What will 2020 bring to the world of video games? Here at Kotaku Splitscreen, we have answers. Well… we have guesses. Same thing, right?
On this week’s episode of the show, we talk about some of the games we’re playing (Control! Resident Evil 2! The Witcher 3!) and some of the movies we’ve been watching (Parasite! Knives Out! Little Women!) as well as revisit our predictions for 2019 to see what we got right (and wrong) about the year in video games.
We also make a bunch of predictions for 2020. Want to see them? OK, here you go…
Kirk Hamilton’s predictions:
Bloodborne 2 will be announced for PS5.
Video games will come up at some point during a presidential debate.
Nintendo will announce a new Switch with Bluetooth, 4K support, and the ability to maintain 30fps in Korok Forest in Breath of the Wild.
Microsoft will announce Xcloud for Switch.
We will learn about a foreign influence campaign aimed at the 2020 US election that will somehow involve video games on Twitch or YouTube.
A US game studio will vote to unionize.
EA will announce a Mass Effect trilogy remaster.
Nintendo will announce and launch a Game Boy classic.
Two of Facebook, Amazon or Netflix will announce a cloud gaming service to compete with Google Stadia/Xcloud/PSNow.
Half Life: Episode Alyx will end with a teaser for Half Life 3, aka a continuation of the story post-Episode 2 cliffhanger.
Jason Schreier’s predictions:
Nintendo will release a Switch Pro along with third-party ports that can only run on it.
Rockstar will announce Grand Theft Auto 6.
Google will drastically overhaul Stadia’s model/pricing.
PS5 will massively outsell Xbox Series X in its first month.
A presidential candidate will participate in some sort of Fortnite event.
Apple will put out a game on PC or consoles.
Amazon will launch some sort of streaming service and store with built-in Twitch features and interactivity.
A U.S.-based game development studio will unionize.
Sony will skip E3 once again, as will at least one major publisher that attended E3 in 2019.
Disney will buy/invest big in a video game company.
Maddy Myers’ predictions:
The Nintendo Switch Online subscription service will start including new/contemporary games and will rival Xbox Game Pass.
We WILL see Metroid Prime 4 gameplay this year. Not just a cool cinematic trailer! Gameplay!!
We will learn that you play as Zelda in Breath of the Wild 2, even if only briefly (e.g. one mission, co-op, etc)
Ellie’s girlfriend – the one in the E3 trailer – will die in The Last Of Us Part 2.
Nintendo will announce a Princess Peach game.
A mobile game will come out that will be in serious contention for GOTY lists due to its influence (like Pokemon Go, but actually good).
Twitter will try to follow in Facebook’s footsteps and make a push towards gaming, e.g. launching a streaming service or gaming/VR studio.
We will see “Stadia is actually good now” headlines in 2020.
Epic Store rage will stop being a thing, concurrent with some changes on the part of the Epic Store (e.g. huge UI makeover with achievements, user reviews, wish lists, etc)
Either the PS5 or the Xbox Series X will make a disastrous fuck-up that will re-ignite the console wars by making it clear that one or the other console is superior in some way. This controversy will dominate headlines for weeks.
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