Player 2's Wild Announcement Predictions 2024
The P2 Editorial team are giddy school kids at this time of year. It is announcement after announcement which leads to a suspension of well-earned cynicism and an injection of pure hype. With that in mind, the team have got together to give one wild, yet plausible prediction for each of the main shows. Will any of them be correct? Will their crystal balls speak true? Will they all be completely wrong? Only time will tell.
Summer Game Fest
Matt Hewson – Resident Evil
Capcom are in attendance this year and while there is every chance we see more of Monster Hunter Wild, it is just about getting time for some more Resident Evil. The team working on this franchise is highly prolific and it has been a couple of years since Village scared the pants off us.
Capcom have been on a deadset roll of late and they will want to keep that going. The big question for me is, do they keep the first-person perspective of the recent titles or return to the 3rd person of the classics? Either way I am sure it will once again be a horror masterpiece that will scare the pants off all who play.
Jess Zammit – Mass Effect
It’s about time we saw some gameplay, and I want to know everything about the game that’s going to bring BioWare back. But secretly, I also want to know more about this Mass Effect game we’re supposedly getting at some point in the (probably very distant) future. There are so many theories kicking around that have stemmed from the tiny trailer alone, it would be good to get some solid info. Is Commander Shepard going to be featured in the next instalment? If yes, how the hell is that going to happen? Is Liara really going to be there? Actually, that’s my main question. Give me the answer to that, SGF, and I will be happy.
Stephen del Prado – Bioshock
Given the deal with Netflix and the upcoming live-action adaptation, it’s a no-brainer to really start revving the hype engine on this one. Heck, maybe even throw in yet another ‘Remastered in 4K/Ray Tracing/Complete Collection’ edition of the first three games for good measure. We’ve seen similar moves with Sony and The Last of Us, Microsoft has quickly moved to get Fallout 3 and 4 back into players’ hands, it’s time for EA to ask would you kindly visit Rapture once more for the brand promotion and cross-platform synergy?
Paul James – Bioshock
We saw IGN and the FPS podcast go hands-on with Judas a while back and so that gives me pause as I make this next outlandish prediction. That said, I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that while Judas is going to miss SGF, we might have a chance to see a Bioshock reveal. They’re not in the same universe and there will undoubtedly be similarities between the two, but I reckon some synergy might be a good thing here.
Cloud Chamber has had a good few years on this project now so it must be nearing a stage where it can be shown off somewhat. Hopefully, this is where an 11-year absence of the IP ends.
Xbox Showcase
Paul James – Gears Collection
The rumbling has existed for years now. Ever since Halo got its own collection, the masses have wanted to see some kind of Gears of War Collection, and while I think we might already be getting a Gears 6 tease, I think the 1-2 punch of a new game reveal and a more imminent collection release would be a great way to respect the fans.
Also, as a PlayStation guy first and foremost, I cannot help but fantasise about the idea of the collection going multi-plat as well. I’ll play that collection as many times as you need Phil, just tell me what the number is and I’ll do it!
Stephen del Prado – Viva Pinata 3
Call me crazy, because there is almost zero chance of this happening, but I can’t help but feel going back to Viva Pinata for a third outing would be a perfect Game Pass game. Cozy games have been doing gangbusters for a while now, and Microsoft has been sitting on the perfect IP for almost 15 years. With an addictive gameplay loop, cute critters and the almost-like-Pokemon vibes parents and grandparents alike will go for, I’ve been really wanting to revisit the Pinataverse for a while and would love Microsoft to make my candy-filled dreams come true.
Jess Zammit – Banjo Kazooie
This is all I want. Every year. From now until the end of time. When I want something to just relax with, Banjo-Kazooie is the game I pick up, and it’s been a million years since we’ve seen a title in the series, so surely it’s time. And yeah, sure, Nuts & Bolts was not received well (it was a fine game, I don’t care what anyone says), but I want them to try again. There’s a serious lack of bright and colourful collectathons that find their charm in wordplay and a love of puzzles (with a jaunty soundtrack to go along with them), and I just want more. This is what the world needs.
Matt Hewson – Perfect Dark
Ok, I know this has had development troubles and issues since day one, but recent rumours suggest things are on track and it is getting close to show time. So with that in mind, I think we see Joanna make her triumphant return as the “one more thing” part of the Xbox showcase with a late 2025 release date. What’s more, I think we will also get a good chunk of gameplay to pour over and not just another CG trailer.
To continue to drum up business, I also think we could see some quick remasters of the original Perfect Dark and Perfect Dark Zero hit Gamepass. Not remakes, just some upscaling and tidying up as per the recentish Goldeneye re-release. What better way to get people excited than with a healthy nostalgia injection?
Ubisoft Forward
Jess Zammit – Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
So, the rumour is that this long-teased title is being rebuilt from the ground up. Maybe we’ll get to see some of that here. Also – eventually, if we keep predicting this game will show up, it has to happen, right? Realistically, the others are probably right, and there’ll be something like Splinter Cell alongside what is sure to be a whole lot of Assassin’s Creed, Star Wars, and probably some love for the newly-released xDefiant. I’ve never played Splinter Cell, so cannot comment on whether or not the world needs it… but I’m willing to take the word of my fellow editors.
Matt Hewson – Splinter Cell
This is probably my wildest prediction, but I think we could get a new tease for Sam Fisher’s return. It will still be a late 2025 game at the earliest, but there have been grumblings about studio shuffling at Ubisoft to cater for Splinter Cell’s return.
The world needs Splinter Cell. There is nothing else like it out there at the moment and it has been 11 years now since Blacklist came out ( a game that has aged remarkably well by the way) so I am ready and so are the hundreds of thousands of stealth fans out there. Just don’t make it open world Ubi… please…
Stephen del Prado – Ghost Recon
I have a weird soft spot for the Ghost Recon franchise, one that has been let down time and again with many of the sequels since the 360 era. I have a few caveats though – a tight open world (if at all) and NO GaaS silliness. I want a return to the Advanced Warfighter model and would love to see Ubisoft make up for Breakpoint by not turning Ghost Recon once again into the open-world bland mush that has become endemic of a lot of their longtime IP. Back to basics, make it on a budget that suits the target market and I assure Ubisoft, it will find its audience.
Paul James – Splinter Cell
I wanted to do something different to Matt but as he said… “The world needs Splinter Cell”. We know there’s a remake in development and who knows what else beyond that? My hope is that at the very least a debut is in order.
I would also hope that Ubisoft has learned from the failings of the Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time Remake and this Splinter Cell remake will be revealed in a way that pleases fans. I don’t think fans could handle a botched development cycle like the PoP remake has endured. I don’t think I could either.
So there you have it. Wild predictions from the P2 Crew. How many will be correct? Stay tuned to Player 2 for all the coverage of the big announcement season and find out.
