E3 is only a few days away and what does everyone and their mothers do when it draws closer and closer? Make those predictions. So, to keep up with the times, I want to share just a few of my predictions for this coming E3. Some of these might be solid predictions, others might be from my wildest dreams, but either way, I want to share what I think might come out of the conference.

As you read this, I’m not trying to be the fortune-teller of Video Games but just some fun speculations going into E3. Hopefully all of these will be right on the money, but it’ll be fun to come back to this article and see what I got right and wrong. If you agree or disagree with my predictions, feel free to tweet at us (Twitter: @GamingGroceries) and share this article so we can start more conversations. With that said, let’s start off with my first prediction:

Skyrim will be officially announced on Google Stadia

I feel like this is the safest bet for a few reasons. First off, there was a report written on Forbes where we have three confirmed games and a couple games teased. One of those teased games was Skyrim:

3 Games Confirmed for Google Stadia

Secondly, of those confirmed games we see Doom Eternal which is a Bethesda published game. This is important to know because now this means Bethesda Softworks has some faith in Stadia, therefore willing to put other games that they publish on the platform. This isn’t to say we’ll start seeing a whole ton of Bethesda Softworks games on Stadia, but it shows their faith. Another reason to say that we won’t see all Bethesda games on Stadia is their promise to bring more of their games on to Steam and they seem very headstrong in that partnership.

The final reason we’ll see Skyrim on Stadia is the most important reason of them all: Todd Howard is on a mission to bring Skyrim on every platform (including your microwave). We’ve all seen the memes, after Skyrim came to the next-gen consoles, the Switch, and even your Alexa device we know Todd will see a new platform and immediately find a way to port Skyrim on it. So during Bethesda’s showcase, you’ll probably see it as an early announcement while Todd Howard cracks a joke about “Skyrim on everything” to try to win over the crowd that is steamed over his latest IGN interview.

8K won’t be as big of a deal as people are thinking

We’ve been hearing that 8K TVs will be in our inevitable future and that it will be the new “spark” word for gamers. I’m here to say that it won’t be talked about as much as people think it will be. As I look through the internet, I see people predicting that a lot of showcases will be talking “8K capabilities” or “Our game can be rendered in 8K”, but I don’t see this happening a lot at E3. I still think we’ll hear a little bit about 8K, but not enough to be concerned over.

I think this won’t be the case for one major reason: 8K is nowhere near to becoming mainstream. Yes, there are 8K TVs in the States that you can purchase, but they cost nearly $10,000. If you got that kind spare change sitting in your sofa, I think you’d buy yourself a private jet first. 4K TVs having just crept in as becoming mainstream (arguably) which has been a huge step for game developers to release high fidelity games. I believe instead of 8K talk, you’ll hear a lot more “Native 4K” and “no-checkerboard 4K rendering” during each showcase.

Don’t get me wrong, you will hear some things about 8K at E3, only just as murmurs rather than loudly spoken. You’ll most likely hear it at Microsoft’s showcase when they announce their next-gen console and maybe during the PC Gaming showcase, but that’ll be about it.

EA’s Showcase won’t be as cringey and it’ll actually be alright

I hear you yelling at your screen as you read this “Adam, why are you putting EA in this?! EA doesn’t have an E3 showcase and having their own conference, you handsome dummy!”. Well first off, thank you for calling me handsome, even with the following insult. Secondly, I’m still putting EA in the mix because they say they’re having their own conference but it’s a day ahead of E3 and it’s across the street from the E3 venue. As we watch the EA Play showcase, I actually believe you won’t be cringing as much as previous years and you’ll leave the stream saying “Eh, that was cool I guess”.

I don’t believe EA is going to blow anybody’s minds, but I don’t think it’ll kill any brain cells either. EA has decided to step away from E3 and start their online stream conference much like PlayStation has, I believe this will lead to less pressure on them to give you an exciting show. On Twitter, they’ve already laid about what they will show and talk about including Jedi: Fallen Order, Apex Legends, and their sports titles and this tells me they’re not in it to shock you. We’ve also heard Andrew Wilson go public about rethinking how EA should be releasing their games after the massive flop of Anthem’s release.

Notice though, I’ve said been saying is won’t be as cringey and that’s because I’m still willing to bet that we’ll still be witnessing some cringe in their stream. At the end of it though, I think you won’t be as insulted as you have been in the past couple of years.

Aisha Tyler will make an appearance at Ubisoft’s Showcase

It’s time for those bold predictions! Yes, I think it’s high time to bring back our beloved celebrity host and all of the weird humor she gives. Aisha hosted the Ubisoft E3 shows from 2012 to 2016, but in 2017 she was dropped so that the developers could host the show. While I agree with the sentiment of having the developers host the show, I think it would be fantastic fan service to have Aisha Tyler come out in the middle of the show to announce a brand-new IP or at least just Watch Dogs 3.

I definitely think the Ubisoft E3 Showcase of 2017 was the most heartwarming, the most magical, the most inspirational show that the company has ever made. However, 2018 fell short of 2017’s Showcase and lost some of the magic that was made in the previous year. There were some people that said “good riddance” to Aisha, but a lot of us miss her and want her back even for a short section of the show.

I don’t think she’ll once again permanently host the future showcase, nor do I think she’ll be hosting the entire showcase, but I think Ubisoft has contacted her to come out to announce just one game. Yes, this is a bold prediction, but this is a prediction that I hope comes true.

Devolver Digital will win E3

Time to make some enemies in this article. Yes, you read that right and I think if anything they’ll come as a close 2nd place to Microsoft’s showcase. Devolver Digital is known to make the most outlandish, the most insane showcase in all of E3 and I think they haven’t “won” E3 is because we’ve been paying too much attention to the other companies. This year is a very odd year, almost like the eye of the storm before the next-gen consoles release, and with Devolver Digital continuing the story that they tell at every year’s E3 I think the most entertainment will come from them.

If you’re not familiar with Devolver Digital, they are mostly known as publishers for underrated indie games such as Ape Out, Gris, Observation, The Messenger, Scum and too many more than I can list. Here, check out their games list on their website:

Devolver Digital

After the launch of Gris and The Messenger, especially, people are keeping their eyes on the publisher because now they know what kind of games they offer. It’s not just filled with goofy and shocking content, but they are capable of releasing games like pluck at the hearts strings and entice the senses of their fanbase.

Am I saying that E3 2019 will be so boring that Devolver Digital will be the only ones to entertain us? No…well maybe kinda. What I’m seeing from a lot of companies are looking to the next-gen consoles, developers already have their dev-kits and are excited about the future. I even think most of the 14 games that Microsoft will announce will be launch titles for their next-gen system just to get you pumped for the future (oooo a prediction within a prediction, Prediception). But take a look at Devolver Digital games, mostly focused on the Switch and PC which are two platforms that already well established and won’t be waiting for the future of next-gen like Xbox and PlayStation are.

It’s because Devolver Digital focused on these two platforms (and mobile, can’t forget mobile) along with their insane, story-based E3 Showcases that I think they will be the company to come out on top. I don’t say this to take away from what Kinda Funny Games, Limited Run Games, or UploadVR will be offering, but I think people will really enjoy with what Devolver Digital will offer.

Also, what’s a good E3 prediction article if you don’t end on a spicy prediction to stir up discussion?

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