E3 2014, like the conventions of past years, will be overflowing with game announcements and demos of existing games. Not every big title is going to make it to the show, though.
Some games, like Final Fantasy 15, are already confirmed no-shows for E3. Publishers don't always give advance warning like this, though. In many cases, we won't know whether a game's going to make an appearance until the convention actually begins.
Here are a few games that might skip the convention and leave crowds of disappointed fans in their wake.
The Last Guardian
The Last Guardian was first revealed by a leaked trailer weeks before E3. The trailer showed the basic premise of Team ICO's next project: the player is a young boy avoiding danger with the help of his massive, bird-like companion. It falls to the player to guide and care for this beast so it can in turn help the boy get past various obstacles.
That trailer was released five years ago. The past half-decade has nothing but bad news. The game's seen repeated delays, the departure of its director and - perhaps most unnerving of all - long periods of silence from Sony.
The Last Guardian is in a similar situation as Beyond Good and Evil 2: alive but completely invisible. We're reassured every year or so that the game exists but never shown anything from said game. Sony said last summer that The Last Guardian was alive but "on hiatus."
Maybe The Last Guardian will make a surprise appearance at Sony's E3 2014 press conference. I wouldn't count on it, though. Sony's seeming indifference to their own game hasn't filled me with a lot of hope. If the past few years have been any indication, we'll get another vague update on the game during an interview and nothing else.
Gears Of War Xbox One
Gears of War was one of the biggest Xbox 360 exclusive franchises so you can bet Microsoft can't wait to get GoW on Xbox One. We're probably not going to see the fruits of Black Tusk Studios' labor just yet, though.
Black Tusk's Rod Fergusson said during a video broadcast last month that the game's still in "prototype stage." He added that the project was only a 100 days old.
He then shared the first image from the game: a blurred-out piece of concept art. That's right, they're even keeping concept art under wraps. This game's going to be in the oven awhile.
On the bright side, at least Gears of War fans have official confirmation that they're getting a new game. Not every fanbase represented on this list is so lucky. They're going to have to be patient, though. Microsoft's not going to show off blurred art or a rough prototype video at their E3 2014 press conference. At best, we'll get some teaser with a logo and some voiceover.
Fallout 4
Fallout 4's existence was confirmed by leaked casting documents late last year. Bethesda never commented on the leak, though. They've also refused to say anything about the game they're developing.
"BGS will not be talking about its next game for a long time," Bethesda's PR man Pete Hines said in May. Unless he considers a month to be a 'long time,' don't expect Fallout 4 to make an appearance at E3 2014.
Will that put the speculation to rest? Probably not. Fallout fans are hungry for a new game and they're going to hold out hope for an E3 reveal until the convention ends.
Don't get me wrong, you're welcome to hope for an announcement. Just make sure you pair some skepticism with that enthusiasm. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some other half-baked Fallout 4 hoax before or during E3.
Crackdown 3
Crackdown 3 has the dubious honor of being the only game on this list that may not even exist.
The only indication that Crackdown 3 is in development came last summer, when Xbox exec Phil Spencer was asked about the possibility of a sequel on Twitter:
"Crackdown is important to me," Spencer said at the time. "Given right team and time it's a franchise I'd like to see return."
Finding the right team isn't as easy as it sounds. Ruffian Games, developer of Crackdown 2, is working on a self-published title called Game of Glens now. Series creator Realtime Worlds closed shop in 2010.
Even if Microsoft found a development team immediately after Spencer's tweet, would that developer have had enough time to make substantial progress by E3 2014? Rather than showing off some brief glimpse at Crackdown 3, I think Microsoft's more likely to spend their press conference talking about games coming out in 2014 or early 2015.
Mass Effect 4
Out of all the games on this list, Mass Effect 4 probably has the best chance of an E3 2014. BioWare has made significant progress on the game. BioWare confirmed in December that it's already playable.
Also, unlike other games mentioned earlier, Mass Effect 4's not a complete secret. Many crucial details are still unknown but BioWare's at least willing to confirm its existence. They've announced some important information too, like the engine (Frostbite 3) and the lead developer (BioWare Montreal).
There's one big reason I think Mass Effect 4 won't appear at E3 2014, though: Dragon Age: Inquisition. The medieval fantasy RPG is coming out this fall so BioWare's going to shine a spotlight on that game during the EA press conference. A Mass Effect announcement would upstage whatever gameplay footage they show for Inquisition.
Mass Effect 4 seems far enough along that BioWare will make an announcement soon. Gamers hoping for a reveal next week will probably be disappointed, though.
