Overview
E3 2016 marks the first year that the show had a public component. E3 Live is an open-to-the-public event that will occur adjacent to the main trade show. Some stalwart exhibitors also chose to exhibit outside the show, with Electronic Arts taking the opportunity to leave the show completely and hold its own unaffiliated show that will also be open to the public.
Giant Bomb @ E3 2016
Press Conferences
Giant Bomb's E3 2016 Coverage Begins!Bombcasts
GB Presents
Press Conferences
EA Play 2016
Vince ZampellaSunday, June 12 @ 1 PM PDT - Club Nokia @ LA Live
- Andrew Wilson (CEO) opened the show from L.A. and introduced Peter Moore (Chief Competition Officer) who was hosting live in London.
- Andrew Wilson announced they would be live streaming an hour of 64-player Battlefield 1 after the event.
- Vince Zampella (CEO of Respawn Entertainment) took the stage to introduce a trailer for Titanfall 2 multiplayer. (Trailer)
- Vince Zampella then announced several new features from Titanfall 2 including six new titans as well as a single player campaign mode. (Trailer)
- A trailer for Madden NFL 17 was shown. (Trailer)
- Peter Moore discussed the importance of eSports and announced three tiers of EA eSports events (Challenger, Premier, and EA Major) that cater to players of all skill levels.
- A hype reel for the Madden NFL 16 World Championship was shown.
- ESPN's Stan Verrett took the stage in L.A. to introduce the final eight players in the Madden NFL 16 Championship.
- Arryn Flynn (General Manager of BioWare) was in L.A. to briefly speak about the abmitions of Mass Effect: Andromeda, then introduced a behind the scenes video about its development. (Video)
- Andrew Wilson returned to discuss the importance of continued support for their games with downloadable updates and free trials in EA Access.
- Andrew Wilson announced a new program called "Play to Give," which gives players goals to achieve in their games that, once completed, will initiate a donation to several charities.
- Peter Moore spoke about the importance of FIFA over the years.
- A FIFA 17 trailer was introduced by the actor who portrays "Alex Hunter" in the all-new story mode in the game. (Video)
- Peter Moore then announced that for the first time ever Premiere League managers are in the game including José Mourinho who joined Peter on stage.
- Aaron McHardy (Producer) took the stage to discuss the changes and innovations to the gameplay in FIFA 17, then presented a new trailer. (Video)
- Patrick Soderlund (EVP of EA Studios) came on stage in L.A. and introduced the new EA Originals program that supports independent developers.
- Klaus Lyngeled (Creative Director at Zoink!) presented Fe, the first EA Originals game. (Video)
- Jade Raymond (VP/GM of Motive Studios/Visceral Games) took the stage in L.A. to discuss the various Star Wars games in development at DICE, Criterion Games, Motive, BioWare, Respawn, Visceral, and Capital Games.
- Jade Raymond confirmed a Star Wars Battlefront 2017 (working title) was in development and that it will include content from the new trilogy of films.
- Jade Raymond confirmed that Visceral's game directed by Amy Hennig will release in 2018 and featuring an original story with all new characters.
- Jade Raymond confirmed that Respawn is working on a third-person action game in a "different Star Wars era."
- Jade Raymond exited by introducing a behind-the-scenes video of the Star Wars games in development. (Video)
- Patrick Soderlund returned to discuss the development of Battlefield 1.
- Patrick Bach (General Manager at DICE) spoke about the importance of listening to the players of Battlefield. He announced they had invited many of their top players to play the game today.
- Jamie Foxx and Zac Efron were briefly interviewed by the Battlefield game stations.
- Patrick Bach then spoke about the new dynamic weather system and "behemoth" vehicles including zeppelins and trains. He then showed a new trailer. (Video)
- Peter Moore and Andrew Wilson thanked everyone for watching. A montage of EA games was shown.
The Bethesda E3 Showcase
Prey is back.Sunday, June 12 @ 7:00 PM PDT - Dolby Theatre
- The pre-show was once again hosted by Adam Sessler & Morgan Webb.
- The show began with a trailer revealing Quake Champions. (Video)
- Tim Willits (Studio Director of id Software) came on stage and announced Quake is back. He spoke about how Quake was a pioneer in the industry then about how the new game will cater to players of all skill levels.
- Pete Hines (Global VP of PR & Marketing) spoke about how the last year was the biggest in the company's history thanks to The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout Shelter, Fallout 4, and Doom.
- Pete Hines introduced a new trailer for The Elder Scrolls: Legends. (Video)
- Pete Hines then discussed the features of the game and announced it will be available on PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Android in 2016.
- A video featuring Todd Howard was shown where he discussed the new features coming to Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter. He then revealed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 28, 2016. (Video)
- Raphael Colantonio (President/Co-Creative Director of Arkane Studios) revealed the debut trailer for Prey, which is an entirely new game and not Prey 2. It will release in 2017. (Video)
- A video featuring Marty Stratton (Executive Producer at id Software) was shown as he thanked fans for making Doom such a successful launch. He then spoke about the new features coming to Snap Map and multiplayer modes, which will all be free. "Unto the Evil" will be the game's first major DLC.
- Pete Hines announced anyone can download the first level of Doom for free this week.
- Matt Firor (Game Director at ZeniMax Online Studios) thanked fans for making The Elder Scrolls Online the 2015 MMOG of the Year. He announced the game would soon release in Japan. He then announced the game's newest expansion, Dark Brotherhood. (Video)
- Matt Firor then announced a new feature for the game called "One Tamriel" which allows players to group up with whoever they want and explore the entire world with no restrictions or level requirements. The new mode will be available Fall 2016.
- Pete Hines announced they are developing games with VR in mind and that they have demo versions of Doom and Fallout 4 available for attendees. Fallout 4 will be available on HTC Vive in 2017.
- Adam Sessler & Morgan Webb showed a preview of what attendees will see after the show in "BE3 Lounge" demo stations.
- Harvey Smith (Co-Creative Director at Arkane Studios) spoke about Dishonored 2's new locations while a video showed several of them. He then spoke about how the game takes place fifteen years after the first and how players can choose to play as either Corvo Attano or Emily Kaldwin. He then narrated several minutes of Emily gameplay video. The release date was revealed to be November 11, 2016 and a new trailer was shown. (Video)
- Pete Hines announced a Dishonored 2 Collector's Edition, which includes a replica of Corvo's mask. Pre-orders of any version (for a limited time) would get a free copy of Dishonored Definitive Edition.
- Pete Hines thanked everyone for watching and closed the show.
Xbox E3 2016 Briefing
Xbox One S & Project Scorpio announced.Monday, June 13 @ 9:30 AM PDT - Galen Center
- The show began with a video revealing the new Xbox One S, which is a 40% smaller Xbox One starting at $299 in August 2016. (Video)
- Phil Spencer (Head of Xbox) welcomed everyone to the event.
- Rod Fergusson (Co-Creator & Studio Head at The Coalition) announced Gears of War 4 would be one of the first titles in the new "Play Anywhere" program, which allows players who purchase a game digitally to play it on both Xbox One and PC. Cross Platform Multiplayer will also exist.
- Laura Bailey (Voice of Kait Diaz) joined Rod Fergusson on stage to give a live demo of co-op campaign in Gears of War 4.
- A short video was shown announcing special edition Gears themed Xbox One Elite Controller.
- Rukari Austin (Community Manager) took the stage to speak about the success of Killer Instinct, then announced that General RAAM is the newest guest character in the game. (Video)
- Forza Horizon 3 was announced via a debut trailer. (Video)
- Ralph Fulton (Creative Director at Playground Games) presented a live demo of 4-player, cross-platform multiplayer. The game will release September 27, 2016.
- A new trailer for ReCore was shown with a release date of September 13, 2016.
- Hajime Tabata (Director at Square Enix) and Mathew Kishimoto (Senior Product Marketing Manager at Square Enix) took the stage to give a live demonstration of a boss battle in Final Fantasy XV.
- A trailer for the latest expansion for Tom Clancy's The Division was shown. (Video)
- Patrick Bach (General Manager at DICE) announced that Xbox One players who are also members of EA Access will get to play Battlefield 1 a week early on October 13, 2016.
- Mike Ybarra (Head of Platform Engineering) spoke about improvements that are being made to Xbox Live including Background Music, Language Region Independence, and Cortana voice recognition.
- Mike Ybarra then announced Clubs on Xbox, a guild-like system; Looking for Group, a way to find players online; and Arena, a tournament platform.
- Lydia Winters (Brand Director at Mojang) & Saxs Persson (Studio Manager) announced The Friendly Update for Minecraft, which allows players to create, share, and play with each across all platforms.
- John Carmack (Chief Technology Officer at Oculus) joined the Minecraft team on stage to demo the game in Gear VR.
- A video was shown announce Xbox Design Labs, which allows people to create customized controllers for Xbox One starting at $79.99. (Video)
- A trailer was shown for Playdead's latest game, Inside, coming on June 29, 2016. (Video)
- Chris Charla (Director of ID@Xbox) took the stage to promote Inside by announcing that Xbox Gold members can download Limbo for free. He then showed a highlight reel of indie games coming to Xbox. (Video)
- Guillaume Provost (Founder/Creative Director at Compulsion Games) gave a live demo of We Happy Few. (Video)
- Damien Monnier (Lead Designer at CD Projekt RED) took the stage to talk about how Gwent became a phenomenon in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. He announced a new, stand-alone Gwent: The Witcher Card Game that will have a closed beta in September 2016. (Video)
- A new trailer for Tekken 7 was shown. Coming in Early 2017. (Video)
- Katsuhiro Harada (Game Director & Chief Producer of Fighting Games at Bandai Namco Entertainment) and Michael Murray (Game Designer at Bandai Namco) gave a live demo of Tekken 7 and then announced Xbox Gold members can download Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for free for a limited time.
- A debut trailer for Dead Rising 4 was shown. (Video)
- Shannon Loftis (Head of Microsoft Studios Publishing) took the stage to discuss the importance of bringing original games to Xbox One.
- Hideki Kamiya (Creative Director at PlatinumGames) gave a live demo of Scalebound co-op. (Video)
- Craig Duncan (Studio Head at Rare) presented the world premiere of gameplay from Sea of Thieves. (Video)
- A debut trailer for State of Decay 2 was shown. (Video)
- A new trailer for Halo Wars 2 was shown. (Video)
- Daniel M. Ayoub (Studio Head of Strategy Games at 343 Industries) took the stage to discuss the story in Halo Wars 2. Coming on February 21, 2017. He then presented a short trailer for the game's multiplayer. (Video)
- Phil Spencer returned to the stage to introduce Project Scorpio, the next iteration of Xbox One. A video was shown featuring developers discussing the potential of the new system with "true 4K gaming" and "high fidelity VR." The new system will be available Holiday 2017.
Ubisoft E3 Media Briefing 2016
Longer than expected.Monday, June 13 @ 1:00 PM PDT - Orpheum Theater
- The show opened with an ensemble dance performance set to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now."
- Host Aisha Tyler joined the dancers on stage and, on behalf of Ubisoft, offered sympathies to the families of those affected by the tragedy in Orlando.
- Aisha Tyler announced Just Dance 2017 will come to all platforms including Nintendo NX in 2017.
- A new trailer for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands was shown. The game will release on March 7, 2017. (Video)
- Dominic Butler (Lead Game Designer at Ubisoft Paris) spoke about the story and features in Ghost Recon, which is the largest action adventure open world Ubisoft has ever done. He then presented a video of co-op gameplay. (Video)
- Jason Schroeder (Senior Producer at Ubisoft San Francisco) introduced Trey Parker and Matt Stone to talk about South Park: The Fractured But Whole. (Video)
- Jason Schroeder announced that those who pre-order The Fractured But Whole will receive a free copy of South Park: The Stick of Truth which has been ported to PS4 and Xbox One. The game will release on December 6, 2016.
- Aisha Tyler introduced Julian Gerighty (Creative Director at Ubisoft Massive) to talk about what's coming to Tom Clancy's The Division including the Underground expansion on June 28, 2016. He announced three free skins (Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and Rainbow Six) to celebrate Ubisoft's 30th birthday. (Video)
- Charles Huteau (Creative Director at Ubisoft Montreal), Palmer Luckey (Inventor & Founder of Oculus), and Jason Holtman (Head of Publisher at Oculus) took the stage to participate in a live, 3-on-3 demo of Eagle Flight. Carsten Myhill (Ubisoft Montreal) stated it was the first ever such demo in E3 history. (Video)
- David Votypka (Senior Creative Director at Red Storm Entertainment) revealed Star Trek: Bridge Crew for VR in Fall 2016.
- Aisha Tyler welcomed LeVar Burton on stage to talk about Star Trek.
- A new trailer for For Honor was shown. (Video)
- Jason VandenBerghe (Creative Director at Ubisoft Montreal) spoke about the game's campaign then gave a live demo of a Viking mission. The release date will be February 14, 2017. (Video)
- Peter Young (Producer at Ubisoft Reflections) presented the debut trailer for Grow Up, the sequel to Grow Home. (Video)
- Antti Ilvessuo (Senior Creative Director at RedLynx) and Dean Evans (Creative Director at Ubisoft Montreal) announced Trials of the Blood Dragon available immediately for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. (Video)
- Frank Marshall (Movie Producer) joined Aisha Tyler on stage to talk about the Assassin's Creed film, which will be out December 21, 2016.
- Jonathan Morin (Creative Director at Ubisoft Montreal) presented the first look at Watch Dogs 2 gameplay. (Video)
- Yves Guillemot (CEO of Ubisoft) introduced Jim Ryan (President of Global Sales and Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment) who announced they have started development on a Watch Dogs film and that all DLC for Watch Dogs 2 will be on PS4 30 days before any other platforms. (Video)
- Yves Guillemot then introduced the company's newest IP, Steep, the first game with Ubisoft Annecy as the lead studio. (Video)
- Rebeckah Coutaz (Studio Manager at Ubisoft Annecy) and Igor Manceau (Creative Director at Ubisoft Annecy) gave a video presentation of gameplay from Steep including snowboarding, skiing, paragliding, and wingsuit.
- Aisha Tyler and Yves Guillemot invited all of the developers back on stage and thanked everyone for watching.
PlayStation E3 2016 Press Conference
The ShrineMonday, June 13 @ 6:00 PM PDT - Shrine Auditorium
- Bear McCreary began the show with a performance of a live orchestra, which would continue with live performances throughout the presentations of the show.
- The intro led directly into a live demonstration and debut of God of War played by Cory Barlog (Creative Director at SIE Santa Monica). (Video)
- Shawn Layden (Chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios) welcomed everyone to the show and said on behalf of the PlayStation community, their thoughts are with those affected by the tragedy in Orlando.
- The debut trailer for Days Gone, the newest game from Sony Bend, was shown. (Video)
- A new trailer for The Last Guardian was shown with a release date of October 25, 2016. (Video)
- A new gameplay trailer for Horizon: Zero Dawn was shown. (Video)
- A new trailer for Detroit: Become Human was shown. (Video)
- The debut trailer for Resident Evil 7 biohazard was shown, which revealed that the Kitchen demo from last year was actually RE7. The game will also be fully playable in PlayStation VR when it releases on January 24, 2017. (Video)
- Shawn Layden returned to discuss the importance of PlayStation VR. The official release date was announced as October 13, 2016 with fifty games available by the end of 2016.
- The debut trailer for Farpoint was shown. (Video)
- A trailer for a VR mission in Star Wars Battlefront was shown.
- The debut trailer for Batman: Arkham VR was shown. (Video)
- A new trailer for Final Fantasy XV was shown including the announcement of a separate VR mode where players can play as Prompto Argentum. (Video)
- A new gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was shown. (Video)
- Shawn Layden returned to announce that Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped were all be remastered for PS4. He then presented a trailer for Skylanders Imaginators, which will also feature Crash. (Video)
- A new trailer for LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens was shown. (Video)
- Andrew House (President & Group CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment) took the stage to introduce Hideo Kojima (Kojima Productions) who presented the debut trailer for Death Stranding. (Video)
- The debut trailer for Spider-Man, a PS4 exclusive from Insomniac Games, was shown. (Video)
- Shawn Layden ended the show by presenting a live gameplay demonstration of Days Gone. (Video)
Nintendo Live @ E3
Nintendo Treehouse LiveTuesday, June 14 @ 9:00 AM PDT
- Reggie Fils-Aime (President & COO of Nintendo of America) opened the show by offering condolences to those affected by the tragedy in Orlando.
- After a moment of silence, Reggie Fils-Aime introduced the debut trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. (Video)
- Reggie Fils-Aime then introduced the Nintendo Treehouse team, who were with developers from Game Freak. They gave a 40-minute presentation on Pokémon Sun/Moon.
- The rest of the day was devoted to Zelda gameplay demos.
- The second day of Nintendo's Treehouse Live event focused on other games including Mario Party: Star Rush, Yo-kai Watch 2, Monster Hunter Generations, Dragon Warrior VII, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, BOXBOXBOY!, Paper Mario: Color Splash, Rhythm Heaven Megamix, and the announcement of Ever Oasis, a new RPG from Grezzo.
Game Critic Awards
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 2016 Game Critics Awards were announced on June 28, 2016. Winners were announced on July 5, 2016. Battlefield 1 led the field with five nominations, but only took one award. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was nominated for three awards and took all three including Best of Show. Electronic Arts had ten nominations followed by Sony Interactive Entertainment America with nine. And Sony had the most wins of any company with five.
Best of Show
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Best Original Game
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Best PC Game
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Best Console Game
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Best VR Game
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Best Peripheral/Hardware
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Best Action Game
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Best Action/Adventure Game
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Best Fighting Game
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Best Racing Game
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Best Role Playing Game
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Best Sports Game
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Best Strategy Game
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Best Family Game
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Best Online Multiplayer Game
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Best Independent Game
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Special Commendation for Graphics
Exhibitors
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