E3 2018
CONCEPT
The twenty-fourth Electronic Entertainment Expo was held June 12-14, 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.


Overview

For the second year in a row, the ESA opened E3 (Concept) registration to the public. Starting on February 12, 2018, anyone could register for a "Gamer Pass" at a price of $249 USD. After a mixed reaction to allowing the public into the expo in 2017, changes were made to the schedule for 2018. On the first two days of E3, industry professionals are given three hours on the floor before the public is allowed inside.


Date Industry Pass Gamer Pass
Tuesday, June 12 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, June 13 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday, June 14 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM


Giant Bomb vs. E3 2018

Press Conferences

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The 11th battle of GB vs E3!

Giant Bomb @ Nite

Nite 1 - July 12, 2018

Video - Podcast

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Nintendo joins the show for the first time ever.

Nite 2 - July 13, 2018

Video - Podcast

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Some people didn't get the memo on the uniform requirements.

Nite 3 - July 14, 2018

Video - Podcast

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That's Matt Kessler's music!


Press Conferences

EA Play 2018

Saturday, June 9 - 11:00 AM PDT - The Hollywood Palladium


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  • Andrea Rene (Gaming Personality) introduced herself as the presentation's host and highlighted EA's offerings outside of the presentation.
  • Oskar Gabrielson (General Manager) and Lars Gustavsson (Person) (Senior Producer) from DICE (Company) took the stage to discuss Battlefield V (Game). The two outlined changes introduced in Battlefield V as well as the concept behind the game's "War Stories" singleplayer campaign. They also announced that the game would not have loot boxes or a premium pass, and that it would have a battle royale mode.
  • A trailer for Battlefield V (Game) was shown.
  • A trailer for FIFA 19 (Game) was shown.
  • Aaron McHardy (Person) (Executive Producer on FIFA) and Lina Ingvarsdottir (Senior Producer on FIFA) took the stage to discuss the introduction of UEFA Champions League to the game, stating that the league plays a major role in every mode of the game. The two then announced that FIFA 18 (Game) would be free to play for a limited period following the show.
  • Andrew Wilson (CEO of EA) appeared to discuss streaming distribution models, announcing an event demo of Project Atlas, the company's cloud gaming service.
  • Wilson announced Origin Access Premier, a premium subscription service offering additional game access, including free access to the company's older titles.
  • A trailer for Origin Access Premier was shown.
  • Vince Zampella (Person) (CEO of Respawn) appeared among the crowd to announce the title of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and establish that the game is set between Star Wars Episodes 3 and 4. Zampella also gave a release window of Holiday 2019.
  • Dennis Brännvall (Design Director on Star Wars Battlefront II (Game)) took the stage to address the game's rough launch and subsequent changes. Brännvall also discussed upcoming additions, including a squad system, new modes, and the addition of General Grievous, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Count Dooku, and Anakin Skywalker.
  • Martin Sahlin (Person) (Creative Director on Unravel Two (Game)) got on stage to describe the concept behind the game and gave a live gameplay demo showing the game's co-op mode.
  • A trailer for Unravel Two (Game) was shown, launching same-day.
  • Patrick Söderlund (Chief Design Officer at EA Originals) discussed previous EA Original releases before announcing Sea of Solitude (Game).
  • Cornelia Geppert (Creative Director on Sea of Solitude) outlined the core idea of the game and introduced a trailer.
  • A trailer for NBA Live 19 (Game) was shown, coming September 7.
  • A video played introducing Young Kiv (eSports Competitor), who took the stage alongside Juju Smith-Schuster (of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Concept)) to discuss Madden NFL 19 (Game). Kiv discussed his history with playing Madden NFL (Franchise) at an eSports level before introducing a trailer for Madden NFL 19.
  • Michael Martinez (General Manager at Redwood Studios) and Nathanias (Shoutcaster) announced and live-commentated a match of Command andamp;amp;amp; Conquer: Rivals.
  • A trailer for Command andamp;amp;amp; Conquer: Rivals was shown.
  • Wilson returned to emphasize EA's commitment to improvement and listening to fans. Wilson then discussed EA's "Play to Give" charity event before introducing Anthem (Game).
  • A trailer for Anthem was shown.
  • Rene was joined on stage by Casey Hudson (Person) (General Manager), Mark Darrah (Person) (Executive Producer), and Cathleen Rootsaert (Person) (Lead Writer) from BioWare (Company). The three discussed Bioware's recent history, plans for Anthem, and the process of working on the game. They also answered questions asked via Twitter, and showed off gameplay footage of the title. Hudson announced that Anthem launches February 22, 2019.
  • Rene thanked presentation attendees and concluded the conference with a highlight reel of titles shown throughout the evening.

Xbox E3 2018 Briefing

Sunday, June 10 - 1:00 PM PDT - Microsoft Theater


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Bethesda E3 Showcase

Sunday, June 10 - 6:30 PM PDT - ?


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Devolver Digital

Sunday, June 10 - 8:00 PM PDT

  • ...

Square Enix E3 Showcase 2018

Monday, June 11 - 10:00 AM PDT


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Ubisoft E3 Media Briefing 2018

Monday, June 11 - 1:00 PM PDT - Orpheum Theater


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  • The show was opened by a live dance performance promoting Just Dance 2019 (Game).
  • A trailer for Beyond Good and Evil 2 (Game) was shown.
  • Guillaume Brunier (Person) (Senior Producer) and Gabrielle Shrager (Person) (Narrative Director) from Ubisoft Montpellier restated Beyond Good and Evil 2 to be a prequel to the original and showed pre-alpha footage of the game's environments. The two also announced the "Space Monkey Program", a collaborative asset development system built around HitRecord.
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Co-Founder of HitRecord) joined the two on stage to explain the concept of HitRecord.
  • Justin Kruger (Community Developer on Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege) announced that the game had reached 35 million players and highlighted upcoming Rainbow Six: Siege eSport events as well as Another Mindset, a documentary about several professional Rainbow Six: Siege players.
  • Antti Ilvessuo (Person) (Creative Director) rode into the presentation on a motorbike, wearing a Trials (Franchise)-themed outfit, to announce Trials Rising (Game).
  • A trailer for Trials Rising (Game) was shown.
  • Brad Hill (personality behind the "University of Trials" Youtube channel) talked about creating the tutorials for Trials Rising alongside other community members. The two also announced that the game would release February 2019, following a closed-beta period.
  • Julian Gerighty (Person) (Creative Director on Tom Clancy's The Division 2) introduced the game's story.
  • A trailer for Tom Clancy's The Division 2 was shown.
  • Gerighty continued by talking about the post-game "specializations" class system, raids, and post-launch content plans.
  • A second trailer for Tom Clancy's The Division 2 was shown, coming March 15, 2019.
  • Xavier Manzanares (Lead Producer on Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle) talked about the game's Donkey Kong Adventure DLC, introducing Grant Kirkhope (Person) to the stage to conduct a live performance of music from the DLC. As the band performed, a trailer for the DLC was shown, coming June 26, 2018.
  • A trailer for Skull andamp;amp;amp; Bones was shown.
  • Justin Farren (Creative Director on Skull & Bones) outlined the concept of the game and described the game's planned "Fortunes" system of world events.
  • A gameplay video for Skull & Bones was shown.
  • Elijah Wood (Creative Director on Transference (Game)) and Benoit Richer (Game Director) discussed the concept behind the game.
  • A trailer for Transference was shown, coming Fall 2018.
  • A trailer for Starlink: Battle for Atlas was shown, coming October 16, 2018.
  • Laurent Malville (Creative Director on Starlink) described the story of the game and introduced a crossover featuring Star Fox (Franchise) characters.
  • Yves Guillemot (Person) (CEO of Ubisoft) and Malville discussed the crossover, thanking Shigeru Miyamoto (Person) (Representative Director at Nintendo) and offering him a Starlink statue featuring Fox McCloud and the Arwing.
  • Roman Campos-Oriola (Creative Director on For Honor (Game)) thanked the game's fans for helping shape the game and announced that the game's Starter Edition would be free throughout the week following the presentation.
  • A trailer for For Honor's Marching Fire update was shown, coming October 16, 2018.
  • Campos-Oriola announced the update would feature a new faction, themed around China, as well as a new "Breach" gamemode.
  • Delphine Dosset (Creative Director on The Crew 2 (Game)) announced that the game would have an open beta starting June 21, 2018.
  • A trailer for The Crew 2 was shown, coming June 29, 2018.
  • A trailer for Assassin's Creed Odyssey was shown.
  • Jonathan Dumont (Creative Director on Assassin's Creed Odyssey) outlined the game's physical and historical setting, taking place in ancient Greece following the Peloponnesian War.
  • Dumont announced that the game would feature two different playable protagonists, with the player choosing from either Alexios or Kassandra.
  • A gameplay video for Assassin's Creed Odyssey was shown, coming October 5, 2018.
  • The presenters who appeared throughout the show returned to stage as a collective group, with Guillemot concluding the presentation by stating his optimism about the future of video games and technology.

PlayStation E3 2018 Showcase

Monday, June 11 - 6:00 PM PDT


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  • The presentation began with Shawn Layden (Person) (Chairman of SIE Worldwide) greeting the "congregation" to "church", making light of the presentation's unusual venue setup. Layden then stated that Sony would be trying a different setup for E3 2018, focusing on in-depth looks at their upcoming games.
  • Gustavo Santaolalla (Person) (Composer for The Last of Us Part II (Game)) took the stage to perform a song from the game on the banjo.
  • After Santaolalla's performance concluded, a trailer for the game played, showing Ellie and Dina dancing in a building resembling the presentation venue, followed by an extended gameplay segment showing the game's stealth-combat.
  • The presentation's live-stream cut to an intermission live-commentated Sid Shuman (Person) (Senior Director for SIE Content Communications), Ryan Clements (Social Media Manager for SIE), and Shawn Layden. The trio recapped the trailer shown as well as talking about SIE Worldwide's previous releases, announcing that God of War would be receiving a New Game+ update.
  • Layden talked about Sony's thought process behind their E3 2018 setup, stating that the presentation was built primarily around The Last of Us Part II, Death Stranding, Ghost of Tsushima, and Marvel's Spider-Man.
  • A trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops III was shown, highlighting remastered maps from the Black Ops series coming to the game's multiplayer.
  • Shuman introduced Meredith Molinari (Event Host for SIEA) and Ramone Russell (Person) (Brand Strategist and Communications at SIE), talking more about Call of Duty: Black Ops III and announcing that the game would be on PlayStation Plus. Shuman then introduced a highlight reel of PlayStation announcements made in the days before E3.
  • A trailer for Destiny 2: Forsaken was shown, coming September 4, 2018.
  • The presentation continued, located in a new building, with a man on stage playing a song on a shakuhachi.
  • A trailer for Ghost of Tsushima (Game) was shown, featuring the game's combat and a number of story moments.
  • A trailer for Control (Game) was shown, slated for 2019.
  • A trailer for Resident Evil 2 was shown, releasing January 25, 2019.
  • A trailer for Trover Saves the Universe (Game) was shown
  • A trailer for Kingdom Hearts III (Game) was shown, highlighting the game's Pirates of the Caribbean (Franchise) world. A Kingdom Hearts III-themed PlayStation 4 Pro was announced.
  • A trailer for Death Stranding (Game) was shown, focused around the game's environments.
  • A trailer for Nioh 2 (Game) was shown.
  • A trailer for Marvel's Spider-Man was shown, ending the presentation.

Nintendo Spotlight: E3 2018

Tuesday, June 12 - 9:00 AM PDT


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Game Critic Awards

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The Game Critics Awards are decided by an independent group of worldwide media outlets. They have selected the most promising games of each Electronic Entertainment Expo since 1998, and have thus become recognized as the most respected "Best of" awards that come out of the annual show. Games qualify for nomination by having hands-on playable versions of the game at the show.

Nominees for the 2017 Game Critics Awards were announced on June 28, 2018. Winners were announced on July 2, 2018. Leading the nominations with five was Anthem (Game). Ubisoft Entertainment (Company), for the second year in a row, had more nominations than any other company.


Best of Show

===Resident Evil 2===

Runners-Up

* Anthem (Game) - BioWare (Company) / Electronic Arts (Company)

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Best Original Game

===Dreams (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Anthem (Game) - BioWare (Company) / Electronic Arts (Company)

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Best Console Game

===Marvel's Spider-Man===

Runners-Up

* Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Ubisoft Quebec (Company) / Ubisoft

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Best VR/AR Game

===Tetris Effect (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - SIE Japan Studio (Company) / SIEA

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Best PC Game

===Anthem (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Battlefield V (Game) - DICE (Company) / Electronic Arts

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Best Hardware/Peripheral

===Xbox Adaptive Controller (Accessory)===

Runners-Up

* Neo Geo Mini - SNK (Company)

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Best Action Game

===Anthem (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Battlefield V (Game) - DICE (Company) / Electronic Arts

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Best Action/Adventure Game

===Marvel's Spider-Man===

Runners-Up

* Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Ubisoft Quebec (Company) / Ubisoft

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Best Family/Social Game

===Overcooked! 2===

Runners-Up

* Dreams (Game) - Media Molecule (Company) / SIEA

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Best Fighting Game

===Super Smash Bros. Ultimate===

Runners-Up

* Dead or Alive 6 (Game) - Team Ninja (Company) / Koei Tecmo (Company)

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Best Racing Game

===Forza Horizon 4 (Game)===

Runners-Up

* The Crew 2 (Game) - Ubisoft Ivory Tower (Company) / Ubisoft

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Best RPG

===Kingdom Hearts III (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Divinity: Original Sin II - Larian Studios (Company) / Bandai Namco

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Best Sports Game

===FIFA 19 (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Mario Tennis Aces (Game) - Camelot Software Planning (Company) / Nintendo (Company)

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Best Strategy Game

===Total War: Three Kingdoms===

Runners-Up

* Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden - The Bearded Ladies Consulting (Company) / Funcom

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Best Online Multiplayer

===Battlefield V (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Anthem (Game) - BioWare (Company) / Electronic Arts

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Best Independent Game

===Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Outer Wilds (Game) - Mobius Digital / Annapurna Interactive (Company)

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Best Ongoing Game

===Fortnite (Game)===

Runners-Up

* Destiny 2: Forsaken - Bungie (Company) / Activision (Company)

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Special Commendation for Graphics

Special Commendation for Sound

  • The Last of Us Part II - Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment America

Special Commendation for Innovation

  • Cyberpunk 2077 - CD Projekt Red / CD Projekt SA

Exhibitors