With E3 just around the corner, it is once again time for the Player 2 crew to get their crystal balls out of the attic and make some wildly inaccurate predictions as to what will appear at the world’s biggest games show. Our focus now turns to Square Enix in their first conference for a couple of years. What surprises are they going to bring?
E3 2018 Predictions – Square Enix
Stevie McDonald
Safe Bet
We’ve been drip fed tidbits from Kingdom Hearts III for a while now, it’s time for Square to put all the pieces together in one place and let us soak up the goodness.
Fairly Likely
Square will likely want to remind us that FFVII is a thing they’re still working on and will hopefully have some new footage, maybe even some gameplay, to get the audience revved up.
Wishful thinking
Is it too early for Nier 3?
Shaun Nicholls
Safe Bet
A Final Fantasy game. SE’s bread and butter is the Final Fantasy series and while I cannot be sure if it will be the next numbered instalment in the main series or one of the spin-offs currently in development you just know SE will having something from the Final Fantasy franchise.
Fairly Likely
With Kingdom Hearts 3 on the horizon for later this year, we can expect to see more of it and get a solid release date.
Wishful Thinking
I think it is time for them to dust off Thief and give Garret another crack on a next-gen console. The last one was disappointing, with some weird design decisions, but if SE can get back to the roots that made the series unique it could be something beautiful.
Hope Corrigan
Safe Bet
More information on Kingdom Hearts 3 showing new Wreck it Ralph world and Moana world but won’t show us any cool old movie worlds because no one cares about hand-drawn animation anymore. New content for Final Fantasy XV as well as a new expansion for Final Fantasy XIV. Final hype gameplay for Shadow of the Tomb Raider and it’s playable on the floor for everyone attending.
Fairly Likely
Life is Strange 2 will be revealed with a small teaser trailer that will make everyone cry. More news on the FF7 remake but it won’t really tell us anything useful. It will get a standing ovation regardless.
Wishful Thinking
Finally, we are getting a sequel to Sleeping Dogs. It looks great, everybody cheers.
Matt Hewson
Safe Bet
Well, that Wallmart leak has sure done a number on the E3 surprises hasn’t it? It is looking more and more likely that it was 100% too, so with that in mind, I am saying that Rico Rodriguez is a lock for E3 2018. Just Cause 4 will be a moving art piece about the futility of struggling against the inherent class systems in today’s society….. and big effing explosions.
Fairly Likely
So remember when Square said they were making an Avengers game? Well now is the time to show that baby off. It is being developed by the team behind Deus Ex so I am super keen to see this one. Apparently, a full-blown RPG, if it looks any sort of decent I expect it to rocket up my most wanted list faster than douche bags ruined the ending to Infinity War.
Wishful Thinking
Picture this, A modern world with all the trimmings, cars, apartments, electricity, the works. The camera slowly pans around, we notice things are off. Dead bodies in the street, crashed cars. The camera heads towards a church and graveyard. It zooms towards a crypt, a coffin lays there, its lid open. The camera then pans back to reveal the name on the crypt. The words, faded but easily readable say “Here Lies the Prince of Darkness, Kain.” Trailer ends, crowd goes mental.
Jenn Christodoulou
Safe Bet
TOMB RAIDER YAY!!! Not only am I really excited to see what is reportedly the last game in the reboot trilogy, I also have questions- such as “what the hell do you mean this is the last game?”.
Fairly Likely
It’s been a few years now since the company dropped an expansion pack for Final Fantasy XIV, their MMO, and with a few huge content updates under their belt, I think it’s about time we find out what’s happening next for our online heroes.
Wishful Thinking
It’s been three years, THREE LONG GRUELLING YEARS since the Final Fantasy 7 remake was announced. I NEED ANSWERS, SQUARE. I NEED THEM. This seems to be a recurring theme this year for Square and I. But for real, I need to know exactly how long I have to get ready for Aerith’s death in gorgeous HD because I am not emotionally prepared for that.
James Swinbanks
Not since 2015 has Square Enix held a conference at E3, when they famously walked a then relatively unknown Yoko Taro on stage in full sphere-headed regalia to tell us about Nier: Automata. Personally, I want them to announce Just Cause 4 by showing Rico attaching remote mines to every unsold copy of Just Cause 3 and blowing them into the next millennium, away from my memory. Then to confuse everyone, they’ll drag out Kingdom Hearts 3 by announcing it has a new name that’s so long and painful that if you were to try and pronounce it, your tongue would tie itself in knots over and over again until it fell off.
Royce Wilson
Safe Bet
Final Fantasy [1d20] – I’ve lost track of whatever number they’re up to now but I’m sure there’ll be another one coming. That’s pretty much the first thing that comes to mind when I think of “Square Enix”, in fact. They’re almost certainly going to be showing off the upcoming Shadow of the Tomb Raider as well, and there will probably be at least one JRPG in there too.
Fairly Likely
We’re overdue for another Just Cause game I would not be surprised to see a new Deus Ex announced too, especially with Quantic Dream’s Detroit: Become Human exploring a lot of the human-machine relationship themes which the Deus Ex series touches on.
Wishful Thinking
A Just Cause and Deus Ex crossover. Sure, it would lose a lot of the important subtext of Deus Ex, but cyborgs and explosions go together like Marmite (here are Player 2 we do not under any circumstance endorse Marmite – ED) and toast. Come on, you know you’d play it.
Stephen del Prado
Safe Bet
Kingdom Hearts 3 will get a release date, Dragon Quest 11 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider will get some focus due to imminent launches and Final Fantasy VII Remake will be teased for another 3 years.
Fairly Likely
Life is Strange 2 will get some sort of teaser trailer, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is revealed to be a larger open world game and TWEWY: Final Remix gets a very close release date.
Wishful Thinking
A new Chrono game in the works alongside a Parasite Eve reboot. Hell, why not trot out a Vagrant Story sequel or even a Tactics Ogre follow-up while they’re at it.
Paul James
Safe Bet
The party has already begun at Square-Enix as they begin celebrating the obvious fact that Kingdom Hearts III is coming this year. Intrigue surrounds when specifically, but with the promise of an early June announcement closing in, presumably at E3, the hype train continues to hurtle towards the big stage. Look forward to a massive blowout this year, it’s time for the final act to blow us all away
Fairly Likely
Dragon Quest has always been huge in Japan, and it’s slowly growing some legs in the West, but with how gorgeous Dragon Quest XI looks, surely Square-Enix is going to throw a lot more time than they have in the past towards the promotion of this game. It’s already incredibly well regarded in their homeland, now sell the western masses on it – maybe you can strike gold like Capcom did with Monster Hunter or Atlas with Persona.
Wishful Thinking
Square-Enix has a tonne on their plate, and whilst Final Fantasy XVI is undoubtedly in development somewhere, I have to think they’ve learned their lessons from Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Kingdom Hearts III, and have decided to remain patient, until they have a more solidified idea of when this game could be released, before shooting their proverbial all over the place. I’d be hyped, many would, but they can’t make us wait for close to a decade again, and get away with it… surely?
