Now the dust has settled, we can take stock of not-E3. The next year of gaming is shaping up to be pretty exciting, especially for fans of sci-fi horror and frogs, but there were some no shows that made us a little sad. Just a little. We've all got our own gaming tastes, games we're keeping our fingers crossed for any information about. And even with potential other announcements throughout the year we always hope to see some juicy trailers at E3.
But alas, we missed a few of our most wished for at this year's event so let's all pour one out for the games we didn't see this year, but hope to soon.
The Elder Scrolls VI
Imogen Mellor Features Producer - It's obvious that Bethesda is deeply focused on the release of Starfield. After many teasers and documentary-esque snippets of development, we finally got to see a glimpse of gameplay for the space adventure game. And while that's all well and good, I desperately need some Elder Scrolls in my life. We've seen so many re-releases of Skyrim that they act as a reminder that one of the best ever RPGs hasn't had a follow up in over a decade.
I remember playing Skyrim and playing nothing else for a year. It was all consuming, I adored it. And I've never found a game to scratch exactly that same itch since with that right balance of ridiculous and ethereal. Although Bethesda's brains are hard at work on Starfield I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness The Elder Scrolls 6 wasn't at the not-E3 showcase this year. Oh well… there's always next year right? Right, Bethesda? Please.
Avowed
Ted Litchfield, Associate Editor: Like a sailor's wife turned to stone waiting on the cliffs for his return, I continue my lonely vigil for Obsidian's first person, open world RPG set in the Pillars of Eternity universe. Apart from assurances from Obsidian that the game is still in production, we haven't seen much of Avowed since its 2020 announcement trailer. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier posting on Resetera, Avowed has seen high level staff departures and endured "multiple reboots." With that in mind, even a 2023 release is looking less and less likely. I will now resume my lonely Avowed watch for another six months—maybe we'll see something at The Game Awards.
Crimson Desert
Lauren Morton, Associate Editor: I'm willing to bet that Crimson Desert has fallen off a lot of folks' radar, and no surprise. The developers of the extreme grind MMO Black Desert also have a singleplayer action RPG in development which was originally announced for launch in winter 2021. Pearl Abyss delayed it last summer, saying "we will provide an updated schedule in the future."
That hasn't happened yet, and I was hoping to maybe see a new peek at it a year later. Black Desert is such a time sink that it stresses me out but I really enjoy its combat, and the bits we saw in the Crimson Desert reveal trailer look like some excellent third-person sword swinging and finisher move action. I'm still super interested in the studio's singleplayer game and am just a little bummed it's still keeping quiet.
State of Decay 3
Jorge Jimenez, Hardware Writer: It's been two years since we've seen or heard anything of Undead Labs co-op zombie survival game. As some who spent waaaay too much time setting up the perfect anti-zombie base filled with a collection of weirdos armed with baseball bats and AK-47s. I was surprised to see this Microsoft exclusive not even get a mention during the Showcase.
And when I say nothing, I mean nothing! Even the official blog for State of Decay 3 has zero details or screenshots of the game. Just a CG trailer that was shown in 2020 and nothing else. The lack of overall updates is concerning and makes me worried that we won't see this game till waaaaaay later in 2023.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
Jody Macgregor, Weekend/AU Editor: Last year, Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester explained the troubled vampire RPG had a last-minute reprieve and was now under development at a new studio rather than Hardsuit Labs. Wester didn't name the developer, "to give the studio a situation where they can focus fully on the game development, and not having to address fans reaching out to them." Instead, he fields the questions from fans on Twitter, saying in February "it is still in development and we will let you know more when we have something to show." I didn't expect we'd be shown something during not-E3, but I hoped anyway. Oh well, maybe next year.
Elden Ring Expansion
Ted Litchfield: Last year, the Summer Game Fest ended with our first good look at Elden Ring. Perhaps it was too much to hope that this year's show would sport a trailer for the unconfirmed-but-come-on-they've-gotta-do-it Elden Ring expansion pack. FromSoftware games typically see one or two expansion-level DLCs in the half year following their launch, with Sekiro being the only recent exception, and that was likely because the developer needed all hands on Elden Ring. Given the game's increased scale compared to FromSoft's prior efforts and the difficulties of development during Covid-19, we're likely in for a longer than usual wait for this theoretical expansion, but as FromSoft dataminer Zullie the Witch pointed out on Twitter: based on the quality of previous add-ons, we probably still haven't seen the best Elden Ring has to offer.
