Gaming News – E3 2019: Microsoft announce a new Xbox and more!

The all-encompassing powerhouse that is Microsoft have wrapped up their E3 conference for 2019 and we’re here to present forward the best of the best. Starting with;

THE NEW Xbox – Project Scarlett

First of all, what a name… To the punter it might seem childish – but as a geek it’s just really cool. We didn’t get a look at the latest in Microsoft tech, but we did learn a little about it. We know Project Scarlett is launching at some point in 2020 and is focused exclusively on delivering big gaming performance. They’ve told us it will be backwards compatible, which means that all of your Xbox One games WILL work on this ‘next-gen’ console.

Microsoft will launch also Halo Infinite, the game they teased last year alongside the console release.

We’re told it will have to ability to process 8K video/game content and should be able to run games at 120FPS (welcome console players to the PC dream team). It’s an exciting era to be a gamer – standby for more news on Project Scarlett.

CYBERPUNK 2077

Keanu Reeves is in the game. That’s all your need to know. Done. Finished. Buy it. The man, myth and legend faced the crowds in LA to announce his involvement in the title, sending fans into a frenzy (gaming writer for EFTM inclusive).

But in all seriousness, we told you about Cyberpunk 2077 during last year’s E3 conference, as the community excitement and expectations began growing but we haven’t heard much since. The game has been a VERY long time coming, which is why it’s so sweet to announce that Cyberpunk 2077 will release on the 16th of April, 2020.

PROJECT XCLOUD

It’s becoming generally accepted among gamers that the future is in cloud computing. For those out of the loop, the concept is simple – big computers somewhere far away do all of the processing/graphics for your chosen game, which means you can play on a device that is traditionally not powerful enough to play games on (e.g mobile phone, laptop, tablet, etc).

Very recently Google gave us some more exciting details about their game streaming platform Stadia, including that it will release November of this year! Well… it’s a darn shame Google, because Microsoft have today announced that Project xCloud will release just one month earlier in October!

Now I don’t want you to get too excited because as I’ve said time and time again, game streaming ISN’T yet viable with the internet speeds we have in Australia – but we’ll hopefully see the architecture functioning across the world, putting pressure on corporations and government to employ similar technology here.

Those are the biggest news bytes to come out of the Microsoft E3 presentation, but there are a few notable mentions;

• Microsoft Flight Simulator – We’re set to receive a fresh version of this absolute classic, you’ll now be flying in 4K!
• Dragon Ball Z Kakarot – Anime geeks, you’re up. Coming early next year, Microsoft gave us a first look at their new DBZ title.
• Minecraft Dungeons – A top-down adventure game based on Minecraft… looks gimmicky but hey who am I to judge…

• Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – As the title suggests this is a new Lego Star Wars game that will cover all of the nine films! Which is sure to keep the fans happy.
• Xbox Game Pass – A whoooole lot of new games, including Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, Metro Exodus, Batman Arkham Knight and Football Manager 19. There are 34 titles in total coming to Game Pass… Incredible.

And that about covers Microsoft for E3 2019. Keep your eyes open for the latest on Project Scarlett, Project xCloud and Cyberpunk 2077 – here at EFTM.com