Prior to joining the Microsoft fold in 2020 after a $7.5 billion buyout, Bethesda Softworks was a major highlight of E3 since starting their own independent showcase of titles. Now with Microsoft as their parent company, Bethesda is poised to make waves in the industry as an Xbox Game Studios member.
Compared to previous years, Bethesda’s showcase at E3 2019 was largely a lighter affair, showing off expansion content for Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online, updates for already announced games, and smaller projects such as The Elder Scrolls: Blades, Commander Keen Mobile, Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot.
Here’s what happened to the major games from Bethesda’s showcase at E3 2019.
DOOM Eternal
Following a first-time reveal at E3 2018 and a gameplay demo at QuakeCon 2018, id Software would show off a gameplay demo and new trailer for the hotly-anticipated DOOM Eternal at E3 2019.
First confirmed to release on November 22, 2019, DOOM Eternal would be hit with a short delay to March 20, 2020.
Released to rave reviews praising the action pacing and badass soundtrack, DOOM Eternal would go on to have several post-launch content events for the multiplayer modes. The story expansions, The Ancient Gods, would release with Part 1 on October 20, 2020 and Part 2 on March 18, 2021. DOOM Eternal currently sits at a score of 88 on Metacritic on PC.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
First announced at Bethesda’s E3 2018 show, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, the newest entry in the rebooted Wolfenstein series by MachineGames, would pick up 20 years after the events of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus in an alternate history 1980.
Featuring a new co-op multiplayer feature with players taking control of the twin daughters of Wolfenstein protagonist, BJ Blazkowicz, this game would go on to receive mixed reviews from both critics and the community. Wolfenstein: Youngblood currently sits at an average of a 65 rating on Metacritic across all platforms.
Commander Keen Mobile
For the first time in 20 years, a new Commander Keen project was revealed in the form of a fully animated teaser for a mobile game.
A mix of strategy and platforming, different from previous Commander Keen games being traditional side-scrolling platformers, Commander Keen Mobile was very divisive among fans. Originally planned for a soft-launch in late 2019, the game was very swiftly removed from social media and development was cancelled in June 2020.
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Announced by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami alongside (now former) creative director of Tango Gameworks, Ikumi Nakamura, this new “karate meets magic” game generated significant buzz for being something of a departure for Shinji Mikami and Tango Gameworks after the survival horror series The Evil Within.
Ghostwire: Tokyo was then shown a second time during a PlayStation 5 event in June 2020 as a timed exclusive for the console. However, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has stated both Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo will remain PlayStation 5 timed console exclusives for one year before arriving on Xbox consoles, despite their acquisition.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is currently on track for a release sometime in October 2021 on PlayStation 5 and PC.
Deathloop
Announced on-stage by Arkane Lyon game director Dinga Bakaba and art director Sébastien Mitton, Deathloop was introduced as “something innovative, stylish, and different from anything that we’ve done before.” This new first-person action game with its retro-future stylings would garner tons of attention for its unique setting and use of a time loop for players to experiment with how to tackle different situations.
Shown for a second time in June 2020 at Sony’s PlayStation 5 showcase, Deathloop was also revealed to be a timed console exclusive for the PlayStation 5 for one year before arriving on Xbox consoles. Following a short delay in April 2021, Deathloop is due to release on September 14, 2021 on PlayStation 5 and PC.
With the recent acquisition by Microsoft and upcoming mainline games such as Starfield, The Elder Scrolls VI, and rumors of new projects in the early stages at Zenimax Online Studios, Bethesda has potential to provide some big additions to the Xbox family at E3 2021.
READ MORE: What Happened to the Games From Ubisoft’s E3 2019?
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
