The biggest PC gaming news from E3 2021

Features
By Andy Chalk
published

It was a big weekend, with some big stories.

Starfield
(Image credit: Bethesda)
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We didn't get to gather in sweaty, heaving crowds for E3 2021, but it was a big one nonetheless. Across the Summer Game Fest, the Guerrilla Collective, Microsoft's Xbox-Bethesda Showcase, the PC Gaming Show, and other online events, we saw an astonishing—nearly overwhelming—assortment of new game announcements, release dates, and other news. If you missed any of it, do not worry: We've assembled all the big news right here, so you can get caught up on everything in one handy place.

This year was a lot, seriously, but there were still a few big bombs that stand out from the crowd:

The biggest reveals

Starfield

The video leaked literally 20 minutes before Microsoft's show started, but it didn't matter. The debut trailer for Bethesda's "first new universe in over 25 years" made for one of the most genuinely exciting E3 moments in years.

Elden Ring

The long-awaited Elden Ring gameplay reveal was another huge moment, and as an added bonus we got a release date, too: January 21. The community reaction was about what you'd expect.

Diablo 2: Resurrected

Diablo 2 is 21 years old (wow) but it's one of the best ARPGs ever made, and the Resurrected remaster is looking very promising. It's also now got a release date of September 23.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands 

What's interesting about Gearbox's new shooter isn't that it's a Borderlands spinoff (it is), but that it's not the Borderlands spinoff you expect (it isn't). Still, it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.

The Outer Worlds 2

 They're making it! And that's about it. Yeah, that's it. Quality teaser, though.

Redfall

Arkane unveiled a brand-new game during the big weekend, a Left 4 Dead-style co-op shooter with vampires and magic. But it's not just an L4D clone: Arkane said that, like its other games, player choice and a reactive world will be central to the experience. 

New game announcements

There's a lot of new stuff coming over the next few years. Here are some that seem especially exciting.

An Evil Dead game is coming, and it actually looks pretty good

Jurassic World Evolution 2 will be out later this year

Forza Horizon 5 is headed to Mexico this November and lordy it looks nice

The hit 2016 2D RPG Salt and Sanctuary is getting a sequel called Salt and Sacrifice

The Anacrusis is a '70s sci-fi take on Left 4 Dead from former Valve and Riot developers

Crossfire: Legion is a 'classic RTS' being developed by the makers of Homeworld 3

Fight as Rocky, Ivan Drago, Clubber Lang, and more in Creed Champions

Be a trigger-happy spellcaster in co-op survival sandbox Wizard with a Gun

Bramble: The Mountain King is a weird new horror game is inspired by creepy Nordic fairytales

Become the Baba Yaga in the open-world horror-adventure Blacktail

Students major in pizza and magic in this trailer for Two Point Campus

Bloodhunt is a battle royale game set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe, and it's out this year

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and new spin-off, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, will come to Xbox Game Pass at launch

Ubisoft reveals Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, out next year (and we're gonna be really mad if it's good)

Grime is a trippy new Metroidvania featuring living weapons and a bizarre art style

Douse fires, save people, and fly on a firehose in Firegirl: Hack 'n Splash Rescue

Abzu meets Limbo in brutal underwater adventure Silt

Slime Rancher 2 will be bouncing onto PC in 2022

This newly revealed Final Fantasy game is so bad it's good

Far: Changing Tides is a lonely post-apocalyptic voyage, coming late 2021

Ixion is a space station management sim with strong Frostpunk vibes

Let's once again ride a wave of rats in A Plague Tale: Requiem

Contraband is a 1970s co-op smuggling game from the Just Cause team

Rocksmith+ looks like a neat way to learn the guitar or bass

Koch Media's new Prime Matter publishing label is bringing back Painkiller.

The stop-motion co-op adventure platformer Vokabulantis looks absolutely fantastic, and it's got a sweet-sounding story, too.

Her Story creator Sam Barlow's next game is a decades-spanning Hollywood thriller called Immortality

Release dates

Best wishes to your backlog.

New trailers

Because sometimes you just want a little catch-up with a game you've been waiting for.

TV shows based on games

Speaking of things to watch, Netflix was a presence during this year's E3 as well, bringing its "Geeked Week" to the Summer Game Fest. It's not making games, though—it's making

▪️ Finally, the first trailer for season 2 of The Witcher is here

▪️ There's going to be a Far Cry anime

▪️ Netflix casts Lance Reddick as Wesker in live-action Resident Evil series

(Image credit: Comedy Central)

▪️ Captain Laserhawk is a Netflix anime series based on Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

▪️ Netflix's Splinter Cell series stars an older, grizzled Sam Fisher

▪️ Netflix is working on a brand new Castlevania series

▪️ Wayne Brady plays King Dice in the Cuphead Netflix animated series

▪️ League of Legends' TV series looks brilliant and moody in this new clip

Other stuff

E3 wasn't all exciting big reveals, long-awaited released dates, and explosive new trailers. Scattered here are there throughout the weekend, there were also smaller announcements. Here are a few interesting ones:

Among Us is getting a hide and seek mode, new roles, and a whole lot more (and also 15 player lobbies)

Orcs Must Die! 3 is coming to Steam at last

How Dying Light 2's day/night system completely transforms the city

Chivalry 2's first free map coming 'sooner than fans would expect'

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy will have no DLC or microtransactions

The Game Awards will be held in front of a live audience this year

Assassin's Creed Valhalla will get a second year's worth of expansions and loads of free content

Captain Jack Sparrow will be joining your pirate crew in Sea of Thieves later this month

Netflix and CD Projekt's Geralts come together at WitcherCon in July

The $1,000 VHS tape and purple suits from Devolver's E3 show were actually for sale and they already sold out

Amazon Games is localizing one of South Korea's most exciting MMOs, Lost Ark

They put PC Gaming Show host Frankie Ward in Humankind

If you're looking for more E3 2021 coverage, we've got it: Here's a full recap of the PC Gaming Show, some thoughts on the best games we've seen, all 70+ games shown in the Guerrilla Collective event, and even a list of every game at E3 with ray tracing. 

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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