[Gamasutra's Leigh Alexander reflects from Los Angeles on the major takeaways of Microsoft's E3 briefing -- why the company's real killer reveal will see the least buzz, and what announcements like Project Natal and MGS Rising could mean for the industry.]
When it comes to presentations, Microsoft hasn't exactly got a reputation for austerity, so it was fitting that the company's press event (also covered in liveblog form by Gamasutra for the raw announcements) should be the one to kick off the "new" E3...
Keiichiro Toyama—the creator and original director of the 1999 Silent Hill—shared his personal thoughts on the recently announced remake by Konami, reflecting on what the project means to him after more than two decades:
“I felt something similar when the game was adapted into a movie. It deeply moved me to see the names of the characters and locations I had created come to life visually, even though I wasn’t directly involved. That wouldn’t have been possible without the continued support of the fans and the dedication of the developers who’ve kept the series alive.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how the remake evolves this time. With the advanced technology we now have, I’m sure I’ll be surprised by how the game is reimagined. Since the original was built for the first PlayStation, there will naturally be challenges—like the camera and controls—but I’m eager to see bold and creative solutions to those elements.”
Haha Not only is bold and creatively not what the industry wants, it’s not what most people want.
They want to get scammed and pay twice for a thing they already own.
Was the SH2 remake even bold? Or was it more or less just a 1 to 1 over the shoulder remake?
2026 will mark the 25th anniversary of Xbox, and Phil Spencer has teased it as a "really special year" for the games division.
You got downvotes by pathetic gamers for feeling hopeful about good games coming out next year. Imagine how small your brain must be to downvote someone excited for future gaming joy? It is pretty neat to see people's world view blow up in front of them as they realize Microsoft has put themselves in a driver's seat that Sony hasn't been able to touch all generation.... What's even more pathetic is the same people downvoting you are the same people wishlisting Microsoft games on their ps5s 😂
“Imagine how small your brain must be to downvote someone excited for future gaming joy?”
My dude your post history shits on EVERYTHING. You never have a good thing to say about anything lol! 🤣
“Getting ready for those GaaS reveals! Sony is a shadow of themselves this gen.”
You literally said this a couple of days ago. Start applying the clown make up, you hypocritical jester
NGL, next year might be one of the best years in gaming ... starting off with RE9 and GTA VI ...
and then all the good games that's been cooking
Pragmata, Sands of Time, Saros, Gears E-Day, 007 First Light, Blood of Dawnwalker,
Mortal Shell II, Onimusha, Marvel1943: Rise of Hydra
current-gen only Infinity Ward's CoD, Duskbloods
+ My guess: Wolverine, Exodus, Mudang, Crimson Desert, Clockwork etc ...
~ seems like it might get too stacked
@rokos:”Hopefully “
I downvoted you not for been hopeful but because I have seen the same “NEXT YEAR WILL BE SPECIAL “ comment for the last 10+ and hasn’t seen anything special from Microsoft.
I hope next year will be the one that everyone been waiting for since the last 3 years of the Xbox 360, it have to be after over $80 billions spent on acquisitions.
So the new excuse is they don't count because it's from the ABK now huh. I guess all those 3rd party games count even less because they don't own them. According to your always crappy logic.
I don't know they have delivered this year and even last year. And they have a lot more content in the pipeline right now than anyone else. We can't just keep hating on MS
Indiana Jones
South of midnight
Avowed
Flight simulator
Hell Blade 2
Minecraft update
Gears of war reloaded
Indian Jones:expansion
Gears E day
Clockwork revolution
Fable
Doom the dark ages
The outer worlds 2
Grounded 2
Call of duty
How many of those titles were just buyouts of companies that were going about making their games anyways? *Throws cash - "Oh look what we made!"
This list, that's been posted again, and again, and again in every single topic like this, contains almost nothing, literally almost nothing from Microsoft's own creational thoughtprocess.
It's a bunch of former 3rd party IPs.
Now even slowly returning to Playstation in some cases like Indiana, Hellblade, probably Starfield soon too, after they were made exclusively to Xbox on purpose.
Due to Microsoft's lack for own IP material except Halo & Forza. Which, the lack of, was the sole reason for all of it to happen in the first place anyway. Please don't pretend it wasn't.
And just look at all the games that come from Obsidian alone.
You really think Obsidian wasn't already working on Avowed and South of Midnight even without Microsoft buying Zenimax?
Microsoft delivered nothing but cheques.
@dveio THIS. Lol, this dude thinks Call of Duty wouldn't exist without Microsoft! smh 😂
Common narrative I see often — that Microsoft shouldn’t get credit for the games its studios release because they “just bought them.” But this viewpoint ignores key context and sets a double standard that other platform holders aren’t held to
No one is saying these games wouldn't exist at all without Microsoft. But let’s not pretend that having a trillion-dollar company backing a studio doesn’t make a massive difference. Obsidian never had AAA funding before the Xbox acquisition. Pillars of Eternity was crowdfunded, and their resources were always stretched thin. Now they’re working on Avowed, with proper support behind it.
Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was made by around 20 people, using borrowed equipment and doing mocap in a boardroom. It was a passion project held together by tape and willpower. Today, Hellblade II exists because they were given resources, time, and freedom — something many developers don’t get unless they’re owned by a company that believes in their vision.
ZeniMax (Bethesda’s parent company) was in real financial trouble before the Microsoft acquisition. Reports and insider accounts have pointed out how much they needed a cash infusion. And while some people want to write off Xbox’s ownership of Bethesda titles, they forget the alternative could have meant layoffs or even closures.
The same goes for Activision Blizzard. Would you really prefer the company to stay under Bobby Kotick, after all the documented workplace misconduct and toxic leadership issues? Say what you want about Microsoft, but their acquisition brought accountability and change to a company that desperately needed it.
At the same time, Xbox gets hated on for doing what every major company does. Sony bought Housemarque, Bluepoint, Insomniac — but no one says Spider-Man 2 “doesn’t count” because of that. Why does Xbox get treated differently for acquiring struggling or undervalued developers and giving them a chance to thrive?
And the idea that Xbox locks games away is outdated. They're pushing cross-platform releases, cloud gaming, Game Pass, and backward compatibility more than any other platform holder. They're not forcing all studios into live service. If anything, their upcoming lineup is less GAAS-heavy and more focused on narrative and creativity — Avowed, South of Midnight, Clockwork Revolution, Fable, Perfect Dark, Towerborne, and others show real variety.
Whether people like it or not, Xbox is now the biggest publisher in the industry and owns the most gaming IPs. But what matters more is how they treat their studios. Most of these teams were previously stuck making AA games with limited scope — now they’re getting the tools and support to aim higher.
So when people say “Microsoft didn’t make those games,” they’re missing the point. It’s not about who started the studio — it’s about who enabled them to do their best work. You don’t have to love Xbox to admit they’ve helped a lot of developers and are taking a player-first approach.
Instead of writing off everything they do, maybe try recognizing the good they’re doing for both devs and gamers. At the end of the day, we should want more studios to succeed — no matter who owns them
I'm surprised Clockwork Revolution (BioShock meets Dishonored) isn't getting more media attention. The game looks interesting and reminds me of the old RPG games.
The only good game on that list is Flight sim. The rest are either average or will be average. It's not a good look for MS.
My god.... Look how many comments are upset about microsoft's successes... 😂 This may be my new favorite thread. Not one gamer saying thanks for all the goodness coming their way, just bitter anger and downvoting the very games they themselves will purchase throughout 2026.... Sony really worked you guys over this generation.... Condolences.
@neutralgamer1992 You said what needed to be said.
I have heard for years from older gamers that fanboys are the biggest issue with any fanbase. They will defend or gloss over negative news as long as the correct logo is on the box and they bash the competing platform no matter how much good they are trying to bring.
Right now their advocacy for PlayStation is elevating that platform so high that Sony no longer believes they need to do anything to satisfy their loyal fanbase like they did in the PS4 days.
I just hope most of them will eventually start advocating for themselves and encourage others to do the same. No one should blindly support one platform because these companies do not care about anything other than profit.
Hunted
And first proper game done by the studio with proper AAA budget and saying it will be released when ready
Anast
I believe we went through this before that you are objectively wrong. Meta critic, user reviews, game sales. In Playstation top 10 best selling games were 5 from Microsoft studios
Otter
No this dude is saying so many other studios wouldn't be thriving without MS money and people would be getting abused physically and mentally with Bobby kotick and his side kicks
Also maybe look up how the original founder of Bethesda and zenimax was kicked out of his own company by his best friend lawyer. So that was always a shady place and had been struggling financially before MS paid a premium of almost 7 billion
Eroica
I use to be a die hard Playstation fan and now I only have a Pc. I see how these fans are so toxic. They just can't handle any positive news regarding Xbox. When the best selling games on playstation are Xbox titles. Look at Forza horizon being best seller and that's years old game by MS. I guess ms don't deserve credit for that success too since they are the only company in gaming making acquisitions
Forget the fact Sony paid 3.6 billion for bungie and MS 6.9 for zenimax. Which investment has turned out better
Destiny and marathon with a lot of controversy
While zenimax output is nothing short of amazing compared to what bungie has released
Yeah it's tricky. "Xbox" has morphed to mean different things to different people.
Console, now Windows, GamePass, and the cross platform games. There's a mix of attitudes towards all those things individually, and maybe an overarching attitude towards MS. But can't argue that the game companies MS recently bought continue to flourish, and GamePass PC has been a great value over the last year.
@OtterX
You're the dude mad at your exes new guy. She's with someone else... get over it.
They've had good output so far. So waiting for those games shouldn't be a problem.
Who cares if they're buy outs of companies or whatever excuse you want to make. They're games that are being distributed to other console. Play the games and enjoy it instead of fanboying or complaining.
They going to be a he best and biggest publisher on Xbox, Playstation and PC next year. They not really said anything about Switch 2 though spite claiming to be big supporters.
It will be, his net work will hit 50 million and he plans to buy a new mansion in Cape Cod. Thanks everyone! #failup
Xbox Game Studios' Halo: Combat Evolved Remake is reportedly planned to release in late 2026 to celebrate 25 years of Xbox.
No official update on anything?
They replaced studio leadership
They changed the studio name
They announced the change to UE5
... all while supporting Infinite
The support to Infinite isn't what it originally should have been but they've still been providing tons of official updates over the years, and as recently as two months ago added a brand new weapon.
I think remaking Halo Combat Evolved, and going to 2 and 3 again, will help give the studio an idea of how to make a Halo game feel like Halo again
Infinite did feel like Halo, that's not what the complaints were...
The complaints were almost literally everything else. Monetization, netcode and desync, the campaign structure, story, and single biome, the weaker-than-expected post-launch content.
Dev times in modern days 4 years of silence isn't unheard of when things are running smoothly.
And around 6 months ago 343 did show a tech demo of ue5 using halo assets so it's not radio silence.
Given all the shake ups i am more surprised we're getting anything next year at all.
They coulda started with Halo 3 remake ... I know Halo CE remaster was not proper with the art style but still, remaking after a remaster seems dull, when Halo 3 and Reach have started to show some age.
Yeah I hate they used Halo reach artstyle. Hope this remake feel authentic yet fresh
Probably the simplest to work around with. They are reportedly doing it in UE5, so its just as much an Anniversary thing, as its probably the studio getting familiar and setting up their tools and processes in the engine with an actual game, to facilitate the development of the next Halo
I'm guessing combat evolved has a smaller scope in general the later half of the game features a ton of backtracking and reused assets making it a easier game to remake on a deadline
Its also a better choice if this is the first game to be multiplatform mind you I think it's pretty much a given that anyone with a passing curiosity has played this by now in some way be it pc or brought a used console for a few bucks
I would love to see Lost Odyssey come over to PS5. I would definitely buy that again. That was the first game that I played on my 360. Loved the story and battle system. One of the best JRPGs of all time in my opinion.
I didnt think that MS would have such a good line up this year, I have been proved wrong, I also cannot wait to see what Sony can also bring to the table 2009 - 2010 is guaranteed to be great years for gamers.