See what hotly-anticipated games were no-shows at the biggest game show of the year.
E3 2017 was full of amazing reveals and exceptional demos. Games like Super Mario: Odyssey, Spider-Man, and Shadow of War wowed us while announcements of Beyond Good & Evil 2, a remake of Shadows of Colossus, and Bioware’s new Anthem property point to a bright future. Here are the games that we didn’t see at E3 2017…
10) Dead Island 2
Like its zombie denizens, Dead Island 2 lingers between life and death. It’s been three years since the game debuted with an awesome Trailer, but developer Yager was removed from the project. But instead of succumbing to its wounds, Dead Island 2 has seemingly been resurrected by LittleBigPlanet 3 makers Sumo Digital. Perhaps the media silence is a clever ploy to lull you into a state of false security, waiting to jump out and reveal itself when you least suspect.
9) Wild
Michel Ancel’s Wild is a game we only get snapshots of, and in January of 2017 this oft-teased game gave fans yet another new hint of what is to come. Ride bears! Possess birds! Meet snake goddesses! But while we definitely know Wild is still under development, we’re no closer to a release date for the pre-historic, procedurally-generated open-world game.
8) Deep Down
Announced four years ago, Capcom’s free-to-play dungeon-crawling co-op RPG is still a no-show. After bursting out of the gate as a potential launch title for the PlayStation 4, no one has heard from this game in years and so while it’s tempting to list this as vaporware, Capcom hasn’t officially cancelled it. Perhaps it will emerge from its long hibernation in time for Gamescom this year.
7) Cyberpunk 2077
CD Project Red made quite the splash with the release of the first Cyberpunk 2077 trailer in 2013. True to The Witcher series’ developers roots, the trailer depicted a universe of brutal violence and breathtaking beauty. Centered around a police confrontation, the multi-camera trailer depicts a cybernetic woman as both a victim and a murderer– a perfect symbol for the moral ambiguity of this futuristic RPG. While CD Project is renowned for its long development times, we were hoping E3 would be Cyberpunk’s coming out party.
6) Visceral’s Star Wars Game
While Battlefront 2 had a major showing at EA’s press conference, another big Star Wars project was notably absent from the show. Visceral’s game, led by Uncharted-creator Amy Hennig, was completely MIA from the show. Aside from a short tease at last year’s E3, we know very little about the untitled Star Wars game. But given the pedigree behind it, it’s already one of our most anticipated games of 2018.
5) Shenmue 3
Shenmue 3 was one of the big surprises at Sony’s conference two years ago, and went on to be one of the most successful video game Kickstarters of all time (over $6 million in pledges!). Since then, we haven’t heard much about Ryo’s newest immersive, uniquely-paced adventure. With Shenmue II’s release date back in 2001, players have had to be patient in avenging Ryo’s father. Expect to wait a little longer to hear more about this one.
4) Red Dead Redemption 2
Well, shucks. Fans who bet the house on seeing Rockstar’s Old West open-world title have come up empty. Since its October 2016 announcement, details on Red Dead Redemption 2 has been as elusive as a wanted man. In May, Rockstar announced the game would be delayed to 2018. Rockstar isn’t a regular on E3’s showfloor, but no new trailers were present in Sony or Microsoft’s presentations either. We’ll hope this one moseys into town soon.
3) Death Stranding
If Hideo Kojima’s bizarre open-world action game was going to make a splash at E3, it would have been during Sony’s press conference. But the PlayStation 4 exclusive was a no-show and so we’re left to ponder the mystery of Kojima’s latest project a little longer. Aside from two trailers that reveal actors Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen– alongside some horrifying babies– details have been scarce about the Metal Gear Series developer’s latest project. Kojima is renowned for his ambition and uniqueness of vision but also his disregard for many publishing conventions. The game will be ready when he says it is.
2) The Last of Us: Part II
1) Final Fantasy VII: Remake
The Final Fantasy Vii Remake made its debut at 2015’s E3, but this year brought us no closer to taking up our buster sword once again. In Square Enix’s defense, the developer did deliver on its other missing franchise– Final Fantasy XV– and Sony revealed plans to create a fishing game spinoff from that game’s success. But since Final Fantasy XV is already out and Square Enix released their Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer during the show, it seemed the perfect time for an update on the hotly-anticipated remake. Alas, we’re no closer to knowing when we’ll be returning to Midgar.
These were some of the biggest games that were notably absent from E3 2017. Leave a comment letting us know which one you were most disappointed to see missing from the show.
