The Best Announcements of Microsoft’s E3 Conference

Microsoft kicked off their press conference by announcing a brand new slim model for the Xbox One. This sleek looking version of the console is 40% smaller than the original, has a built in power supply and supports 4K Ultra HD Video and Blu Ray. Better get your wallet ready though, as it launches this August for $299.

Xbox Play Anywhere is a new cross-play promotion created by Microsoft that allows players on both Xbox Live and Windows 10 to play together. Games on both systems will include both versions when purchased for no additional cost. Achievements will also carry over, with Gears of War 4 being the first supported title with all co-op modes, including horde, playable via cross-play.

ReCore was announced last year at E3 by Microsoft with a short CG trailer. For this year’s conference, we got a look at some gameplay from the game by Armature Studio and Keiji Inafune. The stylish trailer gave a look at some combat featuring the game’s heroine blasting some robots, as well as some fast paced platforming.

Controllers have always been an important piece of gaming, and now Microsoft is going to allow players to customize their controller however they want. You’ll be able to replace the buttons, specific sections of the controller and inscribe any word you want with over 8 million customization options.

Ubisoft’s shared world shooter The Division, had its first expansion title “Underground,” announced at today’s show. The expansion will have randomly generated missions and deadly urban dungeons. Underground will be launching for Xbox One on June 28.

One of the most surprising aspects of last year’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was the incredible addicting card minigame, Gwent. CD Projekt Red took to the stage today, to announce a full spinoff for Gwent, with a single player campaign and everything. They showed a bit of gameplay, and announced the game will be launching this September with a beta hitting Windows 10 and Xbox One first.

After rumors started circulating last week, Microsoft officially announced Dead Rising 4 at their press conference. A short trailer was shown, focusing on Frank West destroying zombies with guns, melee weapons and even power armor, all set to a holiday theme and music. The new title will be launching this winter for Xbox One and Windows 10.

Another surprise announcement from Microsoft, was the sequel to the tense zombie survival game State of Decay. A trailer for State of Decay 2 showed some intense zombie battles, mixed with some quieter more tense moments. State of Decay 2 will be coming sometime in 2017.

Another game announced at last year’s E3 with a short teaser trailer, Sea of Thieves received a world premier of gameplay footage. A very tongue-in-cheek video showed four players setting sail, celebrating with a drink, battling another ship and eventually sinking in defeat. It looked like everything we could want from a pirate game.

Halo Wars 2 has been eagerly awaited by fans since its announcement, and Microsoft gave us a bit more information on the game today. They showed a beautiful CG trailer introducing the game’s villain, before giving us a release date of February 2017. The company also announced an open beta taking place on Xbox Live the entire week of E3, before showing another trailer, this time focused on gameplay.

Bookending things nicely, Microsoft announced another iteration of the Xbox One, something called Project Scorpio. The new console is touted as the “most powerful ever,” offering a true 4K gaming experience. The video Microsoft showed had different developers from around the industry talking about the potential of the new machine. Scorpio will support all Xbox One games and accessories, offering the highest framerates possible along with high-fidelity VR. Phil Spencer ending things by putting simply, “It’s a monster.”