For years, we had an E3 tradition: writing an article about an imaginary PC gaming press conference where big announcements were made for our beloved platform, just like they are for the consoles. Then we decided to actually put on our own show, which has become home to some of the biggest PC announcements of the year. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, Age of Empires, Battletech and many more graced the stage this year.
But E3 2017 has also been good for PC games across the show. From EA to Microsoft to Ubisoft, a whole lot of the games on display are coming to PC right alongside consoles. Here's our list of every game shown at E3, including what we know about its release date and PC outlook.
Anthem
Coming to PC? Yes!
When's it out? Fall 2018
While Mass Effect: Andromeda was brewing at BioWare, the multi-team studio was also building something new: Anthem, an open world sci-fi shooter which, on first impression, has Destiny, Warframe, and Titanfall 2 flavors. While we expect BioWare-style storytelling, the first gameplay trailer emphasizes co-op monster shooting in a thick rainforest, with jetpack flight to boot. This is not your standard BioWare game. The choreographed trailer doesn’t tell us the full story, but with Anthem releasing in mid to late 2018, we expect to see more soon.
Destiny 2
Coming to PC? Later than consoles, but yep
When's it out? October 24, 2017 (beta in August)
You may roll your eyes at the first game’s botched launch, but more than three years later the appetite for Bungie’s shared world sci-fi shooter is more ravenous than ever—as evidenced by the fact that the E3 line to play it had to be capped three minutes after the show opened. Based on our own multiple hands-ons (watch James play in 4K at max settings above) it’s clear the PC version will be the definitive experience, making the slight delay a small price to pay. To get the skinny on the new subclassess, balncing weapon archetypes for PC, what’s being done about story loose ends and much more, read our exclusive interview with director Luke Smith. Then consider splashing for a new GPU. Nvidia are bundling the game for free with new 1080s, and you’re going to want to see this one at its best.
Star Wars: Battlefront 2
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? November 17, 2017
Battlefront players clamoring for a campaign are getting their wishes this time around, as we learned a few months back. E3 gave us our first look at Battlefront 2 gameplay footage, and it's predictably just as ridiculously pretty as the first game. More importantly, its new class system and weapon variety promise to make it a meatier game, based on our first hands-on.
A Way Out
Coming to PC? Yes | Yes
When's it out? Early 2018
A unique co-op game from the creator of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It's always co-op, with the perspectives of its two characters always presented in splitscreen (though you can play online or local). The story-driven game starts with life in prison, but you break out somewhere along the way. According to Sam and James who played it, A Way Out is "like a David Cage game, only co-op and good."
The Last Night
Coming to PC? Yes
When's it out? 2018
From developer Odd Tales and publisher Raw Fury comes a 2.5D cyberpunk sidescroller that looks to be part Blade Runner, part Oddworld. The environments are grimly beautiful, and it's certainly got a moody feel to it. There are some important questions about its themes, though—more on that here.
Assassin's Creed: Origins
Coming to PC? You betcha
When's it out? October 27, 2017
Since this Assassin’s Creed installment has had a longer development period than most, there’s a lot riding on it. And overall, the promise of a more RPG-leaning, Egypt-based open world adventure does sound appealing. It’s still unclear how much of a re-invention Origins will be, but Ubisoft seems to have (rather symbolically) done away with the icon-strewn mini map in favor of more RPG-like UI elements, according to our friends over at GamesRadar. Oh, and you have an eagle companion—a very promising feature for eagle enthusiasts worldwide.
Metro Exodus
Coming to PC? Da
When's it out? 2018
It’s the third Metro game we’ve all so eagerly anticipated, and while the gameplay video released at E3 looks very par for the course, there are new elements. Chief among these is that Exodus will reportedly feature sprawling open sandbox environments—a departure from the linear layouts of the previous games. If this installment can balance the narrative focus of those games with more satisfying exploration, then we may be onto a winner.
Monster Hunter World
Coming to PC? For the first time, though after consoles
When's it out? Early 2018
Well, this is a thrilling—not to mention long-overdue—surprise as the Monster Hunter series finally makes its way to PC! With some new features like destructible environments and a hookshot-style grappling tool, not to mention drop-in 4-player co-op, and a true open world complete with a day/night cycle, we're excited to see more in the months ahead, and hope the wait—it's unfortunately launching on console ahead of PC—isn't too long.
Call of Duty: WWII
Coming to PC? Yep
When's it out? November 3, 2017
The CoD:WWII multiplayer reveal trailer is directed like any other free-camera gameplay montage, but despite masking the real look of it, we do learn a lot: there are paratroopers, objectives like bomb planting and vehicle escorts, and what appear to be bombing and strafing killstreaks. After Sony’s show, we learned a bit more from Activision about how the replacement for create-a-class works, and what sort of weapons to expect. Evan got some hands-on time in, and was pleased to find that the new War Mode brings real change to the series.
Sea of Thieves
Coming to PC? Arr
When's it out? Early 2018
Pirates! We played Sea of Thieves last year, and again this year, and it's still a promising multiplayer pirate game with heaps of Rare charm. It's still hard to get a feel for the exact breadth of this adventure sandbox, but we're still thirsty for more great pirate games. (Thirsty, not hungry, because grog).
