E3 is a massive event for both gamers and game developers. It’s the perfect opportunity for game companies to create a lot of hype and interest about their games to get people to preorder and gamers become amped for the new titles coming out.
Given how important this conference is for both sides of the gaming community it’s surprising when development companies fail to reveal any information about games that fans are eager to hear about. Perhaps there’s some marketing strategy behind this decision or they want to avoid delivering false hope on games that may never take flight, but there are a number of exciting games that failed to appear at E3 2019.
10 Death Stranding
Many gamers were shocked when the infamous Silent Hill game PT was abruptly cancelled with no real explanation why. Some fans may have had some hope it would be created, but when the game’s director Hideo Kojima declared he was forming an independent company that was working with Sony fans were both crushed, and curious.
Now we know his latest project is an action horror game called Death Stranding. The trailer dropped a few weeks before E3 that generated excitement without explaining really anything about the game and raised more questions than it answered. Considering it’s coming out in November it’s surprising the game never made an appearance at E3.
9 Metroid Prime 4
With the successful reboot of the Metroid franchise and the 2017 E3 announcement that Metroid Prime 4 would be the latest installment, fans were surprised when Nintendo never mentioned it at the latest E3 conference.
In fact, there has been very little information given about the upcoming game. Some fans suspect Nintendo’s hesitancy to discuss the game may have to do with them handing the project over to Retro Studios, but fans were still surprised by the lack of updates regarding the new Metroid title.
8 Starfield
This one is a little less surprising considering Bethesda said in advance they wouldn’t be showing Starfield at E3 2019, but it’s surprising they chose not to considering they made the reveal at E3 2018 and have been quiet about the game ever since.
Given Starfield is the first original franchise to come out of Bethesda in over two decades fans assumed they would want everyone hyped about it. Perhaps the game is encountering problems, it’s still years away from release, or maybe they think not talking about it will get people talking.
7 Bayonetta 3
Bayonetta 3 developers have put out some news, specifically that it would be exclusive to Nintendo’s Switch and that it’s originally planned release date of 2019 has been changed to “TBA”. It’s strange that fans of the series have received zero updates or news since the games announcement in 2017 at the Game Awards and this latest development looks bad.
The developers at Platinum Games insist that despite the lack of updates and the release date being up in the air that Bayonetta 3 is still moving forward and will be completed at some point.
6 Dragon Age 4
BioWare has been very tight lipped about the latest entry to the Dragon Age franchise and many players were disappointed when they failed to give any updates during E3. Rumors have been floating that the latest RPG would have multiplayer components and that The Dread Wolf would be a primary figure in the game.
Part of the concern at a lack of updates at E3 is due to Bioware’s sinking ship Anthem. With Anthem’s struggles many are worried that the company is unable to dedicate the time or resources to the next Dragon Age game and the company’s future may even be in question, though this is entirely speculation.
5 Elder Scrolls 6
Like Starfield, Bethesda announced in advance that their latest Elder Scrolls game wouldn’t be making an appearance at E3 and fans are just as confused by this decision. Granted the game’s announcement at E3 2018 was right around the time they started making the thing, so it may just be too early.
Even so there’s no information about where the game will take place, where on the Elder Scroll's timeline it will occur, and any story or game mechanics that will be in it. It’s hard to imagine that after a year of development they wouldn’t have some idea of what the game will entail, but it’s likely they didn’t want to create false buzz and kept it out of E3.
4 Beyond Good And Evil 2
Beyond Good And Evil 2’s lack of appearance at E3 is surprising given how much Ubisoft has already revealed about the game. In E3 2018 they had an in-depth demonstration of the story, the action gameplay, spaceship fights and co-op features.
They didn’t even reveal any information prior to E3 as many game developers have done if they didn't plan on having an E3 showing. Gamers thought they would at least have another trailer demonstration or even a release date for the beta which is said to be later this year.
3 Ghost Of Tsushima
Considering Sony didn’t show at the E3 conference it’s no surprise that none of their games made an appearance. While it’s still not exactly clear why they chose not to show fans were discouraged they wouldn’t get updates on their most hyped games at E3.
Ghost of Tsushima is one game many fans were surprised by at Sony’s conference in 2018. The upcoming stealth/action adventure title about samurais with powers, looks interesting, but Sony has kept it under wraps and it’s lack of presence at the E3 conference have kept fans in the dark.
2 Nioh 2
Yet another Sony game that didn’t make an appearance at E3 is Nioh 2, the sequel to the generally successful Nioh that saw players enter a world of dark fantasy as a samurai, similar in ways to Ghost of Tsushima.
While it’s not the most hyped game in the world it is nonetheless a fascinating title many gamers were hoping to get more information about at E3. At least until Sony announced they weren’t coming and fans were left in the dark.
1 Last of Us Part II
By far the most hyped game this year and the one fans were most upset about when Sony announced they weren’t going to make an appearance. The Last Of Us Part II developers have been very bare with details about progress, release dates, and what fans can expect.
Granted a lot of this may be intentional to keep fans guessing about the game until it releases, either to build hype or avoid failing to deliver on promised expectations. But it’s been quite some time since fans got any substantive news about the epic follow up to one of the greatest games ever made. Sure not appearing at E3 isn’t going to hurt this game’s sales by any means, but some information or updates would have been nice.