The 21st annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, kicked off Sunday afternoon with Bethesda’s press conference, but the biggest news came from Monday afternoon at Microsoft’s press conference. The video game world got huge news galore throughout the conference, but I will look at some of the biggest things Microsoft fans will be seeing in the coming months.
The press conference started off with gameplay footage of Halo 5: Guardians, the first Halo game made exclusively for the Xbox One. Fans saw Spartan Locke and his unit engage in combat with the Covenant as well as new footage of the multiplayer gameplay, now titled Warzone. The game is set for release on October 27 of this year.
Two trailers confirmed the release of Forza 6 and Tom Clancy’s The Division. Both games will be released on September 15, 2015 and early 2016 respectively. They also announced the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider, the newest installment in the Lara Croft franchise.
The biggest news from the press conference is news that I personally feel should have been announced a long time ago. The Xbox One will now be backwards compatible, meaning it will have the ability to play Xbox 360 games.
All you have to do is place a 360 game into the console, let it download, and you are set to play all your favorite games from the previous generation. The feature will be available, along with Windows 10, for the Xbox One during the holiday season.
Microsoft revealed a brand new “Elite” controller for the it’s Xbox One console. The new controller aims to offer “pro level precision.” The wireless pad has hair trigger locks, swappable components, and button and paddle remapping.
The last bit of news that Microsoft revealed was the HoloLens, a virtual reality headset. Mojang presented a holographic demo of the popular game Minecraft that was projected out on top of a coffee table. You truly have to see it to believe it.
The Microsoft press conference was truly amazing and with the addition of Star Wars: Battlefront and Gears of War 4, this year is sure to be huge for Xbox fans everywhere.
