E3 2018 was full of fantastic game reveals. Titles such as Halo Infinite and Doom Eternal were met with excitement from the video game community, confirming long-suspected projects with tremendous success. Meanwhile, fans were also treated to a look at the multiplayer world of Fallout 76, just one example of some much-needed context given to a previously-announced release.
However, in spite of the huge number of games discussed during E3's numerous conferences, there were some major absences at the expo. Indeed, plenty of games that were expected to arrive never turned up, leading gamers to wonder exactly why their developers had decided to skip perhaps the biggest stage in video games.
Related: The Biggest Winners And Losers Of E3 2018
With so many games to choose from, there were bound to be a few to slip through the net. Here's Screen Rant's pick of the most high-profile games that were missing at E3 2018.
Splinter Cell
Ubisoft showed off a number of big name projects during its E3 2018 presentation. One of the highlights was undoubtedly the cinematic trailer for Beyond Good and Evil 2, while a follow-up snippet of pre-alpha gameplay allayed fears that the title's development was once again stalling. Meanwhile, the trailers for the likes of Assassin's Creed Odyssey delivered titles that were a little bit closer to release.
There was, however, one game missing that many gamers had expected. Another game in the Splinter Cell franchise has been rumored for some time, and a potential reveal at E3 was the subject of much talk prior to the expo kicking off. Unfortunately, although many of those pre-E3 Ubisoft rumors turned out to be true, the Splinter Cell announcement was not one of them.
Red Dead Redemption 2
The lack of coverage for Red Dead Redemption 2 came as a major surprise to gamers. The title's release comes this October, and as such E3 would have been the perfect time to give a more detailed look at the title in action, as the one thing that's been seriously missing from its trailers so far has been an overview of how the game will work. As a matter of fact, this has caused some frustration for fans, so this could have been a chance to help alleviate concerns.
However, Red Dead Redemption 2 was a big no-show at E3 2018. Take-Two Interactive in general seemed to be taking a more laissez-faire approach to the expo, without any major reveals at all. That suggests some major confidence in the product, but the gaming community definitely could do with a bit more information.
Pokémon Switch
The coverage of Super Smash Bros. Infinite may have been a standout success for Nintendo, but overall their E3 2018 presentation wasn't among the best. There were no seriously exciting game reveals, and aside from its top tier crossover fighting game no in-development projects really had much by way of deep coverage.
Something that could have salvaged a press conference that led to Nintendo's share price dropping dramatically would have been a little more information on the new Pokémon game for Nintendo Switch. The title is reportedly set to release next year, but as of yet there's been very little to learn about the game. Instead, the only detail shared about the Pokémon franchise in general was a brief look at the Pokémon Let's Go! games.
Rocksteady’s New Game
The Batman: Arkham trilogy is one of the best series of superhero video games seen in the industry. Rocksteady's Batman games set a major precedent for other developers looking to bring comic book heroes to life, and something that the new Spider-Man PS4 game will no doubt be wanting to eclipse.
With that in mind, there's been a lot of attention on what Rocksteady has planned next. It's been rumored that the studio is moving on to Superman, but the anticipated reveal of the project (whatever it is) at E3 never came. The disappointment over a lack of presence at the expo even led to a response from Rocksteady co-founder Sefton Hill, who took to Twitter to state that the project is not ready to share just yet.
Mortal Kombat 11
Mortal Kombat and Injustice creative direct Ed Boon is possibly the king of cryptic comments, and has never been shy about teasing games. As such, when Boon wrote a post on Twitter that suggested a Mortal Kombat announcement was on the way, fans of the classic fighting franchise were on tenterhooks to see what was in store.
Whatever that comment related to, it wasn't anything that could be shared at E3 2018. Mortal Kombat 11 was not revealed at the expo, meaning that whatever NetherRealm Studios has in store it's keeping quiet about it for the time being. Hopefully, the next Mortal Kombat game is better about its monetization in any case.
Page 2: classic game reboots and comic adaptations
MediEvil Reboot
The return of the original PlayStation classic MediEvil was first revealed at PSX 2017. The hack'n'slash title and its sequel were two of the best on the system, and certainly helped establish Sony at the top table of video games as whole. Because of this, the announcement of a new game was met with plenty of excitement from avid PlayStation fans.
The game was even part of a pre-E3 Sony leak that promised the title's involvement in the expo, but unfortunately the game was not part of Sony's showcase - as was the case with many other examples from within the PlayStation rumor mill. That said, since the game was only revealed to exist in December perhaps it was a little too early to show the game off.
Bayonetta 3
Bayonetta 3 is another example of a game that could have at least made Nintendo's E3 presentation a little more engaging. The title was initially revealed as a Nintendo Switch exclusive back in December, and Nintendo fans were happy to see that the series was going to continue adding something different to the console's roster.
However, clearly E3 2018 was not the right time for further information to be revealed for Bayonetta 3. To be fair to Platinum Games, the studio's focus may well have been elsewhere this year, with the reveal of new project Babylon's Fall clearly taking priority. However, that won't be much solace to Nintendo fans wanting more game reveals.
Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries
The return of the Mechwarrior series with Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries has been gathering steam within the gaming community. The title seems to be doing things the right way for long-term fans of the series, with four player co-op and mod support confirmed, and some explosive trailers that show plenty of potential.
As such, many expected the game to turn up as part of the PC-centric press conference during E3 2018. However, Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries did not make up part of the presentation. Although PC fans did have plenty of other game reveals to keep them occupied, including the first gameplay trailer for Overkill's The Walking Dead, nonetheless there were still some wanting more mech battle news.
Biomutant
For a new intellectual property, Biomutant is one that has gained a lot of attention. The title from Experiment 101 and publisher THQ Nordic picked up plenty of interest when it was revealed at Gamescom, and there were lots of eyes on E3 to see if a further announcement about the game was going to be made.
Unfortunately, another trailer for Biomutant was unlikely to be on the cards, and the same could be said for any other THQ Nordic games. That's because the company was always planning to skip E3 2018 this year, and instead go to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. At least the game's weren't missing down to behind-the-scenes issues.
The Wolf Among Us: Season 2
Although The Walking Dead is seen by many as the best work of Telltale Games, its adaptation of Bill Willingham's Fables certainly runs it close. Episodic adventure The Wolf Among Us first launched in 2013, and wooed fans of the original comic with a faithful reimagining of its characters within Telltale's trademark plot-driven gameplay.
The company has since confirmed a second season of The Wolf Among Us, but you wouldn't know it from its E3 2018 presence. The company did reveal a Stranger Things adaptation is in the works, but it wasn't exactly a high profile announcement. Meanwhile, fans still want to learn much more about The Wolf Among Us season two.
Page 3: much-wanted remakes and long-awaited sequels
Shenmue 3
Shenmue was one of gaming's great unfinished stories. The first two games were seen as classics that had been unfortunately tied to Sega's ill-fated Dreamcast console, and with the last game released back in 2001 (with a very brief respite of a 2002 Xbox port) many thought that a third game would never become reality. That was all to change when Shenmue 3 was announced for crowdfunding at E3 2015, with the game hitting its targets in record time.
Details about the game have periodically been released since, but with three years since the game was first announced some hoped to see something substantial at this year's expo. That was not the case, and although eyes will be on that Shenmue and Shenmue 2 re-release this year there's definitely more questions to be answered about this game.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
It's fair to say that Square Enix had a pretty lacklustre E3 this year. The company didn't show off much of note within its own presentation, and although some of that was due to some poorly-timed leaks there was still not much to get the heart racing within the presentation. To make it worse, one of the company's most anticipated games was nowhere to be seen.
The Final Fantasy 7 remake is always going to have eyes on it. It's probably the most popular Final Fantasy game in the series, and in spite of its slow development there were some serious hopes for the game to make up a substantial part of the publisher's press conference this year. That didn't happen, and fans have been left starved of information once more.
Yoshi
Yoshi the dinosaur has been a mainstay of Nintendo's character roster since Super Mario World, and along the way he's been in his fair share of adventures apart from Mario and the gang. The latest of these will be Yoshi for Nintendo Switch, and the game's trailer at E3 2017 pointed towards a continuation of the success found with the Wii U's Yoshi's Woolly World.
However, the character's next adventure was yet another game that did not appear at E3 2018, and another example of Nintendo failing to make a big statement at the expo. Nintendo did give a reason, stating that the game has been delayed into 2019, but even so fans would have been hoping to see something of the title.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
Travis Touchdown is one of the more bizarre player characters to be found on a Nintendo console, but that's part of what makes the No More Heroes games so unique. The ultra-violent series full of cultural references and in-jokes has gained itself a serious following over the years, and because of this there's been a lot of interest in Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes.
Those hoping to see something of the Nintendo Switch game were left disappointed at E3 2018, though. The Suda 51-led game did not play a part in Nintendo's conference, leaving fans with an even longer wait to find out more about the game. Hopefully, this No More Heroes sequel will see some more details revealed soon.
Marvel’s The Avengers
It's one of the most important crossover events of all time, and the most recent film in its ongoing screen adaptation is one of only four films to hit the $2 billion mark. Despite this, Square Enix has been keeping very quiet about its video game of The Avengers, aside from sharing the news of an expanded development team with some high-profile industry veterans.
Since the project was first announced in January 2017, many hoped that this summer's expo would be the perfect place to actually give some finite details about the title beyond its third-person action setup, but Square Enix clearly had other plans. However, with Shadow of the Tomb Raider releasing this September, there could be room for more news on the project soon.
That brings us to the end of our list of the biggest games missing from this year's E3. There's bound to be a lot of disappointment surrounding those games that did not appear at the conference, including some of those that did not make our list. Hopefully, the publishers and developers behind the games have a good reason for skipping this year's E3, and will come back with strong announcements soon.