It’s time for the publishing and developing juggernaut that is Bethesda to showcase their line-up in the E3 2019 Bethesda press conference. Join us as we live blog our way through the presentation and learn what’s coming in franchises such as Doom, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Rage, and much much more.
Don’t forget to check out our full E3 2019 AEST Press Conference schedule, as there’s still plenty in store.
Bethesda Vice President of Marketing Pete Hines is first to take the stage, and he’s saying that this year it’s all about the games. This year Bethesda wants to focus on their community and how it’s the fans that drive them to make their games.
Bethesda Games Studios Executive Producer Todd Howard is here, and he looks to be in his element once again. He says in the past twelve months more than 60 million players have visited Bethesda games such as Fallout 76, acknowledging the criticism the game received. Todd says Fallout 76 now has one of the best online communities he’s ever seen.
Elder Scrolls Blades is Bethesda’s second straight #1 mobile game after Fallout Shelter, and Todd now welcomes Craig Lafferty and Matt Carofano from the Elder Scrolls Blades team. The game is rumoured to come to Nintendo Switch so let’s see if they reveal it now.
Elder Scrolls Blades will be getting new items such as jewellery as well as a new dragon quest-line launching today. Arena mode is also on its way, due after Winter, and there it is: “Switch Blades“.
Nintendo technically gets its first exclusive Elder Scrolls game in The Elder Scrolls Blades, as the game is not available on Xbox One or PlayStation 4. It will also still be free on the Switch. There are also some exclusive E3 rewards for Apple and Android players that play the game during the E3 2019 conference.
Jeff Gardiner and Tom Mustaine from the Fallout 76 team have now taken the stage, announcing the biggest update to the game yet called Wastelanders. With full dialogue trees, NPCs have arrived in Fallout 76 making it more of a traditional Fallout game. These characters have their own stories and goals, and it’s up to you how to interact to them.
Fallout 76 Wastelanders will be free to all Fallout 76 players, arriving in Spring 2019. There will also be a free trial week during E3 2019 for anyone wanting to try out the game.
Check out the Fallout 76 Wastelanders trailer below:
And finally a sneak peek at a new game mode coming to Fallout 76 called Nuclear Winter. A 52-player battle royale mode, players will fight to be the overseer of Vault 51, and it will be completely free:
Todd Howard is back on stage once again to thank the community for their support, and now Tango Gameworks’ Shinji Mikami and Ikumi Nakamura are here to announce Ghostwire Tokyo. A spooky action adventure game, people are vanishing throughout Tokyo. Explore the world and face challenges to save humanity. Check out the trailer:
The trailer shows people just disappearing with their clothes dropping to the floor, and some amazing Japanese backdrops. If the graphics are anywhere near what’s displayed in this trailer then we are definitely in for a treat. Explore Japanese shrines as well as the concrete jungle as you work your way through Ghostwire Tokyo. Don’t fear the world, attack it.
After a brief video about adding dragons to your cereal for breakfast, Studio Director Matt Firor from Zenimax Online Studios took the stage.
He’s here to tell us about the season of the dragon and the Elder Scrolls Online Elsweyr expansion featuring lots of dragons.
Matt then went on to announce what’s next for Elder Scrolls Online, it’s more content featuring Khajit and dragons and the Dragonguard. “To be continued” is shown on the screen, which will complete the season of the dragon with a Q4 2019 expansion called Dragonhold. A new dungeon DLC called Scalebreaker will launch in Q3 2019.
Expect more on Elder Scrolls Online at QuakeCon later this year.
Matt Firor then introduced Senior Product Manager Kirra Schlitt to introduce a new game Zenimax Online Studios has been working on.
It’s COMMANDER KEEN! Wow, we weren’t expecting that one. It’s coming to Android and iOS very soon. Check out the trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtQjGPfkEe8
Billy and Billie are the twin children of the original Commander Keen, and this new reboot looks like it will be a fun game for younger kids. Expect a soft launch in winter, and for more info head to go.keen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14ZD9_tLwgA
Next up is the mobile card game Elder Scrolls Legends. A new expansion Moons of Elsweyr featuring more dragons is coming to the game soon. Check out the trailers below:
Rage 2 is next up, and insanity now rules for players all around the world. Avalanche Studios is doing what they do best with some new content coming for Rage 2 such as new gameplay modes, cheat codes, a pilotable mech, new vehicles, and new characters. Also the Rise of the Ghosts expansion featuring new enemy factions will be making its way to the game soon. Watch the trailer below:
Wolfenstein takes the stage and Jerk Gustafsson executive producer of Machinegames is here to announce two new Wolfenstein games. Wolfenstein Cyberpilot brings Nazi killing into Virtual Reality for the first time next month, and it’s playable in the Bethesda E3 booth.
Later this year, Wolfenstein Youngblood will launch. A gameplay experience bigger than any previous Wolfenstein game is promised, with new weapons, and more Nazis to kill. Youngblood will also feature co-op mode for the first time. Set in the 1980’s, Youngblood takes place in northern Paris and will launch on July 26, 2019 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. Check out the trailer below:
Next up from Arkane Studios is Dinga Bakaba and Sebastien Mitton. They are excited to announce their latest third person action game. It’s a new IP called Deathloop. It looks like there will be plenty of gun-fighting, as well as melee with weapons, and even using some special abilities.
If at first you don’t succeed, die, die again in Deathloop. Check out the trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXv5IDp8y74
Next was a nod to the LGBTI community, before Robety Duffy from ID Software and James ltman from Bethesda took the stage to announce some new technology.
They announce that there have been over a billion downloads for mods in the console versions of Fallout 4 and Skyrim, and that everything they do is to improve player experiences. Today they are introducing Orion. A new cloud-based Bethesda platform allowing gamers to stream at the game-engine level. This allows streaming at up to 20% faster than other game engines. Games built using the Orion tech will stream at max settings even when your dad’s binging Netflix in 4K.
They then bring out Doom 2016 being streamed to a mobile device on-stage at 60FPS in 4K. Register at Slaysclub.com tonight for a chance to be one of the first to stream Doom using Orion.
Next up is Doom Eternal and an epic trailer is shown before Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin from the Doom Eternal team take the stage. They are building an entire universe for Doom, as Earth is being consumed by demons. Players will head to heaven and hell to the sentinel home-world and beyond.
After some more buzzwords about what to expect in the latest iteration, they then show off some gameplay.
More details are revealed including that Doom Eternal is playable at E3 2019.
Doom Eternal will launch on November 22, 2019 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC platforms. An amazing collectors edition featuring a lifesize Doom helmet will be launching at release, and if you want to check it out, there’s a guy in the audience at the Bethesda press conference wearing one. We’re not sure at this stage if it will come in a canvas bag.
Lastly, Doom Battlemode is announced. A new strategic competitive game mode which will be revealed further at QuakeCon. The team leaves with one last look at the Doom Eternal multiplayer:
With the show wrapping up, Bethesda announces DoomCon, a new show to celebrate 25 years of Doom. No Elder Scrolls VI this year, perhaps we’ll get it at DoomCon.
