -- 5 Battle StarsUse a Storm Flip in different matches (3) -- 5 Battle StarsUse different vehicles in a single match (2) -- 10 Battle StarsEliminate opponents in The Block or Fatal Fields (3) -- 10 Battle StarsIf you own a Season 9 Battle Pass and complete any four of this week's challenges, you'll earn 6,000 XP for your troubles. Each challenge will also reward you with Battle Stars, which will help level your Battle Pass up and, in turn, unlock more of this season's new skins and other cosmetic rewards. If you need help clearing any previous challenges from this season, you can find guides for the trickier ones in our complete Fortnite Season 9 challenges roundup.The aforementioned 9.21 update arrived on June 12 and added another new weapon to the game: the Proximity Grenade Launcher, which lobs bouncing explosives at opponents. It comes in Epic and Legendary varieties and can be found in chests, supply drops, vending machines, or from Loot Carriers. The update also kicked off a new, PvE limited-time mode called Horde Rush, which comes with its own assortment of challenges to complete. You can find the full patch notes for the update on Epic's website.Info from Gamespot.com

Grand Theft Auto Online, the online mode for GTA 5, has turned into a sprawling mix of activities--some more legal than others--and Rockstar has announced one more vice that you can live out in the game soon: casino gambling.A tweet from Rockstar teased "a luxury casino in the heart of Vinewood." It also showed some stylized neon lights to evoke the casino look, but was otherwise short on details.Opening soon: A luxury casino in the heart of Vinewood... pic.twitter.com/fSM9xXFk23 — Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) June 13, 2019GTA Online updates come frequently and when something is announced it tends to follow in the game shortly after. Rockstar has not announced release plans for its casino or how exactly it will operate.The online mode is technically a part of Grand Theft Auto 5, the latest in the action crime series from Rockstar. It has grown far beyond its original incarnations, though, and is largely responsible for GTA5 continuing to sell incredibly well even six years after launch.Recently Rockstar was on a confirmed list of developers for Google Stadia, but it was one of only a handful of studios named without specific games attached. GTA 5 with GTA Online would be one possibility, since it already has a successful PC version up and running.Info from Gamespot.com

E3 2019 is winding down, with Thursday marking its final day. Even without Sony at the show, there has been a lot of games for PS4 fans to check out. But those at home looking to boot up their PS4 (or other PlayStation Network-reliant device or service) might find themselves running into server issues. Sony has confirmed PSN is down, with many users reporting the error code WS-37403-7. [Update: The status page says PSN servers are back online, so you shouldn't have any further issues for the time being.]Sony shared the news in a tweet on its PlayStation Support account, writing, "We’re aware that some users are experiencing issues logging into PSN." The PSN status page further reaffirms this, listing all areas of PSN as impacted. That includes account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Now, the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Vue, and more. No further tweets have been shared, but the most recent update on the PSN status page came at 2:26 PM PT and reiterates that Sony's "engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible."We’re aware that some users are experiencing issues logging into PSN. Thank you for your patience as we investigate: https://t.co/s026QGzJZr — Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) June 13, 2019With these widespread issues, you may not be able to sign in on your PS4, which could mean you're locked out of not just online play, but also some of your games. There's no word on how long this may last or when servers will come back online.When things do come back up, Sony's E3 sale is ongoing and offers some very nice deals on PS4 games and hardware.Info from Gamespot.com

It's an old cliché that fighting someone with one hand tied behind your back is either the ultimate in badass moves, or an act of genuine stupidity. Either way, the assumption is always that having full freedom will change the game entirely. Beat Saber has always felt like a discipline to begin with. The inherent coolness and fun of slicing stuff up to EDM and electronic pop very quickly gives way after a while to the realization that some legitimate flexibility, improvisation, speed, and skill are gonna have to be employed to hit some of the game's goals. It was always doable, but bound by some hard limits on other platforms. We've all been playing the game with one arm tied behind our backs. Playing Beat Saber on the Oculus Quest, however, gives you the arm back.For the uninitiated, Beat Saber is a music/rhythm game, with a unique twist: the beats of every song you play are represented in VR as boxes that need to be sliced in the displayed direction by your two weapons of choice: a pair of red and blue lightsabers. It's a magnificent, even athletic game on any platform, but held back by the limited range of the platform. You always had to work in range of the camera, and the thick wire leading from any given headset to your computer or Playstation was a constant consideration.These considerations are no longer in play on the Oculus Quest. It's a system that can be played in any room in any space big enough to support it. The Quest's cameras being built into the unit itself means it's so much easier to make strikes as broad or precise as you need them to be, no longer worrying about dragging a cord along with it, or losing tracking, as long as your hands are in view.But most importantly, this is a port that encourages movement like nothing else. If a difficult swing puts you in a different position in the room in a hectic section, you're not stumbling to get back in starting position. That's just where you are, and you continue on. Playing Beat Saber on Quest feels less like the focused horse-blinder focus of playing a Dance Dance Revolution, and more like a coordinated kata of swordplay, ready and able to demolish obstacles however you deem necessary.The result is incredibly freeing. Playing through five, ten, or fifteen tracks in one go isn't out of the question, with the only limit being your own stamina and flexibility. Make no mistake, Beat Saber is a workout. The difference now is that it's a workout without limits, one that lets players stretch and improvise and explore their space, to both dance and feel dangerous, something that makes it far more likely to turn the game into an aerobic workout staple for many. That's an amazing thing to factor into an already awesome game, which makes this the hands-down best version of the game.Info from Gamespot.com

Tesla is getting another video game. In an E3 Coliseum panel at E3 2019, Todd Howard announced that the management sim Fallout Shelter will be coming to Tesla autos. No release date was mentioned in the announcement.The word came from a panel with Bethesda's Todd Howard and Tesla's Elon Musk. The conversation was wide-ranging and often esoteric or even odd, but Howard slipped a comment about their partnership in the midst of it."We are actually working together," Howard said. "We are working on Fallout Shelter for Tesla. So you'll have your little dwellers on the screen and they live in the car."Responding to a call-out from a member of the audience suggesting Skyrim on Tesla, Howard joked, "We're going to start a little smaller."Similarly, StudioMDHR recently announced that Cuphead would be appearing in Tesla autos.Info from Gamespot.com

Nintendo had another strong showing at E3 2019, sharing exciting details about upcoming Animal Crossing, Pokemon, and Zelda games, among others during the Nintendo Direct presentation. If all of the upcoming offerings inspired you to finally bite the bullet and buy a Nintendo Switch, Best Buy is here to help you get set up right by throwing in a free SanDisk 128GB microSDXC memory card with every Switch purchase. Simply add one of the basic Switches to your cart (note that the deal does not encompass bundles) and the memory card, listed as a $68 value, will be automatically added. There is no end date listed on the sale, so get in on it while supplies last.Get a Nintendo Switch with a free 128GB memory card for $300 »Once you've got your Switch, there are lots of great deals right now on games and accessories as well. Newegg is offering 10% off of gift cards to the Nintendo eShop, which you can then use to get even further discounts on Nintendo's own E3 sale. Check out our overall list of must-have games and accessories for the Switch so you can get squared away with everything you need.A new version of the Switch didn't make an official appearance at E3, like many suspected it would, but a report released during the show suggested that new Switch models are entering production. Nintendo didn't need new hardware to make its fans happy, however, with reveals like The Witcher 3 coming to Switch, Banjo-Kazooie coming to Smash Bros., and--probably the most exciting--the first tease of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2.Info from Gamespot.com

One of Microsoft's major reveals at its E3 2019 press conference was the announcement that it had acquired Double Fine Productions, the development studio founded by Tim Schafer. Double Fine joins Ninja Theory, Obsidian, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, and a few others on the list of acquisitions.It begs the question: Why is Microsoft spending so much money on bolstering its roster of developers? The obvious answer is that it wants more exclusives to make Xbox platforms more attractive to customers, but, actually, there's more to the strategy than meets the eye. Following the Xbox press conference, we caught up with Matt Booty, head of studios at Xbox, to discuss this and more.How much are you aware of the audience you're trying to engage when you come onto the stage and you talk about Microsoft's portfolio of studios and games? Obviously you want to hype up or appeal to the core gamers but, when you've got a new platform, you also need to flex for the mainstream press, right?So in the last 20 years, the number of people playing games has tripled. So I remember in the 90's doing talks and saying, oh some games will be as big as music. And then, someday games will be as big as movies. And we've completely eclipsed both of those. And so now it's just crazy to see just how many people are playing games. And with our goal of reaching all two billion people that are playing games on the planet today, your point about reaching to a broader range of gamers you know really thinking about a whole bunch of games that people want to play with the community and friends that they want.We've all got different groups of people that we play games with and then anywhere they are. It's so important to us. Because games have become just a part of society now. I mean Phil had those words, Phil talks about how it can become kind of a unifying force for the world. But it's only possible because games have just become part of the fabric of life.Really we start planning for this show pretty early in the year and there's a lot of work by the teams that go into getting us here. And I can say that almost all the decisions that we make and everything that we end up putting on stage has more to do with the players and the fans than anything else. It's great if we just wind back a year or so. Last year I was talking about how [Xbox boss Phil Spencer] became part of our CEO's leadership team and the importance of gaming inside Microsoft. But given that, it's not like somebody comes in and says, "Make sure you hit these key points." And we have an amazing amount of support and with that support comes latitude to really talk about the games that we think are important to the players and share the things that are important.So between last E3 and this E3 you've been on kind of like studio acquisition run. What's the thinking behind that? Why are you guys out there looking to acquire studios?Yeah, so you heard a lot about what we're doing today in the briefing if we just kind of recap it. We start with games, sixty games. We have 14 first party games, 30 of those will be available in game pass and then we've talked about streaming and so we've hit that point, being home streaming, the cloud streaming. Then we showed a new console and there's a lot of stuff that we covered.Game Pass is the center of gravity for everything for us. The fans and the players inside Game Pass want content, they want games. So my job, really my goal, is to make sure that we're providing a steady stream of great new games into Game Pass. Right? So that if you become a Game Pass subscriber, you know that on a regular beat you're going to be getting great new games.And with the development time for games, I think it's a lot longer to make a game than it does even a full season of some TV shows, right? We need lead time. So it turns out that if we're going to keep that cadence going we just need a lot of people creating content. And that's really what's been driving it for us.Game Pass is still fairly new and the industry as a whole is still used to selling boxes. When you acquire a studio or when you speak to a development team how do you tell them what they're going to create this game, spend years on it, and you're basically going to give it away for free. Or we're going to give it away for a subscription fee, which feels nominal compared to the time and effort that goes in. How do you convince them that there's still value in that?It's a great question from the developer point of view. I love you're looking at that way. Let's go to something like, so you are the director of Game of Thrones and you've been making Game of Thrones and people watch through and HBO subscription and you aren't talking about ticket sales. You're not talking about movie theater opening box office, but clearly Game of Thrones has had a huge impact on pop culture, right?We can talk about Stranger Things going into Netflix. Same thing. For us, Game Pass in that conversation becomes much more about discovery and it becomes about how you can open up your game to a broader audience. It becomes about really delivering players to the game that those developers have made and a much broader audience.You know that is part of the equation that we acquire the studio and hopefully by doing that we remove some of the financial pressure on the studio. Tim Schafer, right after the briefing posted a video and he talks about how when he comes up with a game idea now, he doesn't have to go and spend all his time shopping it around to all the publishers looking for somebody to fund that.So hopefully we can take all the time that the developers used to spend having to do that and put that back into creativity. And if that's what Game Pass enables then I think that's great from a creative standpoint. We know for example that game pass can bring a lot of new people. We can tell just by looking at some of the information that we get that a lot of the people that are playing State of Decay 2 have really were never on Xbox before. So the fact that they can get in easily through Game Pass and ended up playing … I just love that.So I think it is certainly the case over the last 20-30 years you know as long as I've been in games. Everything used to be based on units right? How many units is that? And then we kind of got into this world where things like Metacritic and review scores started to matter. And I think now, it's really just, it's more about audience, it's about audience reach and how can you connect with the most number of people that are going to play your game? I think Game Pass is a fantastic place for putting your name in front of your players.I guess there's certain types of games where Game Pass is very obviously beneficial. Do you generally lean towards certain types of games that fit the bill for the service? You take a look at Bleeding Edge for example and something like Game Pass is perfect for it because it gets people to it and then they're engaged in a service based model with the game.One of the more satisfying things about Game Pass that we've seen is that games like Forza Horizon 4, that are in Game Pass and could be a traditional game with a pretty traditional structure, is doing fantastic in game pass in terms of people playing it and enjoying it. All the way through to Minecraft, which is also doing well. Same with Sea of Thieves. We've got State of Decay in there. So those games are all getting a lot of usage inside Game Pass which is great.For that reason we don't really prescribe what kind of game somebody should make. What we try to do is try to give them information, here's what we see in game pass, here's what we see doing well, here's kind of the way we think about it. And then we let the studios go after that. Again, I think for them, they're North Star more comes down to how I connect with players. How do get this in front of a bigger audience?So when you're making a studio acquisition, what exactly is it that you're looking for? Because you've made, recently, between Obsidian, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine. These are beloved studios that make fantastic games but seem like they've had a bit of tumultuous period of late. From an outsider's perspective, it may seem these acquisitions are a bit of a rescue effort.When we look at a studio, it's what I said on stage today, we really look at people, teams, and ideas. And in terms of people, we are attracted to and tend to have relationships with studios who share our vision of where gaming can go.So they see gaming as something growing in global popularity, they understand that gaming can be a unifying force that bring people together, and they are very player and fan driven. So when you think about just even when Ninja Theory, Obsidian, Double Fine they are all very very connected to their fans. So in terms of the people. In teams it is important to us, and one of the things that I really value is that studio like Ninja Theory, a studio like Double Fine, it's not that they just had one hit game, they have really stuck with it through success and through adversity.I think that says a lot about the character of the studio and also is a great indicator that they know how to run a studio. That they know how, they've got cohesiveness that they know how to stay together. It's a really different challenge and a different approach when you've got a game that maybe didn't do so well but yet you manage to keep your studio together and kind of dive in and get back at it.So to me that just talks a lot about character. And you look at Ninja Theory it's been around for 10-15 years you look at Double Fine for 20 years I mean Obsidian goes all the way back to the Interplay days. So these are studios that kind of been through it all and that idea is if you kind of connect the dots on the studios we've got and you'll see that we really are attracted to studios that have had multiple ideas. Because did somebody come up with a good idea? Or did they just get lucky?When I look at what Tim Schafer's done with, excuse me, Double Fine, it's clear that he knows how to create process to generate new ideas. So he's not sort of the one song wonder kind of thing. Same thing with Ninja Theory, look at the consistent games that they've put out.So that's really how we think about these studios. People, great people, share our vision, teams that have stuck together through highs and lows and then they've made more than one game. They've had many ideas.Now to your question about their financial situation. I think that is a reflection of some economic things that have happened in the games industry where we're seeing that there's a ton of activity and fantastic help at the level of our ID@Xbox program where you've got smaller teams making smaller games and I love that our ID program is a place where that stuff can come in and then we are very fortunate to have big franchises like Halo, Gears, Minecraft. There's this place in the middle that it turns out it's really hard to run a studio that's got 60-100 people. Now what you end up doing is having to put together a lot of different publishing deals, maybe having to take on work that isn't about games.You end up kind of having to really think about dovetailing and overlapping the resources in the studio, all of which, really at the end of the day, takes up time. So our approach is, hey if we can come in with a Tim Schafer, Nina Kristensen Ninja Theory, and if we can say, however much time you were spending meeting with publishers at GDC, however much time you were spending on other projects to help pay the bills we can make all that go away. And you can take all that energy and put it back into the games and the creativity.And I think we can unlock some things, right? So just like Undead Labs that we acquired last year, State of Decay 2, great games but you know that game started out for probably closer to the AA, indie, side of things and it's fantastic to think about Undead Labs being part of Xbox games studio. Because I think that we can give them the resources we can give them access to the other studios and we can help them take that next leap forward to what needs to happen to make their next game really big. That's really... we were just this morning having some conversations with some of the folks at Ninja Theory you know. How's it going? Go over and visit there this summer and we hear quite a bit about how we've managed to unlock the ability to hire key people. We've managed to bring a sense of security so some more senior people are willing to go work there. We've given them just resources to go take that next step. Now whatever that next step is, I think the production value on Hellblade was amazing.I mean that game was basically a AAA production value in a AA scoped game. But if you think about what can Ninja Theory do with more resources that's amazing to think about.This is a weird perspective to come at it from but how much of giving these developers unlimited resource, so to speak, changes the way they make games and the games they make? Hellblade is what is because of the restraints that were placed on Ninja Theory. It is a reflection of the limitations they had. How do you approach changing the ethos of the developer and the creators energy by bringing almost anything they want to the table? Does it change?We are really taking the approach wherever possible to leave them the way they were. And to really get in and do as little to that studio as possible post acquisition. And part of that does come down to sort of how they were operating and how they were working right?It is a little bit of a balance because I do want everybody in those studios to feel secure and I think that we can look at what we've done with Mojang as a proof point. We will come up this fall on the five year anniversary of the acquisition of Mojang and that studio is going as strong as ever. You saw Minecraft Dungeons that are in pre stage, we just announce Minecraft Earth a couple weeks ago. And the Minecraft team on stage at Apple WWDC. I think that that really is where some of my job and some of the studio head leadership job comes into, is how do we balance giving them the resource, now I can go get those four technical animators I wanted. Or you know now we can go do this crazy mo-cap session we wanted to do. Balance the new resources with... You know we don't want to lose that creative edge.I think that's a good question and it gets to the heart of what the job of the studio heads is, what my job is. I don't think it would be accurate to say that they've just got a blank check but your point is really well made. I think that really what I'm banking on to make sure that that doesn't happen is that there's so much stored creative energy that it's going to be a while before that starts to slow down.So one of the interesting things about these acquisitions is a rather gracious approach from Microsoft to allow these developers to still publish games multi-platform and fulfill existing arrangements.I really, I mean it starts and ends with the players. I would just feel horrible if I got excited and even in the case of something like Psychonauts 2 was a Kickstarter backer for game and then I found out that I wake up one morning and suddenly it's not playable on the thing I thought it was going to be playable on. We took that principle of player first in what we did with Minecraft. Minecraft ships on 21 platforms. Now that isn't to say we haven't done a lot of things just taking advantage of Xbox and taking advantage of things that only exits at Microsoft like HoloLens in the work that we've done there.But it really just comes down to the players and player choice. Whenever one of these happens it's like one of the first discussions that we have with somebody is yeah of course, if you've already got your PlayStation version in the way, we're going to let you keep making that. Or your kick starter fans expect this thing to show up on the Switch then we're going to go ahead and do that.How much does that factor into future games? Once Obsidian's existing agreements, same for Double Fine, are taken care of, is it like, "Okay this is a Microsoft game studio now and you're going to be making exclusively Microsoft games." If a developer comes to you and says, "Hey, I've got this idea for a game, I want it to be multi-platform." Is that something you'd consider?I think we would first of all look at everything on a case by case basis. It is, to be clear, the goal with these studios is to provide content for game pass and to provide support for all the new things that we talked about today. Everything from Mixer to Xbox live gold to Xbox... we've got the Game Pass Ultimate with streaming and everything. Our job as first-party is really to be there first with all of that. At the same time we have a great relationship with Nintendo, a great relationship with Sony, and if it made sense I don't want to rule that out but to be clear, our main mission is going to support game pass.Is there a studio out there that you would love to acquire and which one would it be?[Laughs] I can't answer that. When I talked about like people, teams, that idea is that so much of this does come down to relationships that we've built and people that we've worked with and I don't want to say that means it's somebody we've had to have worked with before in the past or something. And I'll also say that there's not some kind of, there's not like a list on my wall and I'm kind of checking them off one by one.That's kind of disappointing. I wanted a dartboard situation.[Laughs] I'm not just throwing darts. It really more because a lot of work and effort goes into getting to meet the studios, meeting the employees, spending time with the employees. We have a whole team of people that make sure that they've got everything they need. Somebody like [Ninja Theory founder Tameem Antoniades] building this studio ... Like that's kind of a big deal to then turn around and sell it.To me it's really more about let's focus on what needs to happen on that person to person relationship and let's focus on you know what we need to do to get everybody in the studio comfortable and to me that's a lot more important than thinking about what the next one might be.How much of a focus are you mandating these studios place on content for current systems versus content for Scarlett going forward? Is it, like, "Ok, start developing things for the next hardware and finish up what you're doing here?"So we really in that case again it's just about player choice. We want to make sure that we are hitting a broad audience and we want our fans to be able to play up and down four generations of consoles. So we want to have Xbox one support. But the advantage of being first party is that we have direct access to team working on project Scarlett. You know I sit in meetings, I'm part of those meetings. You know we can... One of the first things we did when we started working with Double Fine is send team down to Double Fine to go disclose them on everything we're doing with project Scarlett.So they've got a front row seat to what that's going to be and how it's going to work and how that's going to come together. So we absolutely want to take advantage of that so I think it's about supporting the family of Xbox devices while making sure that things play best on Scarlett. Info from Gamespot.com

The numbers are in, and around 66,100 people attended E3 2019. That's a huge number, but it is down by around 3,000 from the 69,200 people who attended E3 2018.The Entertainment Software Association, which organizes E3, announced that this year's show featured more than 200 exhibitors, and about a fourth of them--or around 50--were attending for the first time.For comparison, the ESA said E3 2018 also featured more than 200 exhibitors, and it said 85 of them were attending for the first time. Around 3,250 different products were shown off at E3 2018, but the ESA did not say how many were displayed this year.In 2018, around 15,000 fans attended by purchasing public tickets, but this year the ESA did not say how many fan tickets it sold. 2017's E3 was the first E3 that was open to the public; previously it was an industry and media-only event.One major difference for E3 2019 is that Sony did not attend for the first time in the event's history. Activision also decided to bow out again. According to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, E3 is worse off without them.E3 2020 returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center June 9-11. That means the show is expected to actually begins on or around June 6 if EA again decides to start its show at the weekend, with Microsoft, Bethesda and others following with their own press conferences before the show floor opens on the Tuesday of E3 week.E3 2020 is still a long time off, but we already know that Microsoft's Halo Infinite will have a big role at the show. The show takes place a few months before Halo Infinite releases that holiday season with the launch of Project Scarlett.More E3 news:E3 2019's biggest newsZelda: Breath of the Wild 2 teasedNew Xbox console, Scarlett, revealedXbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSDCyberpunk 2077 release date announcedFinal Fantasy VII Remake release date announcedMarvel's Avengers revealedInfo from Gamespot.com

The character that The Matrix actor Keanu Reeves plays in Cyberpunk 2077, Johnny Silverhand, is key to the story. This much we already knew. But now CD Projekt Red founder Marcin Iwinski has shared some insight into just how big a role Silverhand plays in the game this week during E3 2019.Appearing on the E3 Coliseum stage this week, Iwinski said he wants fans to know that Reeves has much more than a cameo role in the game. In fact, only one character speaks more lines than Silverhand does (that's presumably the main character, V)."He's the No. 2 character in terms of lines of spoken text across the entire game," Iwinski said. He added that Reeves spent 15 days recording voice lines for Cyberpunk 2077."You will see a lot of Keanu and hear even more of Keanu," Iwinski said.He added that CD Projekt Red approached Reeves about a year ago for the role. After some back and forth with his representation, Reeves read the game's script and he "immediately" got into it and wanted to be a part.Silverhand appears as a hologram in your character's head, and he is a key character in the story. "He's a primary character in the game," lead quest designer Pawel Sasko told GameSpot.Cyberpunk 2077 now has a release date: April 16, 2020. Look out for more Cyberpunk news as E3 goes on, including how the team got Keanu Reeves involved in the first place, and our preview of the new gameplay CD Projekt Red demoed at the show, as well as a look at its story.More E3 News:Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 teasedNew Xbox console, Scarlett, revealedXbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSDElden Ring is From Software and George RR Martin's new gameCyberpunk 2077 release date announcedFinal Fantasy VII Remake release date announcedMarvel's Avengers revealedInfo from Gamespot.com

Marvel's Avengers, the ambitious new superhero game from Square Enix, will feature microtransactions like many other AAA games do. Crystal Dynamics lead Shaun Escayg confirmed this to IGN at E3 2019. He said, "There will be custom outfits that you can purchase in microtransactions."The game, however, has no random loot boxes or pay-to-win mechanics, Crystal Dynamics confirmed during the Square Enix E3 2019 briefing.Lead combat designer Vincent Napoli told IGN that players will be able to purchase customization extras, though "there is nothing that affects the gameplay" that you can buy.As of yet there is no word on what these customization options will be, but you can imagine different skins or emotes or things like that.In an effort to keep the Avengers game community together, Crystal Dynamics will offer the game's post-release characters and locations for free.The Avengers game launches on May 15, 2020 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A beta will be held prior to launch, and PlayStation 4 users can get in first.GameSpot saw the new Avengers game at E3 this week, and you can check out our impressions in this story: E3 2019: Seeing The Avengers Game In Action Left Us With Big QuestionsMore E3 news:E3 2019's biggest newsZelda: Breath of the Wild 2 teasedNew Xbox console, Scarlett, revealedXbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSDCyberpunk 2077 release date announcedFinal Fantasy VII Remake release date announcedMarvel's Avengers revealedInfo from Gamespot.com

CD Projekt Red made one of the biggest splashes during E3 2019. During Microsoft's E3 press conference, the developer released a new trailer for its upcoming RPG Cyberpunk 2077. Said trailer ended with the reveal that the character Johnny Silverhand is voiced and mo-cap performed by Keanu Reeves. The acclaimed actor then came out on stage to confirm Reeves' involvement.We sat down with Cyberpunk 2077 lead quest designer Paweł Sasko to talk about Keanu Reeves involvement in the game and how the character of Johnny Silverhand evolved through his involvement. Turns out Johnny is Cyberpunk 2077's second most important character, only following main protagonist, V. The full interview has been transcribed below, with edits made for coherency. Cyberpunk 2077 is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on April 16, 2020.Why Keanu Reeves?We already had the role of Johnny Silverhand created and prepared in the demo, in this story and we knew this character would be very important from the very beginning throughout the end of the game. And the thing is that throughout your interactions with Johnny Silverhand, you can actually craft this relationship in various different ways. Now we knew that, and we were looking for an actor that could actually play this role. And yeah, we had a few options, but very, very early, it was almost a year ago there was an idea to just try [for Keanu].Because the thing is that Keanu's known for playing strong characters that are fighting for something. I think that's a key thing. Let's say, John Wick, right? There, he's fighting for survival. Before that, you have Matrix, where he was fighting to be freed, for freedom. And before that you had Johnny Mnemonic. So all those characters were always strong characters that were fighting for something. Thing is, Johnny Silverhand is very similar because he is a fighter for something, he's of a Samurai band. And the Samurai is this rock band, and [Johnny] is a very charismatic guy that just goes in and acts with a gun in hand.And so we were looking for an actor that would fit that. And our business branch of CD Projekt Red, they suggested, "Okay, let's try [Keanu]." Because [he fit], but we said, "No, that will never work out. That's just impossible." But we decided to go for it. So our business branch contacted him and we started talking to him and we sent a few people to his office to show him what [Cyberpunk 2077] is, what the role of Johnny Silverhand is. We were actually surprised because he picked up on that character fairly quickly, and he even started suggesting, "Okay, maybe I could act like this or that." And we saw that he was getting into the role, really getting into it. So, of course, we nailed down all the details regarding contract and so on. Our business branch took care of it, thankfully, they managed to do that.So we got Keanu on the set. We had him suit up. Put him into the animation studio just to see how he looks. We scanned him completely to recreate him in the game, and he approved the model of Johnny Silverhand--the one that we showed in the [E3 2019 trailer] and also the one that is in the [private E3 2019 demo]. In the longer version, you see the role that Johnny's playing in the game, because he's very important. He's actually the one that is leading V throughout many different encounters. He has his own agenda, he's not always really nice and he's not always your friend. He's this digital ghost, and you are seeing him while others are not.Johnny Silverhand was killed in 2020. He was killed by Adam Smasher in Arasaca Towers and suddenly he's appearing here [in 2077] and he has a very strong connection with the chip that V is trying to steal. That CGI trailer is a part of the game, actually. You can play it as a quest in the game. And [the trailer is] basically the relationship between V and Johnny throughout the game. Now when we started recording Keanu, he was getting into the character and we're like, "Wow, okay, he's already picking it up." And he was actually interested in how it works out. [Keanu is] not really a guy that is a gamer, but he's actually really interested in games. And he's super clever and very open. He's very humble. That's another thing that I can talk about in a moment, but he's very open, you know? And when we started talking about and looking for [Johnny's mannerisms] Keanu had a lot of suggestions for lines.And then we gave him lines, and our adaptation director introduced him to the scene--explaining what happens like the director for a movie--Keanu started acting and said, "I would like to suggest this thing or that thing, or I would actually play it like this or that." And he's also the guy who can take feedback very well, you know, I think he's used to it, being directed, but also trying to look for his own vision for the character. And very, very often he was suggesting, "Okay, yeah we should change this because that sounds more natural, that will be better," and so on.And so he was a really good asset in the team. So we recorded the lines and then put together the demo where you can actually see Johnny Silverhand with the body, with the voice, and it actually turned out really well. I mean, it wasn't perfect that first time and we had to do some tweaks on both his side and our side. But there were things that worked out almost instantly. And we started really liking this character. And the thing is, at the very beginning we had this vision for Johnny Silverhand, but it was a different vision. It was not completely different, but the Johnny Silverhand that we have in the game, it's the version that Keanu saw, or thought of, or felt that would fit.So [Johnny] is a bit different than how we originally imagined, but it's great. I think it's just because [Keanu is] a good help for us. We appreciate all the Hollywood experience he has. Because it's a rare thing. Another thing is, all the other high key actors like this, they really are hard to work with. We worked with a lot of stars in the past for [some of the Witcher games] and for Cyberpunk, but working with Keanu is way better. Because he can take feedback. He's humble. He's not trying to be a star or be someone of a huge caliber. It's just really good to work with him.I think he was interviewed by IGN and they asked him, if he anticipated such a reaction on the [E3 stage]. And one of the things he said was, "Nah, it's not me. It's CD Projekt and Cyberpunk. People love them." And I mean, I know that people like CD Projekt. I know that people like Cyberpunk and I really appreciate it, but he got that reaction. I think he's really the only human on the earth that can walk onto a stage and do absolutely nothing but look at the people and just make everyone absolutely lose their shit.Honestly, I thought I would be the first guy that got up when he walked out on a stage, but I was probably the last one. The whole crowd was already standing.Our office exploded during that moment. I don't know if you're willing to talk about it, but could you describe what about Johnny's characterization has transformed since Keanu's involvement?I mean I could, but I probably shouldn't.Totally fine. You spoke before about how Johnny is this digital ghost. So, is he along for the ride inside V? And is he there for the majority of the game, like from beginning to end, or is Johnny introduced closer to halfway through the story?No, no, no, it's not halfway. [Johnny's introduction] happens at the end of the prologue--which is long. It's a substantial part of the game, but it is still very early. It's not right away, but it's after the events from the CGI trailer. Like that trailer is actually a part of the game. You actually play through it in first person and play through the events that lead to that moment when V wakes up in the landfill and see Johnny Silverhand in front of you saying, "Hey, wake up Samurai, we have a city to burn."So Keanu is in a band. Johnny was a part of a band in Cyberpunk 2020. Are we going to hear Keanu sing in Cyberpunk 2077?Oh, I can't talk about it at this point.Figured I would try. Was it always the plan to have Keanu be a part of that E3 reveal?Oh yeah. When we knew we had him in the game, we knew we were going to use him in a way that would really show how much we are investing in this project and its characters… So the [E3 idea] came about fairly early from our marketing team. Just have him walk on the stage with a really huge bang to just make a gigantic impression. And to be honest, our marketing team, they are wizards. Like, I don't know how they did it. I would not have come up with that idea.And so there was this moment when we really had to be very careful, and make these details wouldn't slip to the press in any way because if they had leaked in any way, everybody would have just said, "Cool, it's Keanu. We already knew he was coming."And you somehow kept it completely secret.Yeah. We kept it for almost a year. And it was just at a conspiracy level for us.Considering everything that did leak prior to E3 2019, it's impressive.Yeah, we were using code names and all kinds of things to just make sure that nobody ever leaked it. We had strict rules in how to refer to him just to make sure that nobody heard about this, because it was just such a huge thing. And yeah, it actually worked out.With Johnny in your head, Cyberpunk 2077 sort of feels like a few other games, like Portal with GLaDOS or Halo with Cortana. Is Johnny a static passenger who's only along for the ride or does he regularly interact with and evolve alongside V?No. I understand from where these comparisons are coming from and they're probably justified, but in the game, John Silverhand plays a completely different role. He's a protagonist and antagonist at the same time. He has his own agenda. There are things he wants from life. Like he was a guy who was a freedom fighter, but from the perspective of the corporations in 2020 he is probably seen as a terrorist. And the fire in him, like the line that he says--"Wake up Samurai, we have a city to burn." Yeah. He's fucking serious. He is dedicated and he has his own goals and the thing is that he's not this passenger that is accompanying you, he tries to control you, he tries to impact you in very different ways and it's really the player's decision when it comes to what extent.I don't want to say more here because I would have to spoil that main story and this is an extremely important bit of the game, but basically the way that V relates to Johnny, what they do together, what they decide on together, that's a really important part of the game and depending on your choices you'll have different consequences and this relationship will develop slightly differently. And at the end, the epilogue of the game, the outcome of your story depends on what you have done with [that relationship].So because of that, I don't think the Cortana reference or the GLaDOS one is justified. I don't want to tell you more. I want to explain how Johnny is different, but then I would have to tell you exactly what happens. I'd destroy the fun of the game for you in two minutes.I'd have to sign an NDA before I left here.Exactly.So is Johnny just another side character in V's story or something more?Johnny Silverhand is one of the primary characters. I would say someone like Jackie is a secondary character in comparison to Johnny Silverhand. Johnny Silverhand is absolutely one of the biggest characters in the game. Like the only one bigger is V, the main character of the game. Like Johnny Silverhand is a second [main character], and the really important one. He is there throughout most of the game; visible and present and interacting with the player in a really meaningful way. So yeah, I think you guys will be surprised actually what we have done with [V and Johnny's] relationships. I'm really happy about it, because I'm working on the quests that are allowing the player to deepen the relationship between Johnny and V in some special ways.So yeah, those are the quests that I designed and am implementing myself. I just loved them. So I just hope the players will be glad.Is Johnny something that only V sees and interacts with or will we see Johnny having an outward effect on other characters and events in the game?So, yes and no. The thing is that Johnny as a digital ghost is seen only by V. But it does not mean that he doesn't have an impact on other characters. But to tell you how, I would have to disclose the main storyline. So, yes, he's big in the game and he's important and he has an impact on the other characters and on the world around him, but that is as much as I can say. But yes, he is seen only by V. But through V he can do way more things and that's a part of their relationship. I would call it a play, they're each pushing the other, you know, creating a bit of conflict in their relationship. What you will do with that is up to you.So like two psyches in one body, sort of way?You could say so, yeah. But I don't want to say more.Info from Gamespot.com

Square Enix officially announced its new Avengers game this week at E3 2019, and the reaction was mixed. Specifically, people on the internet got upset about the new character designs for main characters Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner. The designs are new for the game; they are not based on the actors from the MCU films.Will Square Enix change the character designs in the wake of the criticism, like what's happening with the Sonic the Hedgehog movie?No. Square Enix is committed to the character designs it's created for the game, according to lead creative director Shaun Escayg of developer Crystal Dynamics."We are always listening to, and welcome feedback from our community. There are currently no plans to change our character designs," he said.While the character designs are not going to change for the Avengers game, Escayg reminded fans that the footage shown so far is from a very early, pre-alpha version of the title. As such, the game should look better and better over time."The level of detail and overall polish of the character models will absolutely continue to improve as we get closer to launch," he said.There was plenty of news included in the Avengers game presentation this week, including an upcoming Avengers beta coming to PS4 first and its release date. The action is cinematic in the game's trailer and Square Enix's announcement included details like cooperative gameplay, free post-release DLC, and the all-star voice cast includes Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Nolan North, Travis Willingham, and Jeff Schine.More E3 news:E3 2019's biggest newsZelda: Breath of the Wild 2 teasedNew Xbox console, Scarlett, revealedXbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSDCyberpunk 2077 release date announcedFinal Fantasy VII Remake release date announcedMarvel's Avengers revealedInfo from Gamespot.com