The Top 20 Big E3 2015 Rumors

E3 2015 is here, and additional details on what to expect at the show are beginning to leak out. We’ve heard everything from updates to existing hardware to impending price cuts, and the announcement of some long-anticipated games.

We still expect there to be some true surprises that no one saw coming. It wouldn’t be E3 otherwise. But it does appear that a list of expected but unconfirmed announcements has taken shape in the last few weeks.

Here, in no particular order, are 20 of the biggest rumors ahead of the show that we expect – or hope – will come to fruition.

Rare’s Comeback

When Microsoft purchased Rare in 2002, a lot of big things were expected from the beloved developer. Rare did play a part in some big early Xbox games, including Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power, but it’s been awhile since we’ve seen a major AAA title from Rare. Phil Spencer has been dropping multiple hints that something big is finally coming, saying on Twitter that he got to play a “uniquely Rare” game during a visit to the studio. He also rocked a Battletoads t-shirt during a recent Windows 10 press conference. A lot of people feel like Battletoads is all but confirmed, but wouldn’t it be nice to see other old favorites like Conker and Banjo-Kazooie get some love?

PS4 Slim

Rumors about an updated version of the PlayStation 4 started not long after the console’s initial release. In the last few months, there have been a series of leaks pointing towards a reveal of an updated console at E3, including pictures of the supposed new system. None of the leaks so far have come from especially reliable sources, and everyone knows how easy it is to Photoshop these days, so we’ll just have to wait and see on this one. Still, a PS4 Slim may allow Sony to drop the price of the console down to the $349 price point the Xbox One has been selling at since last holiday.

Dark Souls 3

Gamers who broke all of their controllers on the Hidetaka Miyazaki designed and directed Bloodborne might want to head to the store and stock up again. A rumor came out just this week that Dark Souls 3 will get an announcement at E3 and that series creator Miyazaki will once again be at the helm.

If true, this rumor is surprising as Sony has already confirmed that DLC is in development for Bloodborne, and developer Bandai Namco was not expected to return to Dark Souls so soon.

New Mass Effect 

BioWare has confirmed that it’s working on a new Mass Effect game in the past, so an announcement at E3 makes complete sense. But we don’t really have a lot of information on what the next installment in the popular sci-fi series will entail, other than it likely won’t include anyone named Shepard. Plenty of fans still haven’t forgiven BioWare for the way things ended in Mass Effect 3, so it will be interesting to see the direction this game goes. 

Joe Montana Football 16

Madden NFL has been the only game in town for those wanting a gridiron experience on their consoles for a while now. Plenty of fans have been clamoring for the days when 2K Games competed with Madden with its own football titles, in the years before Electronic Arts locked down the market with an exclusive contract with the NFL.

But we’ve heard over the last few months that those days might be over. The most recent news is that all-time great Joe Montana is lending his name to a brand-new franchise and that the game might be a Xbox One exclusive, on account of the fact that Montana recently tweeted that he was on the Microsoft campus in Seattle. That would be a shame for those who don’t own an Xbox, but it would be a big coup for Microsoft. It’s unclear who exactly is developing the game or if Microsoft is developing in addition to publishing. Regardless, this is one of the most anticipated announcements for football fans.

Star Wars (Visceral)

Star Wars: Battlefront has been getting a lot of attention lately, but EA’s upcoming title isn’t the only big game on the way set in a galaxy far, far away. We know that Disney has a lot of other stuff in the works to get the hype train rolling for The Force Awakens this December, and one of them is an untitled Star Wars project by Visceral Games.

This game has been in development since at least 2013, but what kind of game it is, is anyone’s guess. The developer has been tweeting out various images that seem to allude to the franchise over the last few weeks, causing a lot of industry watchers to assume that an official reveal is coming soon. The game seems to involve Han Solo…

Pokken Tournament Wii U

An announcement of a new set of Pokemon titles for the 3DS is a given. We already have a new Mystery Dungeon game on the way. But dedicated fans of the franchise know that The Pokemon Company has also been working with Super Smash Bros. developer Bandai Namco to create a Pokemon fighting game. Pokken Tournament is an arcade title, but there’s long been hope that it will eventually see a release on the Wii U. Footage of the game is already available, we just need a North American release date, please.

Silent Hills

Wait, what? Silent Hills, the horror game developed by fromer Konami developer Hideo Kojima, was thought left for dead after it came out that Konami and Kojima were splitting up. But on Friday, a new rumor came by way of Rooster Teeth.

A source told the site that Silent Hills is about 80 percent complete already, and that Microsoft might be trying to buy the game from Konami in time to reveal it as an Xbox One exclusive at this year’s E3. The report said P.T. was pulled from the PlayStation store as a show of good faith to Microsoft. If Microsoft does complete the deal in time for the show, this would instantly be one of the biggest stories of E3 this year, no matter what Sony, Nintendo, or any other company reveals.

Bayonetta…or Vanquish?

This once fresh off the rumor mill: Platinum Games is preparing to announce something at E3, and you’d be wise to assume that it’s Bayonetta 3, especially after how much praise last year’s installment garnered from fans and critics. But wait…

Then Platinum throws us a curve ball by tweeting an image of their cult hit, Vanquish, which has never really been in the sequel discussion, although it is one of those titles that often come up when people talk about games that deserves sequels. We wouldn’t mind, that’s for sure. 

Retro Studios

It’s been previously confirmed that Retro Studios is working on a major title for the Wii U, and many expect this year to be the one where more details are finally revealed. There are plenty of Metroid fans out there who are hoping that Retro has returned to the series once again, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it was an entirely new IP either. Regardless of what it is, Nintendo needs more top tier games for this year’s show, and if the game is even close to ready, we expect to at least here something about it.

Paper Mario for Wii U

Take this one with a whole shaker of salt, but Japanese message board 2Chan recently received a post from someone who claimed to be in possession of documentation showing that Paper Mario is in development for the Wii U and that it is being developed by Intelligent Systems. Intelligent is also supposed to be working on the North American version of the next Fire Emblem for 2016, so they would need to have an entirely different team if Paper Mario is coming as well.

Zelda Wii U

Nintendo already lowered expectations for the next Zelda by saying it is being pushed back to 2016 and won’t have a presence at this year’s show. But we say, that’s a whole lot of Hyrulian hogwash. Even with the delay, this game is still the Wii U’s most anticipated title by a landslide. Expect to at least see a new trailer, or just… something, anything about this title during the show. If Nintendo truly just punts on Zelda Wii U this year, the company is going to have a lot of unhappy fans to answer to.

Final Fantasy Type-1

Rumors started as soon as the first player got to the ending of Final Fantasy Type-0. The ending video seems to imply that there is more story to tell. Since then, the game’s developers have said that they envisioned the Type games becoming an ongoing series that would allow them to experiment with different types of gameplay not usually seen in the main line of Final Fantasy games. Whether or not Square Enix has given the green light on this project, however, is not yet known.

Dragon Quest

Speaking of Square Enix, Dragon Quest is coming up on its 30th anniversary next year. We know that at least Dragon Quest Heroes will arrive to North America at some point this fall. 

Dragon Quest creator Yuri Horii teased back in January that multiple Dragon Quest games are in development for the anniversary. It’s unknown for which systems or even if a North American release will happen, but this year’s E3 would be the perfect time for an announcement or two in order to start building hype for the next year.

Borderlands 3

Gearbox Software made headlines at PAX South in January when CEO Randy Pitchford said during a panel that the company was ready to “think about what the next Borderlands is,” but he did add, “The fact is, we’re not working on a new Borderlands game, but we want to.”

E3 will only be four to five months since Pitchford made that statement nowhere near enough time to get a new game fully fleshed out and up and running, but perhaps there’s enough of an idea there to at least make an announcement that Borderlands 3 is indeed in development. Gearbox has also made headlines over the last few months for a number of job postings that seemed to be related to the franchise, so it does sound like the team is trying to cook up something.

Gears of War Remastered

It was rumored in April that Microsoft is working on a remaster of the original Gears of War for Xbox One. Job listings for such a title were seen on developer Splash Damage’s website. All that said, do expect to see what The Coalition (formerly Black Tusk Studios) has been doing with the next installment in the series. Oh yeah!

New EA IP

Like Bethesda, EA is also having its own press conference before the show this year. EA is involved as a publisher in some of the other rumored games on this list, but it was mentioned on NeoGAF by a user with a good track record that EA also has a brand new IP to reveal. Some believe the game is the upcoming extreme racing game from Criterion that was first teased at last year’s conference, but the possibility is there for something else entirely. We’re crossing our fingers for the reintroduction of a new version of Shadow Realms.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft is definitely working on Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Rainbow Six: Siege, The Division, and Watch Dogs 2. But the company has a number of other franchises that haven’t been seen in a while. Most notably, Splinter Cell, which could be due for a new game announcement, and let’s not forget Beyond Good and Evil 2, the game by Michel Ancel that has had rumors pop up year after year and yet never seems to see the light of day. Ubisoft will have its own press conference on Monday afternoon next week. Expect to see to see at least one new game that has not been previously confirmed. John Saavedra, Den of Geek’s Games Editor, predicts that Prince of Persia is coming back!

Eternal Darkness

Eternal Darkness was one of the Nintendo Gamecube’s most beloved titles, and fans have hoped for a sequel for years. Some got their hopes up in 2013 when original developer Denis Dyack tried to get a spiritual successor called Shadow of the Eternals approved on Kickstarter, but that campaign was a failure due to various different problems during production.

But just a few days ago, it was discovered that Nintendo has sought to renew the trademark for the game. This could simply mean the Big N is looking to bring the original game to the eShop, but there’s at least a possibility that a sequel could be in the works.

PC Gaming

E3 has focused primarily on games that run on consoles for years now, but this year’s show is seeking to put some focus back on PC gaming with a special panel. For the first time, the PC will have its own platform with the PC Gaming Show, hosted by PC Gamer. It will take place Tuesday evening, the first day of the show. A number of big names will be present, including Cliff Bleszinski, Dean Hall, Phil Spencer, and representatives from Blizzard Entertainment and Cloud Imperium Games. We expect to get at least a few new announcements or game trailers out of this three hour show.