We know the games coming in 2017 but what we don't know is what is coming in 2018 and beyond.
Are we to believe that MS have nothing else in the oven other than what has already been announced and more Halo, Gears and Forza? That doesn't sound very realistic. Just because we don't know what they are working on doesn't meant they aren't working on anything with new or returning partners.
Okay, so just goin by that notion, lets see what they could have in the pipe.
Its true we don't know who is doing the Phantom Dust Remaster. I also suspect that an internal team at 343 is working on a Halo 3 anniversary set to launch with Scorpio this year. But lets look at what we do know MS has and who they've worked with.
Remedy - Not working with MS any longer.
Insomniac - We know SSOD 2 is not in development, based on recent comments made.
Crytek - Very unlikely we see something from this partnership & Ryse going forward.
Certain Affinity - Halo Wars 2 launches in a few months. I imagine its continuation is dependent on its success.
Playground Games - we'll likely see the continuation of the Forza Horizon series, so Horizon 4 in 2018 is basically a lock.
Turn 10 - Theres no doubt Forza 7 is being announced this year.
Capcom Vancouver - just launched DR4, earliest we'd get a DR5 is in 2019.
Rare - All hands on deck on Sea of Thieves, 2017 in some form.
Reagent Games - Crackdown 3 this year. We'll see if this continues afterwards.
Moon - Follow-up to Ori to be announced at E3 this year, likely launches in the fall.
343 - Halo 3 anniversary is what I imagine gets announced at E3 for fall 2017, and Halo 6 gets announced for a holiday 2018 release.
The Coalition - Gears 4 just launched, I don't think we can expect something from them again until 2019 at the earliest, especially if Halo 6 launches in 2018.
Crystal Dynamics - Doubtful we get any sort of exclusivity partnership on another CD game. Most we'll see is a marketing deal.
Platinum Games - There isn't any metric that is indicating Scalebound is going to do well fiscally. This seems like another 'one & done' deal like Insomniac & Crytek before it.
Armature - Recore was a sales flop and didn't really review well. Could see a sequel in 2019, but doubtful.
Undead Labs - State of Decay 2 is set to get a blowout at E3 this year. I know the deal Undead & MS signed is for multiple projects, so I am confident we'll see more from Undead Labs for MS in the future.
I mean, this list isn't perfect, and I invite people to come in & fill in the blanks on things i've missed. For example, I know nothing of who is handling Phantom Dust Remaster. But yeah, the MS pipeline that has been primarily used to support their console platforms is pretty established & accounted for.
We have a good layout of 2017 because some titles were delayed from last year mixed in with the previous 2016 E3 announcements, doesn't mean they don't have anything new to show at E3 for the latter half of 2017 and beyond.
If they don't show anything new at all that's obviously going to be problematic but again to say there will be no surprises at all is a bit extreme to say.
I never said they don't have anything new to show, just that we can pretty much figure out what is coming & from where, barring 1 or 2 2018 surprises. For example, we'll get a Halo 6 announcement at E3 2017, that'll be a 2018 title. We'll get Forza 7 for 2017. We'll get dates on Crackdown 3 & Scalebound, and I personally feel only one of them will be launching in 2017, with the other title being a Q1 2018 title. I imagine we'll get some boxed product for the Halo 3 anniversary coming up in fall/holiday 2017. We'll get a full look on Phantom Dust Remaster, likely a 2017 product. State of Decay 2 will get a blowout, also another 2017, maybe even 2018 production, depending on how much bigger the scope is for that title. Moon is set to deliver us a follow-up of Ori, and I imagine MS is going to tout that thing as a much bigger deal seeing as how well the 1st was received, and I think it drops in late 2017, maybe mid- 2018.
Most of these titles that I am inferring are 2017 titles aren't even announced yet. The most we know is Crackdown 3, Scalebound, Phantom Dust Remaster, & State of Decay 2. But, just based on established patterns MS has set, we can infer pretty well just what is coming & when.
