However, rather than being discouraged, we’re looking forward to 2015 even more. The year will mark the PS4’s campaign of exclusives and see the debut of arguably one of the biggest sequels ever. We’ll see more efforts from Microsoft as well as it attempts to solidify the Xbox One’s place in the industry besides bringing out the products of ID@Xbox. Also, as difficult as it is to believe, the year will see several PC exclusives that will easily eat up your time as well.

We take a look at 15 action adventure games to look forward to in 2015 and why they’re worth keeping an eye on.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Crystal Dynamics’ turned quite a few heads when it announced that not only would Rise of the Tomb Raider be releasing in Holidays 2015 but that it would be exclusive to the Xbox One and Xbox 360 for an unspecified period. In an age where third party exclusives, even timed exclusive titles, have become scarce this was fairly intriguing.

But in between all the talk of console wars, platform discrepancies and whatnot, it’s important to note that despite the first Tomb Raider not meeting Square Enix’s financial projections, the publisher has recognized the game’s quality and viability as a franchise.

When was the last time that happened with Tomb Raider, much less a Tomb Raider game that was good? Even if Lara Croft is Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Nathan Drake in next year’s Holiday season, her rise should be as compelling as her origins story.

The Deus Ex: Universe will comprise of a brand new conspiracy that will span several games and mark the debut of the franchise on PS4 and Xbox One. To fully take advantage of the power of the current gen consoles, Eidos Montreal has announced the new Dawn Engine, the “cornerstone” of development and based on IO Interactive’s Glacier 2 engine. This delivers, according to studio lead David Anfossi, “improved rendering capabilities, real-time physics, and advanced artificial intelligence programming.

“The technology behind any game is a key component in ensuring that gamers are able to develop both an emotional and visceral connection to what they are experiencing within the game world.

“We’ve worked tirelessly over the last few years developing this engine, building upon and improving both the visual and immersive artistry in our games. We truly believe that our engine will help us to strengthen both the gameplay and storytelling experiences we strive to create.”

Thoughts on Deus Ex: Universe and the new Dawn Engine? Let us know in the comments.

Ahead of a possible showcase at E3 2014, Eidos Montreal’s logo for Deus Ex Universe has been revealed. As you can see, it appears to be a play on the Illuminati symbol, except without the eye in the center. Instead, three Triforce-like shapes form into a single triangle. No, this doesn’t confirm Link or Zelda for the next Deus Ex game but it is interesting.

Deus Ex Universe is the brand name given to new experiences that Eidos Montreal will be creating in the franchise. We know one of those experiences will be bound for PS4 and Xbox One – could publisher Square Enix possibly create another mobile game like Deus Ex: The Fall to add to that? It all remains to be seen but given the iffy quality of the game and the horrid HD port it received, we wouldn’t hold our breath.

Are you hoping for a new, next-gen exclusive Deus Ex game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Square Enix recently revealed its financial report for the fiscal year ending on March 31st 2014 and while the publisher reported a $65 million profit, it also reduced its game sales forecast from 17.23 million in the previous year to 12 million for the coming fiscal year. What could that mean?

According to research analyst David Gibson on Twitter, it implies that Square Enix won’t be releasing many big games for the coming year – including Final Fantasy 15. “Square Enix forecast of game units falling to 12m implies no FF15 in the year ending Mar 2015.”

Given that Final Fantasy 15 is perhaps one of the biggest, if not the biggest, project over at Square Enix, it’s simply ludicrous to not factor it into sales forecasts – unless it indeed isn’t out in the next year. Square Enix hasn’t really revealed its line-up for fiscal year ending on March 31st 2015 aside from rumours of Hitman 6 and Deus Ex at E3 2014. For now though, chances are high that Final Fantasy 15 won’t be on it. Stay tuned for more information.

We can’t possibly predict every single game that will appear at E3 2014, but here are our picks for the top 30 E3 games to watch out for.

Mass Effect 4

Though it’s not the final name of the project – with rumours indicating that it will have a seven letter subtitle – Mass Effect 4 will be the first game in the series to be developed using Frostbite 3. That’s not all – it’ll separate itself from the Shepard trilogy and most likely focus on the PS4 and Xbox One. Any mechanics and gameplay features are yet to be confirmed but there’s still a very strong chance that Mass Effect 4 is seen at E3 2014. Hopefully there will be multiplayer modes with less bugs and easier match-making this time around.

Take this all with a grain of salt – because plans can and do change all the time – but if industry insider Ahsan Rasheed is to be believed, E3 2014 is going to be packed with tons of AAA reveals.

The insider, also famously known on NeoGAF as “thuway”, started by tweeting, “Ugh just found out some things I can’t talk about :(. Next gen Deus Ex shown off at E3 though, supposedly.”

He also said that Mass Effect 4 would be there but “It’s not going to be called Mass Effect 4 – its going to be Mass Effect: _ _ _ _ _ _ _”. Note those seven spaces and try to figure out what it’ll be called.

But that’s not all. “Oh and Uncharted was internally shown alongside the ‘Project Beast’ leak that surfaced.” Project Beast is supposedly a PS4-exclusive title developed by From Software of Dark Souls fame in association with Sony. It’s also billed to appear at E3.

As for the next Uncharted, Rasheed says there will be “Gameplay trailer at E3, it looks unbelievable.”

Insane? You bet, but again, don’t treat it as confirmed till it actually happens. That being said, GamingBolt expects a ton of reveals to occur at the conference and even in the week’s prior. So stay tuned for more details and information.

Deus Ex: Human Defiance, a film based on Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, is still in the works according to director Scott Derrickson.

Speaking to IGN in a recent interview (transcribed by Polygon), Derrickson called the script “tricky” but assured everyone that it’s “still alive”.

“The script that we wrote was clearly based on the Human Revolution game. We worked hard with the game company to get aspects of the game that we knew would be important to fans of the game and the world and all of that.

“The upcoming game, the progression of games, there’s a little bit that filtered into the script, but not a lot.”

Nonetheless, Derrickson finds protagonist Adam Jensen interesting enough to continue pushing for the project. Eidos Montreal in the meantime is prepping Deus Ex: Universe, the next series of games likely to released for PS4, Xbox One and PC. Stay tuned for more details.

Deus Ex: Universe will attempt to build a connection between the central stories and themes in upcoming core games in the Deus Ex series. The company is planning an ambitious story line, which will span across several upcoming games, with the hope of providing an overall more engrossing and fulfilling experience for gamers.

Additionally, with Deus Ex: Universe, Deus Ex material and add-ons will be available though different kinds of media, such as through phone and tablet apps.

Here is a quote from the Eidos website:

“I’m pleased to confirm that we are already into production of the starting point for Deus Ex: Universe with a new game for PC and next-generation consoles. We’re very excited about it at the studio and I wanted to let you know that most of the team behind Deus Ex: Human Revolution is already working hard on this new game. It took us four years to learn how to create a unique Deus Ex experience with Human Revolution and it was important for me to keep this knowledge within the franchise.”

What are your thoughts on the matter and what do you hope to see for Deus Ex on next-gen consoles? Let us know below.