Fable
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
A new Fable game from developer Playground Games got officially announced last summer, so it would’ve been nice to at least get a bit of an update on the progress of the game. Instead, it was one of the biggest no-shows of E3 2021. After seeing Playground Games unveil Forza Horizon 5, it became abundantly clear that their time was probably being spent elsewhere.
It makes complete sense, even though the lack of Fable at Xbox’s E3 event was disappointing for fans. At least the game got mentioned, and some old footage was shown in a little sizzle reel at the end of the stream. Fable was a no-show, but at least it wasn’t completely forgotten.
Metroid Prime 4
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
Yes, I know we just got a new Metroid announcement at Nintendo’s E3 Direct. Yes, I’m excited to go through another 2D adventure as Samus. But Metroid Prime 4 still wasn’t present in the Direct beyond being mentioned as an aside. It’s good to know that it’s still being worked on, but would another teaser trailer have been too much to ask for? We’ve only seen the logo for Metroid Prime 4 and literally no other visuals whatsoever since it was announced back in 2017.
We do know that the game’s development has been anything but smooth, as the general manager of the Entertainment Planning & Development division of Nintendo, Shinya Takahashi, revealed that development restarted from scratch in 2019. We’re not sure what exactly is going on with this new Metroid entry, but we can’t wait to see more of it when the team is ready to share more.
Splatoon 3
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
It may have been too overly optimistic of us to expect some more Splatoon 3 news at E3 2021 since it just got announced in February. That initial trailer gave us plenty to look at, too. There was gameplay, character customization, and some cinematic moments. However, it does feel odd that Splatoon 3 wasn’t even mentioned at all during Nintendo’s E3 Direct. There wasn’t a single Inkling or Octoling in sight.
Splatoon 3 is coming sometime in 2022, so Nintendo does have plenty of time to give us a better look at the game before it drops. The E3 Direct did manage to fit a new Metroid, several Zelda games, an Advance Wars reboot, a new Smash character, and much more into about 40 minutes, so it’s hard to blame them for leaving some big names out.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
Another big Nintendo reveal from earlier this year was Pokemon Legends: Arceus. This is a pretty big no-show because everyone wants to see more of what looks like the very first truly open-world Pokemon game. And like Splatoon 3, it didn’t get mentioned even once. In fact, Pokemon as a whole was absent from Nintendo’s E3 2021. There wasn’t any mention of the Diamond & Pearl remakes either.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is slated for an early 2022 release, so it wasn’t exactly unrealistic to expect the game to show up at E3 this year. Though, knowing Nintendo, it’ll probably be showcased in a Direct later this year. And that Direct will probably get announced a day or two in advance, as usual.
Beyond Good & Evil 2
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
Beyond Good & Evil 2 is an odd one because Ubisoft did actually provide a few updates on the game last year, but it hasn’t appeared in any kind of major conference since its reveal at E3 2017. And we haven’t seen anything truly major from Beyond Good & Evil 2 since maybe the release of a character customization video in 2019. It’s been tough going for BG&E fans.
Last year, Ubisoft’s CEO, Yves Guillemot, confirmed that the game wouldn’t launch until at least April 2021. But that time has come and gone without so much as a whisper about the game. It’s also a bit worrying that the game’s director, Michel Ancel, retired from gaming last year. We’re all somewhat in the dark on the progress being made, so it would’ve been nice to at least get an update at E3.
Skull & Bones
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
Skull & Bones is another Ubisoft IP that seems to be in the same sort of situation as Beyond Good & Evil 2. It got delayed last month, just before any E3 speculations could be made. With this delay, it soon became clear that the game wouldn’t be showing up at Ubisoft Forward in any major way. The game was also nowhere to be found at Ubisoft Forward last year, so this doesn’t exactly bode well for its development process.
As part of the delay update, Yves Guillemot also stated that Skull & Bones is now aiming for a 2022-2023 release window, so fingers are crossed for things to go smoothly from here on out. Fans have been anxiously waiting for some Skull & Bones PvP pirate ship combat since 2017.
Bayonetta 3
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
PlatinumGames founder Hideki Kamiya himself acknowledged that it’s been a while since the latest reveal for Bayonetta 3 — and this admission happened early last year. Bayonetta is one of their most popular IPs, but PlatinumGames is a pretty busy developer these days. They’re working on a mysterious Project G.G., Babylon’s Fall, and they even helped co-develop Granblue Fantasy: Relink for a time. And Babylon’s Fall actually got a gameplay trailer at E3.
The team at PlatinumGames likely has a lot on their plate that needs to be juggled all at once, so it’s difficult to give them a hard time about Bayonetta’s absence. Nevertheless, it’s been far too long since the last time we even got a look at anything Bayonetta 3-related since the game was announced in 2017. And even then, there wasn’t any gameplay or info for fans to hold on to.
Elder Scrolls VI
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
Elder Scrolls VI is another interesting one in that we probably shouldn’t have expected to see anything at all at E3 2021. The game is set to release after Starfield, and Bethesda’s vice president, Pete Hines, stated that fans shouldn’t expect to hear details about the game for “years.” But that won’t stop people from being excited and hoping to see any news about it while they play the waiting game.
Starfield is set to launch on Nov. 11, 2022, so it’s time to temper those Elder Scrolls VI expectations. We may not hear anything about the game until 2023, or even later if Bethesda ends up needing more time to work on Starfield.
Final Fantasy XVI
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
There was a lot of Final Fantasy shown off during the Square Enix Presents stream at E3 2021. A new game in the series even got announced. However, there was very little mention of Final Fantasy XVI. To be fair, we probably have more Final Fantasy than we know what to do with at the moment, with an FFXIV expansion and Pixel Remasters on the way as well as FFVII Remake Itergrade releasing not too long ago.
We get it. Square can only put out so much Final Fantasy at once, but at least we know that some FF XVI news is on the horizon this year since producer Naoki Yoshida confirmed this and said that he expects 2021 to be the busiest year of his career. It just would’ve been nice to see FFXVI as part of Square Enix Presents at E3 this past weekend since we haven’t seen much beyond the game’s very first trailer.
Everwild
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
Everwild is a new IP from Rare that was revealed back in 2019, but we haven’t really seen much from it or heard much about it in the years since then. Microsoft and Rare put out a director’s commentary video last fall, but things aren’t looking very good for the game in 2021.
According to a recent VGC report, Everwild wasn’t at E3 because it’s been “completely rebooted.” If the report is correct, the game is now looking towards a 2024 release date, which is a significant chunk of time. Everwild may not be seen for many E3s to come, so this may just be the beginning of an even longer wait for those who were looking forward to good news about Rare’s magical new world.
Crossfire X
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
CrossfireX is a no-show that many people may have forgotten about since it only two trailers in the past two years. One was a cinematic announcement trailer back in 2019, and the other teased the single-player campaign in 2020. It was originally set to launch last year, but it got delayed to 2021.
One of the main reasons this one is a notable no-show is that Remedy Entertainment is developing the single-player campaign for the game. This should excite you if you enjoyed any of their well-loved titles, which include Control, Quantum Break, Max Payne, and more. Remedy recently provided a quick update on the game, but it was still nowhere to be found at E3, which was a bit disappointing.
Splinter Cell
Biggest No-Shows at E3 2021
Were any of us really even expecting Splinter Cell to actually show up? There’s a lot of just wishing and praying at this point, but that’s exactly why it’s making the list. Fans still look forward to any potential news of a new Splinter Cell game, no matter how many disappointments they may face. The optimism is admirable.
Meanwhile, Ubisoft seems intent on putting Sam Fisher in any property they have except for Splinter Cell itself. The last mainline game in the series was Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and that came out back in 2013. Maybe fans will finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief next year on the franchise’s 20th anniversary. Here’s hoping.
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