2018 is a pivotal year for Microsoft. They are doing very well when you look at historical data but they continue to lag behind Sony when it comes to console sales. Microsoft is going to need to bring some big announcements to this year’s E3 press conference in order to boost sales and gain customer confidence. Here are a few predictions of what I think Microsoft will show on their stage this year.
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Halo Anniversary 4K Update
This first one may not be much of a stretch. I think that the 4K update for the Halo Master Chief Collection will be shown on the Microsoft stage. The stretch prediction here is that it will be added to game pass (Maybe for PC as well). It has been riddled with problems but 343 has continued to supply the community with updates. To really add a bang, the game will be a part Games With Gold It would also be an awesome announcement going into the release of Halo 6.
Halo 6
This will be the year where we see the next Halo game. It is not a secret that 343 has been working on Halo 6. Not only will the game be announced, but I believe we’ll be getting a release date as well. A Halo game is normally released every 3 years. With Halo 5 being released in 2015, the time is now. In traditional fashion, it will be released in September, which is perfect. It will hit the market before Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2. It would be a real treat if we got another season of Hunt The Truth, bonus points if there’s no battle royale mode shown at E3 2018.
Splinter Cell
There has been a good amount of rumblings about the appearance of a new Splinter Cell will be at E3. Sam Fisher’s appearance in Ghost Recon: Wildlands let us all know that something is on the Horizon. Michael Ironside has returned as the voice of Sam and in an interview on Inside Xbox, he stated that He is Sam Fisher. After an extended period of illness, it seems like Ironside is ready to work (if he hasn’t been already). I am sure that Ubisoft won’t allow this to be exclusive but Microsoft will get the marketing deal. Microsoft has a long relationship with Ubisoft/Splinter Cell, so it only makes sense. You will see Sam Fisher on the Microsoft stage with a 2018 release date.
Perfect Dark
Talks of many Microsoft owned IPs and their resurgence have been floating around recently. The need for a Microsoft exclusive experience is needed greatly. Even though Perfect Dark wasn’t the perfect game when the Xbox 360 originally released, I think that we have had enough time away from the title for it to come back. Microsoft has a lot of shooters on its roster but maybe Perfect Dark could come back as a 3rd person action game. Regardless of how it comes back, I think we will see this game at E3 this year.
Crackdown 3
Last but not least, let’s talk about Crackdown 3. Last we heard, it was slated for a fall 2018 release date. It has had a few setbacks over the last couple years but I don’t think it will suffer the same fate as Scalebound. Microsoft can’t handle another game cancellation. I played the game at last year’s E3 and it didn’t look horrible. It just needed a little polish. Since then, a new writer has been added to the team. I am expecting for the game to look a lot better and have a more engaging story.
Microsoft has a lot to prove this year. Since Phil Spencer has taken the lead, the company has made some great strides. Xbox Live and Game Pass are looking very strong at the moment and the backwards compatibility catalog continues to grow. It is now the time for Microsoft to deliver more fun and innovative IPs. We can’t wait to see what they have at the press conference this year.
