Bethesda: E3 2016

E3 2016 hasn’t technically begun, yet Bethesda Softworks kicked off proceedings on the Sunday night in LA. Bethesda’s showcase was packed with surprises as some old classics were brought back into the spotlight for 2016 and beyond. You can see Sunday’s live stream here:

The first major announcement came from id Software – announcing Quake Champions. In the words of Tim Willts – ‘Yes. Quake is back’. Willits continued to describe the new Quake Champions as a classic multi-player arena shooter, with its new features remaining loyal to the 90s Quake games. The game will feature new characters, all with unique abilities and weapons. The PC title will have unlocked framerates and supports up to 120Hz. View the Quake Champions trailer below:

id Software also announced new, free, updates for Doom. Still too early for any news on new Doom titles this year.

We all knew that Arkane Studios had been working on Dishonored 2  (as it was leaked before the official 2015 conference) however, secrets were better kept this year. On Sunday, we learnt of a new first person shooter Prey – scheduled for release in 2017. It’s not a reboot, nor a sequel of the 2006 title of the same name. The new Prey was described as a ‘re-imagining of the prey intellectual property’. Check out the haunting trailer below:

The Elder Scrolls series will also be witnessing some new additions with the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim coming to Xbox and PS4. This game will also add PC mod support to the console versions. Additionally, and perhaps the biggest news for Tamriel, was the announcement of The Elder Scrolls Online’s upcoming One Tamriel update.  These updates will remove level restrictions and high-skill requirements. This will allow players to experience more content in-game, regardless of level stage.

Finally, Bethesda announced their arrival into the virtual reality realm (Bethesda VR) exposing the release of Doom and Fallout 4 for HTC Vive – both versions of both planned for 2017 release.