Every PC game announced or trailered at E3 2017
Ev3rying Ev3r
Each year E3 rolls around like a giant evil worm, crushing all that's good and pure. BUT that worm also announces lots of exciting gaming news as it wreaks its carnage upon the Earth. Here we have gathered every announcement, reveal, and exciting new trailer that emerged from the barrage of screamed press conferences over the last few days. And lots of it looks rather spiffy.
A rather enormous 47 PC games were either announced, revealed, or updated upon, with new trailers, information, and released dates that will all be missed by at least three months. We've collected the lot, with trailers, in alphabetical order, into one neat place, just for you.
To browse through the collection, click the little red arrows or use the little arrow keys on your keyboard. There is much goodness to be found. All condemnation is of the trailers, or the presentation, not the games we haven't played.
If you want to find a particular game you already know was shown, then here's a handy index page.
A Way Out
A split-screen co-op adventure from the folks who brought us Brothers - A Tale Of Two Sons. This is about two strangers, Leo and Vincent, forced to work together to escape from prison, and then continue their relationship as they try to stay free.
Certainly one to pay a lot of attention to, not least because of the deft hand with which Brothers' plot was handled. Could it be the story-based sofa co-op to set a trend for such things?
Release Date: Early 2018
Further Reading:
Age Of Empires: Definitive Edition
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the original Age Of Empires is receiving a 4K remastering, with (relatively) prettier graphics, the ability to zoom out of the battlefield, and improvements to how it plays. But it's still, essentially, the original AoE. Do you want to play that again? Do you want to pay for that again?
You can sign up to join the closed beta right here.
Release Date: TBA
Further Reading:
Anthem
The rumoured new BioWare IP has been revealed to be Anthem, a very Destiny-like "shared world" RPG, with co-op-me-do questing and looting. And also flying about on jetpacks.
Not what you'd expect to see from BioWare, perhaps, although it's not entirely clear what BioWare expects to be any more. There's seven minutes of it below.
Release Date: Autumn 2018
Further Reading:
Assassin's Creed Egypt Origins
The extraordinarily well-leaked new Assassin's Creed is set in Egypt, but for some godforsaken reason is called "Origins". A moratorium on "Origins" in your game title is now in place.
The AssCreed series has shown some improvements in recent editions, and it's had what will hopefully prove to be a rejuvenating year off. Origins will apparently move the series on a bit in terms of ideas, with RPG-lite levelling and the like. You can see some moving pictures of it below.
Release Date: 27 October 2017
Further Reading:
Battlefield 1: In The Name Of The Tsar
Just teased, at this point, the Great War incarnation of Battlefield is getting its Russian expansion at the end of the Summer. It'll come with eight new maps, the Hussar cavalry, the amazingly named 1st Russian Women’s Battalion of Death, and new forms of player progression to help with specialisation.
Does that make you want to play again? Or for the first time?
Release Date: September
Further Reading:
Beyond Good And Evil 2
Yeah, right, sure. Fool us four hundred and thirty-seven times, shame on us, Ubisoft, but you think we're going to believe you this time? A cinematic trailer would be more convincing, were they not to have released such things before, nine years ago, which now seems to have been completely retconned.
This latest announcement of the sequel to one of the most beloved games of all time now reveals it's set before the first game's hero, Jade, was even born. And goodness me, the effing and jeffing. Apparently it's going to feature an online space-world full of pirates, because why not?
Perhaps releasing entirely contradictory but ever-so expensive rendered trailers every few years is the game?
Release Date: Don't be silly
Further Reading:
Call Of Duty: WWII
The idiotically named return to the megalithic series' roots, set in World War 2, and is coming from Sledgehammer Games this time out, but we knew all that. What we didn't know is... oh, nothing at all. No new news at all.
But they have, at least, put out a multiplayer trailer as you likely noticed below. In the meantime, here's the list of confirmed features based on this new footage:
- Bellowing
- Guns
- Things on fire
Release Date: PS4 beta on 25 August 2017
Further Reading:
Code Vein
Nope, still not over the creepy oddness of the game's name. But this is Namco's previously announced home grown Dark Souls-a-like, from their in-house studio, er, oh lord, Project Vein. Please don't project your veins, people. Keep your veins hidden.
E3 sees the "new" trailer, and also confirmation that the game is coming our way on PC. Post-apocalyptic vampires in an action-RPG that's going to be proper tricky.
Release Date: 2018
Further Reading:
Crackdown 3
This one's been known about since, well since Crackdown 2, but official last July. But things have been quiet since, and now E3 delivers a new trailer as is legally required. And it stars the endlessly lovely Terry Crews.
Perhaps it's not the strongest idea to re-embrace that 90s motif of putting FMV humans into graphicsy worlds. It's also probably not entirely brilliant to have him enunciate, "Motherfuckers! They killed the power around the world!" while standing in front of a very, very lit up, well-powered city. It's a deeply odd thing, looking more like a blooper reel than trailer, but still: More Crackdown! More dropping buildings on buildings and general lunacy. Beware, however: Crackdown has always been a series Microsoft has dicked around with on PC, so prepare for some manner of idiotic Win 10 Store only bullshit to ruin everything.
Release Date: 7 November 2017
Further Reading:
Destiny 2
No real new news about the game itself, what with Activision having rather shown its Destiny cards last month, but we now know the PC version is definitely coming a lot later than the console builds. They get it 6th September, we get it 24th October. Bah. Still, that's sooner than the PC release date for Destiny 1 of 'never'. All they had to say at E3 was some guff about PS4 timed exclusives, whatever that is, and the new growlygrowls trailer below.
Release Date: 24 October 2017
Further Reading:
Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider
The Outsider has perhaps been the Dishonored series' most over-written, under-used character, equal parts satan and saint, and with Dishonored 2, an added dose of Penguin. In this confusingly titled expandalone following Dishonored 2, you play as Billie Lurk (known from the original game's expansion The Knife Of Dunwall), who is later called Meagan Foster in the sequel. Muddled? Us too.
Lurk will team up with her old master, assassin Daud, in an attempt to kill the mysterious Outsider, in a story that will hopefully be a little more imaginative about who he really is. Beyond that, expect a whole new adventure in the Dishonored world, ideally once more featuring the mighty Rosario Dawson as Lurk.
Release Date: 15 September 2017
Further Reading:
DOOM VFR
One of a clutch of belated VR projects from Bethesda announced this year, DOOM VFR is not a remake of the recent game for cyberglasses, but rather a new game set in the same place. Movement seems to be handled with teleport and a dash, which doesn't seem much in keeping with the DOOM experience. Although the trailer shows a very worrying amount of standing still and moving levers, before getting on with the gibbage. All seven owners of a VR kit and PC powerful enough to play it should be very excited.
Release Date: Late 2017
Further Reading:
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Bandai Namco seem all in love with the PC these days, so much so that even this most consoley of console series is going to make an appearance. This is a fighting game incarnation via Arc System Works, they who made BlazBlue and Guilty Gear. Which is no poor resume.
An alternative view of the footage shown below is a migraine headache in gaming form.
Release Date: Early 2018
Further Reading:
Elder Scrolls Legends - The Heroes Of Skyrim
The free-to-spend-money card game expands at the end of the month with the freshly revealed Heroes Of Skyrim pack. Another 150 pretend cards, adding pretending Shouts to the pretend table.
How do you show a card game in a trailer to make it exciting? Answer: you don't show it at all. Hmmm.
Release Date: 29th June 2017
Further Reading:
Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind - The Horns Of The Reach / Clockwork City
The introduction of Morrowind to the beleagured The Elder Scrolls Online marked a key moment for the MMO, making it maybe actually worth playing. That was only two months ago, and Bethesda have already announced two new expansions this week. There's Horns Of The Reach, and Clockwork City, both billed as DLC adding new dungeons, items and achievements. The release of Horns will be accompanied by yet another big update to the core game.
Release Date: Horns: August, Clockwork: Late 2017
Further Reading:
Fallout 4 VR
It's Fallout 4, but in VR. Relive the series' least interesting entry, but like you're actually there! Now with added nausea for first-person movement, augmented by your Pip-Boy floating horrifically around in front of you. Or maybe it'll be amazing. It won't, but maybe.
Release Date: October 2017
Further Reading:
Far Cry 5
Far Cry 5's presence at E3 wasn't a reveal, but it was a relief. "Oh phew" the entire gaming world collectively sighed, as the first look at in-game footage revealed what looks like a lot of silly, sweary, gory fun, rather than po-faced attempts at arch satire. Of course, the latter will still likely appear, incessantly trying to interrupt all the good times on offer, as is proved by the other trailer they released, also below.
But still, that bit where the dog brings you the gun: yes.
Release Date: 27th February 2018
Further Reading:
Fifa 18
Before you sigh your own arms off, there's some positive buzz around this one. Even though it still looks like it's played by the world's most intricately animated corpses. The rather enormous down-side of being excited about the annual dose of foot-the-ball is the price. EA have decided, presumably for a joke, to exclusively sell it through their pointless Origin store at a hilarious £55.
Release Date: 29th September 2017
Further Reading:
Forza Motorsport 7
Locked to Windows 10, and therefore presumably to the utter misery of the Windows Store, most people won't find the energy to work out how to install Forza Motorsport 7 on their PC. But just in case you've still any inclination to fight your way to getting the latest in the endless series, they've decided to price it at an astonishing £50 for the vanilla version, up to a laugh-out-loud £90 for the version with all the game's content available. It's about driving cars around.
Release Date: 29th September 2017
Further Reading:
Griftlands
Revealed at E3's awkward little brother of a conference, the PC Gaming Show, Klei's next game is Griftlands, a familiarly cartoony take on 2D turn-based RPGing. And since it's from Klei, it'll probably be absolutely amazing.
The trailer doesn't do a great job of communicating much, but the news that "everything is negotiable: money, loyalty - even morality" sounds very intriguing. There's a Steam page already with more details and pretty pictures.
Release Date: Early 2018
Further Reading:
Lawbreakers
Online arena multiplayer shooter Lawbreakers seems to have been about to arrive for hundreds of years, but Cliffy "Cliffy B" B's game finally has a release date this Summer. No more new news than that out of E3 - the trailer below is a month old - but still, existing is perhaps the biggest news of them all. You can sign up for the beta here.
Release Date: 8th August
Further Reading:
Life Is Strange: Before The Storm
Three new prequel episodes are being added to the series that showed Telltale how it should be done, telling the tale of how Life Is Strange's Chloe and Rachel got together. Set three years before the first game, this absolutely flat-out guarantees unhappy endings, but presumably with some special storytelling on the way there.
Release Date: 31st August 2017
Further Reading:
Metro Exodus
One of the few surprise announcements from E3 this year (although a new Metro game existing had previously leaked), Metro Exodus will carry on the story after 2033 and Last Light, this time with much larger scope in mind. Deep Silver describe it as "continent-spanning", and apparently not entirely set in tunnels. Post apocalyptic Russian wilderness sound very tempting, and of course treads harder on the toes of the STALKER games. As you might expect from 4A Games, it looks gloomy and beautiful, and the promise of non-linear levels suggests big things.
The trailer footage looks incredible, but ridiculously staged. Fingers crossed it might be the Fallout game we were waiting for.
Release Date: 2018
Further Reading:
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Following a recent delay into the dangerously competitive grounds of October, we're only more ludicrously anticipating this, to see if it can match the joyous surprise of 2014's Shadow Of Mordor.
Adam reports that the sequel is not resting on the laurels of Mordor's nemesis system alone, but rather looking likely to push the whole concept of open world games forward a big step or seven.
Release Date: 10th October 2017
Further Reading:
Monster Hunter World
Another long-running franchise that's realised there's money to be made in these here parts, Monster Hunter is finally appearing on PC with Monster Hunter World. Albeit a while after the consoles get theirs, early next year. We're not exactly Monster Hunting experts here at RPS, but this trailer looks, well, like a third-person action game. As if you were creating one to demonstrate the genre to a scientist. Better trailer please.
Release Date: 2018
Further Reading:
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Announced in 2012, you could argue Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is a touch late. The latest videos show horsies, but not happy horsies frolicking in fields - ANGRY horses fighting with other angry horses, their human companions trying to chop each other up. What went wrong, horses? Why such hate?
Release Date: Oh, probably never
Further Reading:
Need For Speed Payback
Ghost Games were cursed by a furious witch for running over her dog, and must forever and ever only make Need For Speed games. This is the studio's third, but the forty-millionth for some of the old hands at the former EA Göteborg. And they sure look like they know what they're doing.
It looks VERY Burnout, all that bumping and crashing, and that's no bad thing. At the same time, it's about as unoriginal a trailer as you could ever imagine. At the point when the character A Man shouts "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" everyone on Earth hung their head, whether they were watching the trailer or not.
Release Date: 10th November 2017
Further Reading:
Ooblets
Double Fine's ultro-cutesy Ooblets got a new trailer showing in E3land, and, well, maybe someone other than this author could explain why it's exciting. This author thinks it looks like something from the dying era of the Nintendo DS, developed in a universe where no one has heard of Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, just colours and buttons. Here, Brendan liked it, he's a much nicer person than me. Read him.
Release Date: 2018
Further Reading:
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
Ori & The Blind Forest is one of RPS's favouritest games, so we're not unreasonably excited by the SURPRISE! appearance of the sequel. But oh colossal ballsacks of misery, it's motherhumping Windows 10 only. Which means the god-awful Windows Store, and all the hateful horror that entails. What a big red shiny shame, because gosh it looks beautiful.
Release Date: TBA
Further Reading:
Quake Champions
After a tech test last month, this F2P reincarnation of Quake 3 revealed another character at E3. One BJ Blazkowicz, a dual-wielding soldier, has been added in, able to hold two of any of the game's weapons at once. They've also announced three new maps, accessible in the closed beta, which you can sign up for here
Release Date: Some point in 2017
Further Reading:
Sea Of Thieves
Yet another Microsoft published game that's needlessly and spitefully locked into Windows 10 and all the accompanying Windows Store horror this entails. So maybe click next, unless you can find the energy to still care.
Which is a shame, as it looks like some fun piratey co-op nonsense. Although if you can stand to listen to the god-awful attempts at jokes in the commentary on this trailer, you're a better (worse) human than I.
Release Date: Early 2018
Further Reading:
Skull And Bones
It's been a proper piratey year at E3, and none more so than Ubisoft's surprise announcement of Skull And Bones, a reworking of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag's epic boating combat, reimagined into a game of its very own. A co-operative multiplayer oceanic warfare sim that looks quite the thing.
Please register your stunned respect that we have written this entry about Ubisoft making a game about piracy without making any DRM jokes. Money or flowers.
Release Date: Autumn 2018
Further Reading:
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
They sure picked well, parodying superheroes: the current fad isn't going anywhere so they can keep delaying this RPG as much as they like. No surprises in yet another trailer, but you can see them having fun getting to swear without bleeps.
The current release is set for October, so expect to see it some time in Space Year 23,981.
Release Date: 17th October 2017
Further Reading:
Star Wars Battlefront II
Well, this is what the Frostbite Engine was made for, and bloody hell, if it can really look like this when it's released it'll be quite the thing. Epic squillion player battles in some lovely looking sunshine.
No sign of Picard, Data or any Klingons so far, although the latter may be being saved for DLC.
Release Date: 17th November 2017
Further Reading:
State Of Decay 2
Windows 10 Only Alarm. Windows 10 Only Alarm. Windows 10 Only Alarm. Windows 10 Only Alarm.
Anyone still reading? Huh. Ok, well, this is more zombie apocalypse business, third-person survival, with co-op for up to four players. It was meant to be out this year, but it's now announced to have slipped into the second quarter of next year. Oh, and this time it features gardening!
Release Date: Spring 2018
Further Reading:
Tacoma
Fullbright's follow-up to Gone Home has been tantalising us for years, and now finally has a fixed release in less than two months. There was a new trailer for Microsoft's conference, although thank the lord it's not tied into their publishing. And last week they put out ten minutes of footage, so you should watch that too.
Release Date: 2nd August 2017
Further Reading:
The Crew 2
The whole world has been clamouring since 2014's release of The Crew for more! More bacon, more episodes of Game Of Thrones, more pudding please. But we're pretty sure there's not been a single clam for more The Crew. Despite that, Ubisoft are turning the online racing festival-of-eh into a franchise, and goddammit, it's got monster trucks.
And aeroplanes. Which is a nice surprise. Sadly it's still about being a massive prick, and this time a massive prick with a YouTube channel. The worst kind of massive prick. Sold? There are beta sign-ups.
Release Date: Early 2018
Further Reading:
The Evil Within 2
There isn't really a world where Bethesda wouldn't be making a sequel to their 2014 survival horror from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. It's perhaps unfortunate that the scariest part of the reveal trailer is the kiddy-singing of Ordinary World. But that's more reflective of just how scary that singing is, rather than detrimental to the look of the game. It looks spiffo, especially in the actual real game trailer below the below.
Release Date: 13th October 2017
Further Reading:
The Last Night
Controversy Corner is over there, so we'll ignore that here. Instead we'll point out this was most people's highlight of Microsoft's show, the madly beautiful pixel-but-not-quite graphics taking everyone by pleasant surprise.
We don't know how this will actually translate into a game, as no indication of how you play has yet to appear. Fingers crossed for something close to Oxenfree.
Release Date: 2018
Further Reading:
Total War: Warhammer 2
Sega afforded planet Earth its first view of the strategy sequel from Creative Assembly, which feels like it's arriving very soon after the original. It sure looks like a Total War game filmed in a way that no one ever actually plays a Total War game.
This sequel (which always sounds more like an expansion pack) adds in four new races, High Elves, Dark Elves, Lizardmen and one secret one. My money's on the Swedish. Battles will take place in Lustria, Ulthuan, Naggaroth, and the Southlands. Also, the title is still really silly.
Release Date: 28th September 2017
Further Reading:
Transference
Maybe if the game had begun with a letter earlier in the alphabet we'd have slightly more patience for the idea of Elijah Wood making a VR game in his kitchen or something. Ubisoft have snagged this one, presumably aiming more for the PSVR market than the thin takings via Oculus or Rift. Nothing underlines these feelings better than a launch "trailer" that for some reason features people mumbling about the word "synergy", the game hidden as best as possible.
It feels like you're really in a movie! Oh god is it 1991? Help. Someone help. Take the VR hats away from them, for all our sakes.
Release Date: Spring 2018
Further Reading:
Tropico 6
A game in which you play as an unelected leader trying desperately to cling to power on a small island nation. Ho-ho! Only the weather is better in Tropico's banana republic than it is in rainy Britain. Zing! And unlike in reality, here you have actual power to make a difference and to determine the policies of your government. Bazonga! And the E3 trailer suggests you'll be able to build wind farms, suggesting a progressive approach towards dealing with climate change is possible. Waka-waka! Also this one is made by a new developer, I guess.
Release Date: 2018
Further Reading:
Tunic
A modern take on the original Zelda, about exploring an isometric world of swaying grass, colourful trees and angry machines, then hacking at all of it with your sword. There are a dozen games trying to re-do the original Zelda released every year - some of them are even called Zelda - but Tunic looks a step above the others just because of its lovely art style and lighting. Previously Tunic was called Secret Legend and John played it back in 2015. He thought it was something special then.
Release Date: 2018
Further Reading:
Wargroove
A spiritual successor to Advance Wars that absurdly hasn't existed until now, developed by Chucklefish, the creators of Starbound. It trades tanks and guns for the knights and dragons of medieval-fantasy, but otherwise looks actionably similar to its inspiration. One neat twist however is that it comes with editing tools to let you build your own maps, cutscenes and branching campaigns.
Also it has 4-player local and online multiplayer. Seriously, why did no one make this before now?
Release Date: 2017
Further Reading:
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
BJ Blazkowicz continues to be the most unlikely likeable protagonist in a first-person shooter. Here he's a Dad with twins on the way, fighting occupying Nazis in America and touring the country in order to incite a revolution.
The 8-minute long video shown at E3 wandered from scene to scene as if an editor had forgotten to assemble it properly, but in the process managed to capture the tonal variety of the game: from alternate universe pop culture parodies, to earnest and charming relationships between friends and lovers, to hallucinated cartoon lizards, to lots and lots of Nazis being machine-gunned to bits. If you think that all sounds pretty good, then consider how bad Duke Nukem Forever was, and realise that Wolfenstein is even better than you initially thought.
Release Date: October 27th 2017
Further Reading:
XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen
An expansion for XCOM 2 which introduces three new factions, each of which lends hero class soldiers to help you in tactical fights and apparently new opportunities for the strategy layer to inundate you with nagging busywork. It also introduces a new enemy, the Chosen, and the ability for your soldiers to "develop bonds with compatible teammates" which lead to them gaining new skills, like when Adam and Alec became friends and now Alec is better at climbing and throwing.
Release Date: 29th August 2017
Further Reading:
Ylands
A sandbox exploration game in the same vein as Minecraft, but with polygons instead of cubes. The name is apparently a shortened form of "low-poly island", instead of the easy, mean joke I won't make but will instead happily prompt you to imagine. A new trailer for the game was shown during the PC Gaming Show, although it's technically already available to buy via the Bohemia Interactive digital store you just now learned existed.
Release Date: Summer 2017
Further Reading:
Here's an index for this unwieldy thing, so you can jump to any game name that's already caught your eye.
A Way Out
Age Of Empires: Definitive Edition
Anthem
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Battlefield 1
Beyond Good & Evil 2
Call Of Duty: WWII
Code Vein
Crackdown 3
Destiny 2
Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider
Doom VFR
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Elder Scrolls Legends - The Heroes Of Skyrim
Elder Scrolls Online: The Horns Of The Reach / Clockwork City
Fallout 4 VR
Far Cry 5
Fifa 18
Forza Motorsport 7
Griftlands
Lawbreakers
Life Is Strange: Before The Storm
Metro Exodus
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Monster Hunter: World
Mount & Blade 2
Need For Speed: Payback
Ooblets
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
Quake Champions
Sea Of Thieves
Skull And Bones
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Star Wars Battlefront II
State Of Decay 2
Tacoma
The Crew 2
The Evil Within 2
The Last Night
Total War: Warhammer 2
Transference
Tropico 6
Tunic
Wargroove
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen
Ylands