I call today fed up Friday. Why? Because E3 is done for another year, and we’re as far as we’ll be from another week of huge announcements and hands-on with the latest games. This year’s show might not have been the biggest for VR, but there were still a handful of huge announcements that you don’t want to miss.
So here’s the five biggest VR stories of E3. Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below.
Project Scorpio Is Xbox One X And It Supports VR
Going into the show, we knew that Microsoft would be revealing its upgraded Xbox One console, now confirmed to be the Xbox One X. Sadly, we also knew the company wouldn’t be discussing VR plans at the show and, sure enough, the company’s Sunday press conference came and went without a mention of the tech.
Still, Microsoft did later confirm that the box will definitely support VR, and it’s looking likely that we’ll hear more in 2018. For now, know that Xbox One X costs $499, releases November 7th, and will run plenty of games both old and new in 4K resolution. It’s even got a sequel to Oculus Rift launch title, Lucky’s Tale, but no word on VR support for that yet.
Bethesda Bets Big On VR
We had high hopes for Bethesda’s E3 press conference last Sunday and the company didn’t disappoint. The publisher/developer bet big on VR with a new trailer for Fallout 4 VR on Vive and confirmation of an October release window. This is looking to be likely the biggest release for VR so far, and reaction to its $59.99 price tag has been fairly accepting. But that wasn’t the only reveal Bethesda had for VR.
Doom is also coming to Vive and PSVR with a new campaign named Doom VFR. The completely new game is arguably even more exciting than Fallout 4, and we’ll also get to play it this year at the even better price of $29.99. It’s just a shame the company wasn’t ready to reveal Skyrim VR at its conference. Oh wait…
Skyrim VR Comes To PSVR First
With a VR port of Bethesda’s beloved Skyrim a no-show at its own conference, we’d given up hope of seeing it this E3. Imagine our — and everyone else’s — surprise when it debuted at Sony’s press conference the next day on PSVR. A short trailer showcased our dreams coming to virtual life with realistic weapon handling and spell casting.
Skyrim in VR is easily one of the most requested experiences out there, and something of a big giant metaphor for the types of games we want to play in headsets. We’ve gone hands-on with the game and we can’t wait for it to hit in November, though it’s going to be interesting to see how the PlayStation Move controls hold up in the long run. Fortunately it supports the DualShock 4 too.
PSVR Overload
PSVR didn’t stop with Skyrim. Sony’s headset easily had the best showing at E3. Over the course of the pre-show and conference we saw a bunch of announcements for the PS4 supported device that will have more than helped justify a purchase to anyone that’s picked one up over the past eight or so months.
On top of Skyrim, Superhot VR’s PSVR port was finally confirmed, Playful’s new game was revealed, Farpoint is getting free DLC, Raw Data is coming to the headset, Until Dawn dev’s Supermassive had two new titles to show off, Moss made its debut and Final Fantasy XV’s VR mode was finally revealed. Phew. And that’s without mentioning announcements from third-party teams, like Transference from Ubisoft and Doom VFR from Bethesda. PSVR is in for a busy 12 months. Good thing Sony’s about to start promoting it more.
Lone Echo Arrives Next Month, Multiplayer Is Free
Lone Echo is easily one of our most anticipated Oculus Studios and overall Rift games, and we’ve seen very little of it since it was announced back in September 2016. Developed by The Order: 1886’s Ready at Dawn, the game boasts incredible visuals, an epic story, and a brilliant new locomotion system. We thought this might be a late 2017 game at best but that’s not the case; it’s actually going to be out next month.
You can pre-order Lone Echo at the discounted price of $34.99 now. Better yet, the game’s multiplayer spin-off, Echo Arena will also be releasing next month completely free of charge thanks to a sponsorship from Intel in an attempt to kickstart the VR Esports scene.
