Bethesda like to stand apart from the rest of the devs and publishers at E3. They tend to schedule their press conference before the actual convention begins, they pack more into a 90 minute presentation than most of the competition will during the entire week, and their floor space at the convention hall is Candyland for adult gamers. This year Bethesda is bringing a ton of content to some of their huge recent releases, dabbling in the VR world, and even breaking out some new stuff in the very near future.
The Elder Scrolls Legends
The Elder Scroll Legends is a card game that takes inspiration from its card game predecessors, but has added a little Elder Scroll flavoring, depth of strategy,and ambition. Legends features a 2 lane battlefield, which allows the player to attack cards, or the other player, in the same lane. Conversely, it appeared that some magical attacks can "cross the lane." Players can expect rapid momentum shifts and last-second comebacks. This one will be available on current gen consoles and all things Windows 10 later this year.
Quake Champions
Probably best known for its epic RPGs, the Bethesda has some serious FPS chops to consider, especially when you take their acquisitions of Arkane and id into account. Quake was the natural progression of the original Doom deathmatch scenarios, so a multiplayer-only, arena-based Quake Champions seems like a no-brainer for Bethesda. Combat looks fast and visceral and Tim Willets promises "unique and badass characters" with "world-class E-Sports play" in mind. Bethesda will have more info on this title at Quakecon, in August.
Doom
The long-awaited Doom finally hit last month, and Bethesda has more content to unleash. Snap-Map is getting some more creation tools, like the ability to create Hell levels and single-player map creation. Bethesda also promised some free updates, that will include new content: Exodus and a multiplayer mode called Sector, as well as 3 free-for-all modes. Bethesda pioneered the premium DLC concept, and a new expansion called Unto the Evil will be available soon, containing Offering, Cataclysm, and Ritual levels. The first level of the new Doom will be available for everyone to play, this week only, for free.
The Elder Scrolls Online
TESO is getting a premium expansion this month, and it is focused on the Dark Brotherhood. This expansion, which is already available on PC, takes players to the Gold Coast for some killing business(Hail Sithis). The game is also having an international growth spurt and infiltrating new countries, like Japan, with some RPG from the USA. Level disparity has also somehow been conquered, and experienced characters can now enjoy the game with their lollygagging casual friends who have been at level 8 for the last 6 months. The DLC drops on June 23, and One Tamriel won't be seen until the Fall.
Fallout
Bethesda made it clear that they are a long way from the end of Fallout content, with announcements for both Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter. Fallout 4 is getting creator updates, like elevators, weapon and armor mods, conveyor belts, and sorters. At some point players will be able to build their own vault, and experiment on their denizens, in an expansion called Vault Tec Workshop. Another (premium?) DLC, slated for August, was titled "Nuka World." I like the sound of that.
Fallout Shelter is getting a new combat system, expanded quests for vault dwellers, as well as some other tweaks to game and gameplay.
Prey
Arkane announced a new IP called Prey. Thiss is a FPS/action (maybe RPG) set in 2032 on a space station specializing in human experimentation and alteration. Arkane gave us just a taste of gameplay in what was an otherwise canned and cutscene-laden trailer. The station is assaulted and overrun with aliens, at which point the player picks up sack full of space guns and deals with the alien infestation in the harshest manner possible. Release is scheduled for next year and more details will come out of Quakecon.
Skyrim: Special Edition
Teased earlier this week, and verified at the press conference, was a remastered Skyrim for current gen consoles. Skyrim: Special Edition will have all DLC from the last-gen version, modern graphics, and mods will be available for console players.
Dishonored 2
Arkane's other big announcement was a release date for Dishonored 2: November 11. Harvey Smith took the stage to show a buttery smooth "gameplay" session that involved infiltration and elimination of an enemy faction. Like recent Fallout games, factions will play a big part of game progression with endgame consequences. Players can choose from either Corvo or Emily as their avatar, each with differing abilities and mystical powers. New abilities, mostly for Emily, include a Domino ability that causes several enemies (presumably within a certain range) to suffer the same effects as the primary target, Mesmorize, which is similar to Obliviate from Harry Potter, Shadow Walk, which is a stealth and combat talent, and Far Reach can now bring in environmentals, and can even bring in enemy combatants in close for a finishing move.
Bethesda VR
Bethesda is making good on their VR intentions and releasing both Doom and Fallout 4 for the newest of platforms. Expect to see Fallout 4 on the Vive in 2017 and Doom in the near future. Bethesda showed off their VR at an after-party deal, so hopefully Derek or Tiff will be able to report on that later.
