E3 is about a month away, and that means it’s time to start guessing what’s going to happen! This has been a yearly tradition of mine since long before I started this blog. Usually, I would post them as a long Facebook post. Last year, I did the usual post and wrote up a more detailed one here. This year, I’m just going to post them here, since the Facebook post gets buried pretty quickly.

The rules for my predictions are the same as they always have been. For each press conference, I will make three predictions. The first will be something that I’m positive is going to happen. These ones shouldn’t surprise anyone. The second is one that I have a good feeling about, but isn’t too obvious. And finally, the third one is a complete shot in the dark. These are pie-in-the-sky, too good to be true sort of guesses. I’ve only ever gotten one of these right once.

With all that out of the way, let’s move on to the predictions.

Electronic Arts

Sure Thing: We’ll see the first live demonstration of Star Wars Battlefront II

Star Wars is one of the most important IPs that EA has right now. The previous Battlefront game was a good foundation, but ultimately disappointed fans with it’s lack of content and variety.  With the second game due out later this year, this is the perfect opportunity to show that they’ve listened to the complaints and made a much more complete game this time around. There’s no way this isn’t going to happen.

Pretty Sure: We’re going to see that Star Wars game that Visceral is working on, for real this time.

We’ve been hearing about this game for a long time, but outside of a couple details we still don’t really know anything about it. Last year, we got maybe five seconds of footage that told us basically nothing. They can’t do that again this year… right? I’m pretty sure that this is the year that we actually learn what that game is.

Shot in the Dark: Dead Space 4 announced.

When you look back at EA’s properties, there’s not that many that people today would be that excited about seeing make a return. Dead Space is an exception. Although the third game didn’t live up to the hype, I think people would be pretty excited to see another game in the series. That being said, I have absolutely zero evidence that this would happen, so it’s a shot in the dark.

Microsoft

Sure Thing: Halo 6 will be unveiled, and it will be better on Scorpio.

We’ve gotten some details on what Project Scorpio is going to end up being. Microsoft’s E3 is going to largely center around this new Xbox One iteration, and what better way to do that than with their flagship first-person shooter franchise, Halo? It also helps that we’re due for a new mainline Halo game. Of course, it’ll still be playable on the original Xbox One, but will be noticeably better on Scorpio.

Pretty Sure: Sea of Thieves will get a holiday 2017 release date.

It’s been quite a while since Sea of Thieves was first announced. I honestly have a habit of forgetting that the game even exists until Rare posts a new video on their YouTube channel. Each time I see it, it looks better and better, and I think it’s pretty likely that this is the year that it finally comes out. Microsoft’s currently pretty sparse release schedule helps this make sense too. The only thing stopping this from being a “sure thing” is how little they’ve talked about it. This could make a push back to 2018 possible.

Shot in the Dark: Banjo-Threeie

Bringing back dormant franchises is a surefire way to get a huge reaction at E3. Although Yooka-Laylee largely satisfies the want for a new Banjo game, I’d still lose my mind over seeing the bear and bird again. With Rare busy with Sea of Thieves and most of the staff from those old days gone, it doesn’t seem very likely, however.

Bethesda

Sure Thing: Elder Scrolls VI gets announced.

It’s been long enough since Fallout 4, that they have to be working on a new Elders Scrolls, right? It’s Bethesda’s biggest franchise, and other than the MMO, we’ve heard nothing about it in a long while. Maybe this is too much of a longshot to put into the “sure thing” category, but I feel like if they don’t have this, they don’t have anything this year.

Pretty Sure: Doom II gets announced.

I love last year’s Doom. I always thought it looked cool, all the way back to when it was first shown at E3 a couple years ago. I never expected it to be my Game of the Year last year, however. The game ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, and given how much people like it, it seems pretty likely that we’ll be seeing a sequel very soon.

Shot in the Dark: Wet 2.

What does Bethesda have besides The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom? Remember Wet? That’s a game they published. Maybe they’ll make a sequel?

Ubisoft

Sure Thing: Just Dance 2018 gets announced.

This is about as predictable as they come. Just Dance keeps making money, and so, every year Ubisoft announces a new one. Remember last year when people in weird animal costumes danced around on stage to announce the 2017 game? Hopefully the announcement will at least be that entertaining.

Pretty Sure: A new Splinter Cell game gets announced.

This was actually my “pretty sure” prediction last year too. The Tom Clancy brand is a huge deal, with games like Ghost Recon and The Division all being connected to it. There was a time when Splinter Cell was one of the most popular Tom Clancy series, and we haven’t had a new one in about four years. There’s also a weird lack of Tom Clancy games that are currently announced, making it the perfect time to announce another one.

Shot in the Dark: Red Steel 3 gets announced.

Last year, I put Beyond Good and Evil 2 in this slot, and I almost did it again this year. But, not too long ago, we got what looked like concept art for the game. There’s also rumors about it being a timed-exclusive on the Nintendo Switch. This makes it too likely to be a shot int he dark, as far as I’m concerned.  So, I don’t know, how about Red Steel? That’s not going to happen.

Sony

Sure Thing: God of War gets a Holiday 2017 release date.

One of the biggest announcements at last year’s show was God of War. The game isn’t a true reboot, as the rest of the series still happened, but it is a huge new direction. How do you follow that up? By revealing when we’ll be playing the game. And a game this big almost always ends up coming out during the holidays.

Pretty Sure: First gameplay footage of Death Stranding.

I don’t have a PlayStation 4, but this is one of the games that’s going to get me to buy one. Metal Gear Solid is my favorite series of all time, and I can’t wait to see what its creator is up to next. That being said, we’ve seen a couple trailers, but still have no idea what the actual game will be like. A year after the first trailer seems like a good time to tell us.

Shot in the Dark: A new Syphon Filter gets announced.

When I first wrote out a rough draft of my predictions, I had PaRappa 3 in this slot. The recent announcement of Project Rap Rabbit seems to make that impossible, however. So what other big Sony franchise has gone ignored the last several years? I don’t know, how about Syphon Filter?

Nintendo

Sure Thing: Pikmin 4 is shown, will be out in the Fall.

Remember a long while ago when Miyamoto said that Pikmin 4 was nearing completion? I’m pretty sure the only reason we haven’t gotten the game already is needing to transition it from a Wii U game to the Switch. If it was really as far along as Miyamoto said it was, it’ll be at E3 this year.

Pretty Sure: Animal Crossing on Switch is announced.

Part of this might be wishful thinking. We are long overdue for a new Animal Crossing, and as soon as I saw the Switch I felt like it was perfect for a new game in the series. It also helps that a lot of the NX/Switch leakers claimed that there would be an Animal Crossing game. I’m not 100% sold, but I think this going to happen.

Shot in the Dark: Tokyo Mirage Sessions 2 is announced.

This is never going to happen. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE sold terribly. If anything, it’d be more likely that they’d rerelease the game on the Switch to see if they can find an audience on that console. But I’d rather see an actual sequel, and that’s what makes the shot in the dark category fun. So, TMS 2, why not?

And those are my predictions. What do you guys think we’re going to see this year? Any shot in the dark guesses that would make you lose your mind? We’re just about a month away from my favorite time of the year, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you again.