E3 2021 Recap: Highlights, Announcements, and Exciting Reveals

The effect of the pandemic has been devastating at different levels for the world of video games, but one of the areas that have suffered a bigger impact is the live events. The number of conferences that have been canceled has increased exponentially, and we are at a point where all the events have had to adapt to an online format. Therefore, a lot of gamers were eagerly awaiting the yearly E3 conference, which is considered the biggest event in the world of video games. E3 2021 is now officially over, but it has left behind a lot of announcements regarding the titles that will arrive in the following months, but also several disappointments, which usually are related to games that have not been shown at the event.

E3 2021 has been divided into several online events, including Summer Games Fest 2021, Ubisoft Forward 2021, Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, Square Enix Presents , and Nintendo Direct. Each of them has brought us plenty of news, but which are the biggest announcements of each of them?

Summer Games Fest 2021 opened the E3 with some of the most anticipated games. The fans of the Borderlands series could finally discover the spin-off that Gearbox is working on right now, Tiny Tina's Wonderland. It was followed by plenty of videos about upcoming games, including Metal Slug Tactics, Death Stranding Director's Cut, Jurassic World Evolution 2, Lost Ark, Salt and Sacrifice, Two Point Campus, The Anacrusius, Bloodhunt, Tales of Arise, Endless Dungeon, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, Back 4 Blood, Tribes of Midgard, and more. But the biggest announcement of the event came when Bandai Namco revealed the first Elden Ring gameplay video along with its release date, which was completely unexpected.

Ubisoft Forward 2021 gave us an overview of what the french publisher will offer to us this year. Rainbow Six Extraction, formerly known as Rainbow Six Quarantine, will be the new star in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series, aiming to catch the attention of the fans with a war against alien parasites that want to control our world. We also got several updates about Riders Republic, Rocksmith+, Rainbow Six Siege, Just Dance 2022, and others, but the reveal of the upcoming DLC for Assassin's Creed Valhalla and a new video of Far Cry 6 were the most interesting news in the event. The surprise announcement of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which is a sequel to Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, pleased Nintendo fans, but Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora reveal left us with more doubts than answers about the upcoming game from Massive Entertainment. 

Microsoft bought Bethesda and, therefore, it was expected that Starfield would arrive in exclusive to Xbox consoles and PC. Other than that, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 reveal got all the attention during an event that also showed Battlefield 2042 gameplay, Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires 4, Psychonauts 2, and Redfall among many others. The best was the reveal of Halo Infinite's multiplayer mode, which will be free. The worst is that we couldn't watch any footage from Fable 4, The Elder Scrolls 6, or Perfect Dark.

Square Enix's conference at E3 2021 brought us some news about our favorite superheroes with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and the Black Panther DLC for Marvel's Avengers. Final Fantasy series will have a new spin-off with Dark Souls vibe, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, which will arrive next year. The Hitman series takes a new direction with Hitman Sniper: The Shadows, and Legend of Mana will arrive this month. Other than that, we could have a first look at how Alex's powers will work in Life Is Strange: True Colors, and at the remastered versions of the first two games in the series, that will be released in September, also on Nintendo Switch.

Finally, the Nintendo Direct that took place during the E3 2021 focused on several games that are coming to Switch, including the Danganronpa series, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, and several others. Regarding new games, Metroid Dread will bring back the popular 2D platforming shooter, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is coming on November 12, and we could watch some Skyward Sword HD footage. The most exciting moment of the showcase was the reveal of Breath of the Wild 2, the most anticipated game on Nintendo's console, which is set for a release next year.

Overall, E3 2021 has not been disappointing at all, and we all have been able to enjoy it from the comfort of our homes. It's true that some games weren´t present but it's likely that new announcements will take place through the following weeks. We encourage you to follows our news if you don't want to miss anything. Also, remember to visit our comparator to find these games at the best price ahead of their release date.