In recent years, E3 has been more about the shocking returns than it has completely new properties. Long-awaited sequels and remakes always make the headlines with fresh games battling it out for almost second place relevancy in the seriously crowded line-up.
Just take E3 2016, for example. Resident Evil 7, God of War, the Crash Bandicoot remasters, and many more refreshes of old franchises overshadowed totally fresh IPs. And it makes sense: gamers love their franchises, which is why we keep seeing more and more sequels.
But when new games are revealed years before they’re finished (such as the Final Fantasy 7 remake), it creates too much interest too quickly, leading to plenty of gamers to ramp up their expectations while they wait for any new concrete info. The teases only ever add up to frustration when a game eventually goes AWOL.
With E3 2017 right around the corner, let’s take a look at some games that have either been revealed at previous E3’s with little information released since, or just long-anticipated games that have almost vanished.
1. Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red will not be rushed into releasing a game. They also don’t want to even talk about unreleased games, which is why every journalist gets the same PR email reply when pressed for information. The Polish developer keep their cards close to their chest, which they certainly have done since Cyberpunk 2077 was teased in an unforgettable trailer.
It’s been four years since Archive supplied the soundtrack to what must go down as one of the best game trailers out there, and we’ve heard barely a whisper since. With The Witcher 3 now totally wrapped up, CDPR are hard at work on the game, but isn’t it about time we saw something new? If for nothing else, a release date confirmation at E3 2017 would put an end to the 2077 release date jokes we’ve been hearing for almost half a decade.
2. The Wolf Among Us Season 2
The cult darling in Telltale’s ever-growing library of narrative-driven games, The Wolf Among Us took established fairytale lore and put a gritty spin on it. The Big Bad Wolf became Bigby Wolf: a hard-nosed detective who struggles to keep his primal instincts in check.
A return to Fabletown has never been confirmed, but with the first season establishing the game’s rich world, it would be a shame not to return to it. Hints have been found here and there about it happening, though the only thing holding it back would be Telltale’s packed schedule. They have adapted an almighty amount of lucrative franchises in the last five years, so could they really afford to spend time making a sequel to what is essentially their most niche title? Only time will tell, but if it’s ever going to be announced, it needs to be this year.
3. Cuphead
One of the most visually captivating platformers ever teased, Cuphead is a PC and Xbox One console exclusive that seems to have been hit with too much hype for such a small team to handle. It’s been delayed already and little else has been revealed about it in-between Xbox showing it off at the last two E3 shows.
While it’s slated for release this year, new gameplay footage and the opportunity to play it on the E3 floor is going to be essential just to remind people that it exists and that we should be excited for it. I know I am, but it’s subsiding the further away a release date gets.
4. Agent
With all the fuss surrounding Red Dead Redemption 2, many have forgotten about the other new and returning Rockstar properties to look forward to. While some may salivate over the possibility of Bully 2, any updates on a game that was announced nearly ten years ago before disappearing into thin air would make the biggest headlines.
Originally announced as part of Sony’s E3 2009 conference as a PS3 exclusive, information on Agent has been more elusive than its protagonist: a spy during the Cold War. Since then, there’s just been a whole lot of confusion, leading to it being quietly forgotten about by Sony and Rockstar. If it was to come out now, it’s doubtful it would still be exclusive, but who knows until we see it. Could E3 2017 finally spell its return to the spotlight?
5. Dead Island 2
From its promising reveal to its descent into development hell, time hasn’t been kind to Dead Island 2, so much so that it’s probably too late for it to release to substantial interest. It’s been in limbo for so long, in fact, that this website was only just starting when it was officially announced.
Swapping developers mid-project is usually never a great idea, but Sumo Digital have a proven track record of “fixing” troubled games. Deep Silver have confirmed that Dead Island 2 is still happening after months and months of radio silence, so maybe we’ll see at E3 2017 in one way or another. It’s unlikely, though something concrete has to come out of the camp in the not too distant future.
6. Metal Gear Survive
The fact that we haven’t seen a sliver of anything new from Metal Gear Survive since its widely-loathed reveal smacks of damage control. The backlash was widespread and unforgiving, so perhaps Konami are taking the time away from the spotlight to change some things.
Unlikely. Metal Gear Survive is going to be hated -no matter how good it may turn out to be- purely because it looks like the publisher are abusing the MGS name post-Kojima. If it’s showcased at this year’s E3, expect just as much negativity and morbid curiosity surrounding it as when it was first announced.
Honourable Mentions
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Highly unlikely as the game has only just moved in-house and a release date is years away.
Life Is Strange season 2
Recently announced with the caveat that it wouldn’t be at E3 2017.
Shenmue 3
Would have been good to see more from it, but YS Net recently confirmed Shenmue 3 won’t be in attendance to focus on development.
Any Valve game with a 3 in the name
Because, you know. The meme.
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