Microsoft Press Conference LIVE at E3

Doug
Games
Games

UPDATE: Now that the broadcast is over, here are our reactions to the Microsoft E3 2016 press conference. 

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Microsoft starts E3 Monday with their press conference starting on Monday, June 13 at 9:30am PT / 12:30pm ET. We can expect new hardware, Xbox platform features, and gaming exclusives.

 

9:32 Microsoft opens the show unveiling the Xbox One S, 40% smaller, IR blaster, integrated power supply, supports 4K video. A new controller was shown as well, with textured grips, wireless bluetooth, and an increased range.

9:34 Phil Spencer takes the stage and announces the Xbox One S launch date, which will be coming October, 2016.

9:35 Microsoft’s first game, Gears of War 4, takes the stage. The game was revealed to support cross play between Windows 10 and Xbox One players.

9:37 New gameplay footage of Gears of War 4 is shown. The battle footage shows COG members taking out a new threat called The Swarm in a campaign mission. A crazy new chainsaw-shooting gun was shown off.

9:43 The Gears of War gameplay trailer ends with a brief glimpse of Marcus Fenix, main character of the first trilogy of games.

9:46 Rakari Austin, Community Manager at Microsoft Studios, takes the stage to discuss the new Killer Instinct. General Raam from the Gears of War series, was debuted as a new character for the fighting game.

9:47 A debut trailer for Forza Horizon 3 was shown. The game showed off some new offroad vehicles and gameplay.

9:49 A live gameplay demo of Forza Horizon is taking place now, with four racers getting behind the wheel of four very different vehicles. The Horizon festival will be taking place in Australia this time around. Four player campaign co-op will be supported as well.

9:52 Forza Horizon 3 will be released on September 27 2016.

9:53 ReCore takes the stage now. Some brand new robot-pals are shown with their various abilities.

9:54 Hajime Tabata and Matthew Kishimoto from Square-Enix take the stage to debut the first-ever live demo Final Fantasy XV on Xbox One.

9:57 The demo features Noctis and the gang taking on the immense Titan boss.

9:59 The Division will receive it’s first major DLC package, Underground, which will debut first on Xbox One.

10:00 Battlefield 1 takes the stage now. members of EA Access on Xbox can play the game before it’s official release on October 13, 2016.

10:03 Mike Ybara, head of Platform Engineering at Microsoft takes the stage now. More Xbox Live servers will be created for players. New features: Background Music, allowing players to listen to music while they play games, Language Region Indepedence, allowing players to choose preferred language, and AI Cortana will roll out to the Xbox One. Xbox Live will be available Windows PC, Xbox, IoS/Android devices.

10:04 More features to Xbox Live: Clubs on Xbox Live. Clubs allow like-minded gamers to create specific communities of players. A Looking for Group feature will be introduced as well, allowing players to easily find other players for games they are playing.. Lastly, a new tournament platform called Arena has been announced. Players can take part in competitive matches of a wide variety multiplayer games.

10:07 Sax Perrson and Lydia Winters from the Minecraft team are now taking the stage. Players across iOS/Android/Xbox One can now connect and play together. Dedicated servers will be introduced as well.

10:12 A live Minecraft demo is shown across a variety of devices, including via a VR headset. Anyone with a Xbox Live account can download Minecraft Realms for free on all supported devices.

10:13 The ability to color-customize Xbox One controllers has been announced via a slick trailer.

10:14 Inside, a new game from the developers of LIMBO, was shown a brief teaser trailer. LIMBO will be available for free on Xbox One starting today.

10:17 A showcase of indie games, including Cuphead, Outlast, Deliver the Moon, Flint Hook, Far, Shadow Tactics, The Culling, Below, and others receive their own mashup trailer.

10:18 The Xbox Game Preview, an early access platform is briefly discussed. A new project called We Happy Few from Compulsion Games took the stage with some creepy, psychedelic gameplay footage. We Happy Few will be coming out July 26, 2016.

10:24 CD Projekt RED takes the stage now to discuss Gwent, the card game that debuted in Witcher 3. Gwent will be receive it’s own standalone game. Players can sign up for an exclusive Xbox One beta at www.playgwent.com. Expect the game sometime in September.

10:27 A trailer for Tekken 7 is shown. Akuma from Street Fighter dukes it out with Heihachi. The game will get a early 2017 release. Xbox Live Gold members will also receive a free copy of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

10:31 Dead Rising 4 is officially announced with a Christmas-themed trailer. Looks like Frank West from the first game will return as the protagonist. Expect a holiday 2016 release.

10:35 Scalebound takes the stage now with developer Hideki Kamiya. A high octane boss fight is shown, featuring a massive creature that submerges itself within the ocean. The boss fight featured co-op gameplay as well.

10:41 Sea of Thieves is shown a new trailer, set to a melodic sea-shanty. Studio head Craig Duncan from Rare now takes the stage. World premiere of gameplay footage was shown, a crew of four Rare community members set sail without tutorials, exploring the seas and getting into a shootout with another ship.

10:46 State of Decay 2 receives a debut trailer. Survivors set out into the wilderness and kill hordes of deadly zombies.

10:48 Halo Wars 2 is officially announced with a debut trailer. 343 Studio Head Dan Ayoub takes the stage to talk details. The game’s release date will be February 21 2017. The game will receive a week long beta that begins right now!

10:55 Phil Spencer retakes the stage. After wrapping up the press conference, he ends the show by officially announcing Project Scoprio, the newest Xbox One console. The console will support true 4K gaming and improved specs that Spencer states “will be the most powerful console ever developed”. The release of the console is set for Holiday 2017.

Doug