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The PC Gaming E3 2019 Show Live Blog

Alex Walker Avatar
Alex Walker

Always a treat for slightly awkward jokes, more indies than you can poke a stick at and a glimmer of hope that Star Citizen might have a fully playable campaign sometime soon, the PC Gaming Show is weird, but always entertaining.

As is customary, let’s get the nuts and bolts out of the way — when to watch.

PC Gaming Show @ E3 2019: How to watch

First up, for those who want to play along in a second screen. You’ll find all the details, including times for the conference in all major Australian and New Zealand timezones, below.

[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/06/watch-the-pc-gaming-e3-2019-conference-here/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/06/dont-starve-hamlet-3-410×231.jpg” title=”Watch The PC Gaming E3 2019 Conference Here” excerpt=”We know Larian’s working on Baldur’s Gate 3. There’s a huge Vampire: The Masquerades title in the works. Star Citizen is so far away from being done, and Relic are toiling away at Age of Empires 4. And that’s not to mention all the indie publishers expected to show up this year.”]

If you want to know when Ubisoft, Square Enix and some of the other conferences — AMD, Limited Run, UploadVR (yes, there’s a VR conference this year) and the Kinda Funny showcase — are, then we’ve got all those times for you here.

[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/06/e3-2019-conferences-australia-new-zealand/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/05/e3-2018-esa-1-410×231.jpg” title=”All The Australian Times For E3 2019″ excerpt=”We’re one broken sleep away from the annual madness of E3. Things have been shaken up a fair bit this year, so here’s all the times you need to plan ahead.”]

PC Gaming Show @ E3 2019: What to expect

There’s always a few surprise announcements on the day, but here are the studios that will definitely make an appearance:

  • Annapurna Interactive
  • Big Sugar
  • Chucklefish
  • Coffee Stain Studios
  • Digital Extremes
  • Fatshark
  • Fellow Traveller
  • Modus Games
  • Raw Fury
  • Re-Logic
  • Epic Games
  • E-WIN
  • Frontier
  • Funcom
  • Paradox Interactive
  • Perfect World Entertainment
  • Rebellion
  • Tripwire Interactive

Tuesday 1630: So based on that list alone, plus what’s been publicly confirmed, we can get an idea of what to expect.

Re-Logic, for instance, is the studio behind Terraria. Perfect World could show off anything — Torchlight Frontiers would be ideal, especially since its due out sometime this year. Fellow Traveller has a bunch of indies due out this year that have been floating around for a while — Neo Cab comes to mind.

But it’s the unknowns that could be fun. I’m holding out for something from Relic and AOE4, since Microsoft was happy to use the show last year to talk about AOE 2 and AOE 4. Hearing more about the future of Total War from Creative Assembly would be neat, but also I can understand if they wait until they get to Gamescom before tackling that. SEGA tend to support the show fairly well, so maybe a port for Judgment is in the works.

And then there’s always CD Projekt RED.

Either way, it should be a fun presser. It’s being hosted by Sean Plott and Frankie Ward, who did an excellent job last year. I’ll check back in with the blog real early tomorrow morning, since the PC Gaming Show isn’t kicking off tomorrow — the UploadVR conference is. Make sure you get plenty of sleep — it’s going to be a long day tomorrow. See you soon!

Tuesday 0230: Blimey it’s early in the morning.

First up — the VR showcase is going on right now, if you need a warm up before the PC Gaming Show begins.

Secondly, there’s been a few tidbits released overnight. Let’s start with Persona 5: Royal, which hits the West next year:

As an added bonus, Dota 2‘s Auto Chess is going to have some competition from Riot. USGamer has a story about how Teamfight Tactics, an Auto Chess-like mode, will be released from within the League of Legends client from June 25 worldwide.

0244: Not related to PC, but I’ve just had a press release come in about Final Fantasy 7 Remake from Square’s local representatives.

Rebuilding and expanding upon the legendary RPG for today, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE tells the story of a world fallen under the control of the Shinra Electric Power Company, a shadowy corporation controlling the planet’s very life force as mako energy. In the sprawling city of Midgar, an anti-Shinra organization calling themselves Avalanche have stepped up their resistance. Cloud Strife, a former member of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER unit now turned mercenary, lends his aid to the group, unaware of the epic consequences that await him.

No mention of this game being episodic at all any more.

0255: Bit of banana bread with butter from Tegan — not toasted, didn’t want to risk missing the show — and some garbage coffee that’s watery as all buggery because I got impatient and poured it too quickly.

Oh well. Something I want to acknowledge: I’m very lucky I have the support of family to do this. I’m currently working from home — it’s way too early for the office — for these live blogs. But if it wasn’t for Tegan basically moving out of the main bedroom, doing this work from stupid o’clock from Sunday to Wednesday would be near impossible. So that’s worth throwing out there.

Three minutes to go.

0300: Oh god it’s definitely a 2 hour-long conference. Jesus wept.

Starmancer, Last Oasis, more Griftlands, Planet Zoo, Mosaic, Baldur’s Gate 3, Shenmue 3, AOW: Planetfall and more. Oooft.

Frankie and Sean Plott both on the main stage to begin with. And Day[9]’s nickname is getting acknowledged upfront this time.

0303: The awkward interview element of the PC Gaming Show is still here. The crowd’s still a bit weird. Great.

Evil Genius 2 reveal time.

First cab off the rank for weird interviews: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. It’s the first gameplay footage, and it’s a little rough around the edges, but the aesthetic is pretty sweet.

“We’re talking about feeding off humans … I’m getting flashbacks to last year’s show,” Ward quips. Bit early for the crowd to bite into that one, but I’m here for it.

Mature and volatile relationships will be the feature of Bloodlines 2, lead writer Cara Ellison notes. If you’re keen to know more, we had a lengthy preview about the game when it was first shown off at GDC.

[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/03/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-is-getting-a-sequel-and-it-looks-pretty-good/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/x5u2mtpkif43zdwav1pd.png” title=”Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines Is Getting A Sequel, And It Looks Pretty Good” excerpt=”Cult classic Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodlines is getting a sequel. The 2004 roleplaying game left a lasting impression on roleplaying fans despite some clumsy gameplay. I spent time with the folks at Paradox Interactive and developer Hardsuit Labs to ask questions and see the game in action. It captures much of the original’s mysterious mood, with some modern flourishes.”]

Chucklefish are up next with a game described as Dwarf Fortress in space. It’s Starmancer.

I love how most of these devs just rock up like they rolled out of bed. Having down pretty much that to live blog until whenever Square lets us all go, I respect that.

0314: Next title is a collaboration between Torn Banner and Tripwire Interactive – Chivalry 2. Due out 2020.

It’s coming first to the Epic Games Store when it launches in early 2020. That’s the first exclusive, from memory.

A new trailer for Mosaic plays, but it pans out like a trailer for a clicker game on mobile. No idea what to make of that.

Ward’s back up in the bleachers now, and we’ve got Midnight: Ghost Hunt from Vaulted Sky Games. A spirit goes to possess a lamp; four people in hazmat suits run into a house.

Up to 4v4, and the ghosts are trying to hide until the clock strikes midnight. Registered beta later this winter.

Now, what’s this game?

0328: We interrupt regular programming to bring you a 240Hz gaming monitor. I’m thinking back to that slightly awkward moment at Computex where a Samsung executive said MSI was making the best monitors in the world (in an MSI press release). Basically: first curved 240Hz gaming monitor. Sounds like a VA panel.

Someone in the crowd asks if it’s 4K, and the Samsung rep jokes that you’re not getting 240Hz 4K for a sub-$US400 monitor. Fair.

Now, it’s FunCom community manager Natascha Roosli. Their lineup includes the Seed of Evil expansion for Mutant Year Zero, which is still weird AF. Conan Unconquered (which is out already). Moons of Madness for Halloween.

One of the Planetfall devs is super keen to be on stage. He looks thrilled as fuck, but completely awkward. Looks like the kind of guy you’d enjoy seeing getting sloshed in a bar.

You can win the game by splitting the space-time continuum. August 6 for Planetfall‘s release on PC and consoles.

0343: Ward’s doing an accent, which is sort of German. So it’s the next game from the Sniper Elite devs, basically.

Ah, zombies. Great.

Winding back a little, here’s that Mosaic trailer I mentioned. See for yourself, it’s … odd.

“If you’d like to experience the absurd world of corporate autocracy, you can download BlipBlop, a pure clicker game where you tap Blip to get a Blop, on iOS and Android today for free. The faster you Blip the more Blops you get which can be used to unlock upgrades. BlipBlop is created by Mosaic Corporation, a company with their hands in everything including the the main protagonist of Mosaic.”

So there actually is a mobile game attached to Mosaic, go figure.

A Perfect World logo appears from nowhere. No context for whatever game this is. Looks like a co-op boss fighting game.

It’s Remnant: From the Ashes. I’m liking the co-op elements and dynamic generation for bosses, NPCs, although everything is hand-built (so dynamic stitching might be a better term).

Loot is all legendary items — if you meet a boss or side quest, you’ll get a unique item. Full drop in and drop-out co-op, beginning to start. Drops August 20 on PC, Xbox and PS4, early launch August 16 if you pre-order. (Don’t pre-order games.)

0334: A wild Aussie studio appears – Mighty Kingdom!

Looks like a fun knockaround, that. Not much is dropping super early September yet, so I’ll reserve some time for that.

Now, what on earth is this?

0338: A quick trailer for the sci-fi Age of Wonders: Planetfall. August 6 for this one — can’t remember if it’s a standalone expansion or if you’ll need the original. I always had a soft spot for AOW though.

Planet Zoo is up next: gameplay and release date. Frontier’s stuff is always interesting, so what have they got now.

THIS IS ADORABLE LET ME HAVE THE CUTE LION ZOO. November 5, 2019 release date. There’ll be a beta run sometime this winter.

But the maker of Shenmue, Yu Suzuki is here to talk about Shenmue 3. But not until they work out the mic for the translator first.

0351: Griftlands from Klei — launches on July 11 on the Epic Games Store in an alpha form — is here. The game’s changed a ton apparently, it’s a deckbuilding roguelike now.

Coffee Stain Studios and Lava Potion are working on a game that’s pitched as having some relation to Heroes of Might and Magic 2. I AM HERE FOR THIS.

Songs of Conquest, it’s called. Due out late 2020. Vermintide 2 is getting new DLC after that – a PvP mode.

0405: Props to the two presenters for slogging it out at such a rapid pace already.

Ancestors is next with Patrice Désilets — the Assassin’s Creed creator. Ancestors has no story per se, and players have to explore and wander on their own on August 27.

Désilets is gesticulating a hell of a lot and talking over Ward. He’s excited as fuck to be at E3. Maybe a smidge too much.

So little montage break time, featuring a few games we haven’t seen just yet. It’s the official Auto Chess game — and it’s on the Epic Games Store.

Oh my.

It’s being built in Unreal Engine 4, apparently. Doesn’t mention Steam when he says it’s coming to PC, but Epic are sponsoring the show, so who knows if that’s an exclusive or not.

Cris Tales up next, a love letter to JRPGs where you can play the past, present and future simultaneously.

Valfaris looks like a gritty platformer. Same maker as Slain: Back from Hell, if you remember that.

Focusing on Borderlands 3 now. You’ll see Tiny Tina play with the Vault Hunters, as well as a bunch of other short tidbits (yes you can swap weapons, PvP is kind of yes but no).

0423: SHARK RPG

Confirmed: objective of the game is to still bite people. “It’s like GTA if you were a shark,” the developer says.

Terraria: Journey’s End time. After that it’s Sam Barlow, the maker of Her Story, with his next game. Someone’s stolen an NSA hard drive as part of Telling Lies.

0437: After some Warframe updates, it’s Genesis Noir. Ward breaks a little trying to explain what it is, but it’s basically a stylised adventure after the big bang.

Time for what seems like a strong narrative-driven isometric adventure. Lot of sneaking elements and dodging adults. El Hijo, it’s called.

Larian’s on stage now, talking about how Baldur’s Gate 3 came about with Wizards of the Coast. Larian’s only talking about what’s been revealed in the trailer. BG3 will have mindflayers, and you start outside of the city — the corruption process has been accelerated, which isn’t normal.

As much of the 5th Edition Player book is part of BG3, as well as new systems added by Larian to fill the role of the DM and make things work that aren’t directly described in the book. On Wizards’ end, they’re providing a lot of lore and story support to Larian, which makes sense. Larian knows how to build RPGs, Wizards really just needs to make sure they stay authentic to D&D.

0446: Baldur’s Gate is getting a pen & paper prequel on September 17. It’s a direct prequel to Baldur’s Gate 3, if you haven’t played the original PC games. That’s neat.

Everything’s beginning to wrap up now — Ward’s back on stage.

0449: That’s it for another year! Fairly tight show, still a little awkward, but plenty to see.

Griftlands looks interesting with its new direction. Cris Tales seems fantastic as well, but we’ll have to wait until we see more of these games in the flesh. I did appreciate Sam Barlow going onto the Epic Games Store-sponsored conference talking about how much everyone loves Steam, though.

Either way, that’s it for the PC-exclusive segment of E3 2019. Limited Run Games are going to have a presentation in a few minutes, and Ubisoft’s kicking off with their show from 0600 AEST. You can keep abreast of all the other conferences coming up, today and tomorrow, via the link below. Thanks for following along!

[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/06/e3-2019-conferences-australia-new-zealand/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/05/e3-2018-esa-1-410×231.jpg” title=”All The Australian Times For E3 2019″ excerpt=”We’re one broken sleep away from the annual madness of E3. Things have been shaken up a fair bit this year, so here’s all the times you need to plan ahead.”]

And if you just wanted to check out what was happening with Ubisoft and the VR conference, here’s what you need.

[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/06/everything-announced-during-the-uploadvr-showcase/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/06/upload-vr-e3-2019-1-410×231.jpg” title=”Everything Announced During The UploadVR Showcase” excerpt=”If you’re miffed that E3 doesn’t have enough rhythm shooters and stealth VR sequences, fortunately there was an extra showcase this year to whet your appetite.”]

[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/06/ubisoft-e3-2019-the-live-blog/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/03/splintercell-410×231.jpg” title=”Ubisoft E3 2019: The Live Blog” excerpt=”What do you reckon are the odds of getting a Splinter Cell game this year?”]

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