We’re in 2024’s summer showcase season. Even in the absence of E3, there’s a number of major events coming up, and in the spirit of the hype that they usually generate, here, we’re going to talk about some of the unlikelier announcements that many of us are hoping against hope to see. The hypothetical announcements and reveals we’re going to talk about here don’t have a great chance of actually happening (to varying degrees), but if on the off chance they do, they’re going to be met with rapturous excitement. Without further ado then, let’s get started.
GRAND THEFT AUTO 6 GAMEPLAY
Rockstar Games does things at its own pace and leisure, so it’s very unlikely that the company is going to bother aligning its plans with an event rather than just dropping a new trailer of GTA 6 online whenever it’s good and ready. It’s highly unlikely, then, that we see a new trailer of the open world crime epic at Summer Game Fest or at Xbox Games Showcase or what have you- but boy oh boy would there be an explosion of hype if we did.
BLOODBORNE REMAKE/REMASTER
Looking at the way Sony treats the game, you wouldn’t believe that Bloodborne is widely considered one of the greatest games ever made, let alone one of the best first-party PlayStation games of all time, because even as demand for a Bloodborne sequel or remake or remaster or, hell, even a 60 FPS patch, grows louder, Sony insists on responding to that demand with pure silence. The chances of a Bloodborne remaster or remake ever happening are slim, but some part of us is just never going to be able to let go of that last shred of hope.
THE ELDER SCROLLS 6
Even though it’s been six years since Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls 6, it doesn’t take a genius to know that there’s zero chance we’re going to see it at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase. The fantasy RPG entered production only a few months ago, while Bethesda is still also very much focused on post-launch support for Starfield. Are we going to see the sci-fi RPG’s first expansion? Almost certainly. But The Elder Scrolls 6? Unfortunately, as awesome as it would be, it just isn’t going to happen for a few years yet.
THE LAST OF US PART 3
While it’s unlikely that The Last of Us is the sort of franchise that’s just going to go on forever, it’s also almost definitely not done just yet. At the very least, fans expect one more game to round out Ellie’s story- but though that’s almost definitely going to happen at some point in the future, it’s highly unlikely that it’s going to happen anytime in the near future, much less the coming days. We’ll be all kinds of hyped when The Last of Us Part 3 really is announced, but we doubt it’ll happen anytime soon.
HALF-LIFE 3
Thanks to Half-Life: Alyx, this is no longer completely a joke inclusion. The 2020 VR game was like a bolt out of the blue, and impossibly enough, it once again gave series fans hopes that maybe Half-Life was going to have a future after all. Of course, you can never be too sure that Valve is ever going to do what you expect it will, so there’s still no guarantees that a new Half-Life game will ever come out- but there’s at least a semi-decent chance that it does, and if that happens, our excitement is going to be through the roof.
THE WITCHER 4
Cyberpunk 2077 was a major bump in the road for CD Projekt RED (if we’re putting it mildly), but after having righted those wrongs with post-launch updates and the excellent Phantom Liberty, the developer is now ready to return to the Witcher universe. Geralt of Rivia’s story is over, but CDPR has now started working on another new game in the series that will kickstart its own trilogy. The game is supposed to enter full production before the end of the year, so we’re not going to get an announcement just yet- but slowly but surely, it’s cooking behind the scenes, and we’re keeping one eye glued to it.
THE NEXT LIKE A DRAGON/JUDGMENT
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio puts out Like a Dragon and Judgment games at an incredible pace, which means even though it’s only been a few months since Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth came out, it’s not completely nuts to already start looking to the future. Given how long it’s been since Lost Judgment, it’s likely that a third instalment is what’s next for RGG Studio, but even so, we don’t think an announcement is coming just yet. Whenever it does though, given the developer’s track record, it goes without saying that we’re going to be more than a little keen to get our hands on whatever game ends up getting announced.
ACE COMBAT 8
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is five years old, so fans can’t be blamed for growing antsy about when the series’ next instalment will be announced, and if recent leaks are to be believed, Ace Combat 8 is indeed what Bandai Namco has lined up as its next big game. Do we expect an announcement in the coming days, especially with the publisher also focusing on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree? Probably not. The announcement is very likely coming soon though, and we couldn’t be more excited.
DEATH STRANDING 2 GAMEPLAY
Admittedly, this one isn’t as unlikely as many of the others we’ve spoken about in this feature, especially given how often we see Kojima trailers at Geoff Keighley events, but the fact that Sony didn’t showcase a new trailer of the game at its recent State of Play might suggest that maybe there just isn’t anything to show yet. Is there a chance that we still see a trailer at Summer Game Fest? There probably is- and we hope that that does happen, because Death Stranding 2 is looking set to be one of 2025’s biggest releases.
DINO CRISIS REVIVAL
Probably the textbook definition of a pie-in-the-sky dream scenario. There’s been loud demand for a revival of the Dino Crisis franchise for a while now, but though Capcom looks to have aggressive plans for remakes where Resident Evil is concerned, it doesn’t look like the company is eying a Dino Crisis revival just yet. We hope that it does end up happening sooner rather than later though, because a modern survival horror Dino Crisis game built in the RE Engine would be just too good to pass up.
NEXT MASS EFFECT
BioWare confirmed that it was working on the next Mass Effect game several years ago at this point, but the sci-fi RPG is still in pre-production, which means it’s still going to be at least few years before the game releases. Given that, and the fact that BioWare and EA are probably going to be focusing on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf this summer, how likely is it that we see glimpses of the next Mass Effect in the coming days? Not likely at all, unfortunately. We’re happy to be patient though, in the hope that it turns out to be worth the wait- which, admittedly, will be a tall order.
CONTROL 2
Remedy Entertainment only just released Alan Wake 2 less than a year ago, and the developer recently confirmed that Control 2 had still yet to enter full production. Is there a chance, then, that Control 2 gets announced at one of the upcoming events? All signs are pointing to no, especially since it’s looking likely that Remedy will instead be showcasing Alan Wake 2 DLC. Whenever Control 2 does get unveiled however, given how excellent the first game was, you can bet excitement for its sequel is going to be sky-high.
MAX PAYNE 1 AND 2 REMAKE
Max Payne 1 and 2 Remake is probably going to be Remedy’s next big project after Alan Wake 2, especially with the developer having confirmed that the combined remake will be entering full production soon. What that means, then, is that though it’s unlikely to get unveiled in the coming days, chances are high that it will be announced within the coming year or two. When that happens, you can look forward to widespread fervent anticipation, because the return of Max Payne is something we’ve been desperately waiting for for a long, long time.
MIYAZAKI AND FROMSOFTWARE’S NEXT GAME
When FromSoftware releases a new game, especially one directed by the mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki, the entire industry sits up and takes notice, and that obviously will happen whenever it happens next. It won’t be happening anytime soon though, because FromSoftware is going to be entirely focused on Elden Ring’s upcoming expansion over the coming couple of weeks. Given the speed at which the studio works, there’s a good chance that we’ll be hearing about its next game faster than some may think, but we do think it’s unlikely that that happens as soon as this summer season.
METAL GEAR SOLID MASTER COLLECTION VOL. 2
A compilation of a bunch of old games wouldn’t be a hugely exciting thing under ordinary circumstances, but there’s a good chance that the next time Konami puts out a Master Collection for Metal Gear Solid games, it will also include Metal Gear Solid 4, making that game playable on a system other than the PS3 for the firs time ever. Our hope is that that happens sooner rather than later, but there’s been little to no indication of late that Konami will be making those announcements in the near future. We hope we’re wrong though, because we’re always down to return to Metal Gear.