From Halo’s return to a new Nintendo Switch – five things to watch out for at E3 2021
All eyes will be on E3 this weekend as the world’s biggest gaming convention gets going online, with some exciting announcements expected.
The industry event has taken place every June (except last year, for obvious reasons) since 1995, and is hotly anticipated by gamers around the world.
Fans can usually look forward to new games, sneak previews, updates to old favourites, and sometimes even fresh consoles – with this year looking no different.
Fans usually gather in Los Angeles for the convention. Pic: AP
Among the companies in attendance will be Nintendo, Ubisoft, and Microsoft – all hoping to wow the crowd, which this year will be virtual.
One gaming giant that is notably absent though is PlayStation maker Sony – who ditched the convention a few years back in favour of making announcements elsewhere.
With video games having become ever more popular during the pandemic, as much of the world’s population was ordered to stay at home, plenty of players are chomping at the bit for new experiences.
Here is a round-up of some of the biggest announcements we’re expecting.
Halo Infinite should emerge from its COVID-enforced hibernation
Microsoft revealed some new gameplay footage of the latest Halo instalment last year – but it was largely criticised by fans and the press, forcing a delay to its release.
It had been due to arrive at the same time as the new Xbox Series X and S consoles last November, but the developer 343 Industries clearly struggled with the shift to working from home.
Fans believe Halo Infinite will be at the heart of Microsoft’s showcase on Sunday (6pm UK time), and is set to pick up the story of Master Chief on a mysteriously damaged Halo (the ring-shaped planets that have been a staple of the series since it debuted on the original Xbox in 2001).
The launch of Microsoft’s next-gen consoles was overshadowed by the PS5, which has boasted exclusive games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart, adding to the pressure on Halo Infinite to deliver.
Hopefully we get a new release date on Sunday – at the moment the game’s only pencilled in for a vague 2021.
Fans panned Halo Infinity when gameplay footage was released in 2020. Pic: Microsoft
Fans could finally learn what Starfield is – three years after its announcement
Microsoft has made a big deal in the last 12 months of buying Bethesda – as they darn well should.
That’s the studio behind iconic and long-running franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, so you can see why Microsoft shelled out an eye-watering $7.5bn (£5.3bn).
There are very scant details on the studio’s next big release, Starfield. We do know it will be a sci-fi role-playing game (RPG) but we’ve only seen one image since the announcement that is was being made in 2018.
Bethesda have managed to attract some Hollywood talent to their games in the past, including the likes of Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart, and there are rumours that one Tom Cruise may be involved this time.
A 2021 release seems unlikely given how little we know about Starfield, but we should find out more at the Microsoft showcase on Sunday.
Little is known about Starfield – but that could soon change. Pic: Bethesda
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2’s release date may be revealed
Breath Of The Wild’s sequel is one of the most anticipated games in YEARS – and it’s expected to get its release date this weekend, as well as a rumoured first gameplay trailer.
The multi-award-winning Breath Of The Wild was a runaway success when it was released at the launch of the original Nintendo Switch in 2017 (emphasis on original, more on that later), with fans of the franchise begging for a sequel to the first truly open-world Zelda game.
The Zelda games celebrate their 35th anniversary this year, and it shows no sign of slowing down. With titles including Ocarina Of Time, Twilight Princess and Link To The Past, it is one of the most highly regarded game franchises ever.
Earlier this year, Nintendo revealed it was remastering Skyward Sword for the Switch console, after getting its initial run out on the Wii about a decade ago.
Eagle-eyed fans have already spotted some major gaming retailers taking pre-orders for the second instalment of Breath Of The Wild – so we may not be waiting much longer.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild was a runaway success following its 2017 launch. Pic: Nintendo
Ubisoft will give us more on Rainbow Six and Far Cry 6
Although not new announcements, we’re expecting more information on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction (just renamed from Rainbow Six Quarantine because of you know what) and Far Cry 6.
A few bits of gameplay have previously leaked for both, but we expect to get the first official look at the new games in action at Ubisoft’s event on Saturday (8pm UK time).
Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian star Giancarlo Esposito stars in Far Cry 6 as villain Anton Castillo, and players will be able to unlock a number of different endings.
Ubisoft will have plenty else to show, and there’s nothing to suggest that everything will involve the number six. A new Assassin’s Creed seems unlikely, though, given that content is still arriving for last year’s Valhalla.
More details about Far Cry 6 could be revealed. Pic: Ubisoft
Nintendo could… switch up the Switch
Nintendo is adamant that its convention slot will be purely focused on games – but that hasn’t stopped rumours of it announcing a new beefed-up version of the Switch.
Reports have had it named as everything from the Nintendo Switch Pro to the Super Nintendo Switch, but industry insiders seem to agree that it’ll feature a bigger screen (seven inches to be precise) and be able to output at 4K when hooked up to a TV – bringing it in line with its Sony and Microsoft competition.
What better way to show off Breath Of The Wild 2 than with a shiny new console, after all.
We’ll know about both either way at Nintendo’s event on Tuesday, broadcasting at 5pm UK time.
Entertainment
Creatives having to be even more creative as National Theatre overhauls how it stages productions
The National Theatre is overhauling how it stages productions – as its ambitious climate targets mean creatives are having to be even more creative.
After setting itself the goal of achieving net zero as an organisation by 2030, off-stage quietly radical changes are under way.
Pic: Reed Watts
Sky News was invited to see how the theatre, based in Southbank, central London, has gone about overhauling its approach to staging productions, meeting with some of those who’ve worked on its adaptation of the much-loved children’s classic Ballet Shoes.
While critics have been full of praise for the visual spectacle on-stage, how the whole look was created required a fundamental shift in approach.
“All of the team have had to be on board with reinventing, recutting and reimagining items rather than just making them from scratch,” costume designer Samuel Wyer said.
A new resource they had to work with was the National Theatre Green Store in Bermondsey, southeast London.
The warehouse has more than 131,000 items of costume and almost 22,000 props now housed under one roof so that designers can repurpose items from previous productions to try to cut their carbon footprint.
It’s a surprisingly satisfying challenge.
Mr Wyer said they were able to “dip and cut clothes… which meant I was finding things even outside my imagination that were more perfect than I could have drawn on a piece of paper”.
Read more on Sky News:
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Trying to lead by example, the theatre hopes to demonstrate how the industry needn’t take a fast fashion approach to making sets, props and costumes from scratch.
“I think if it’s demonstrated that we can do things in this way that helps all of us imagine a world where we can use what we’ve got rather than new, new, new, because we need that balance,” Mr Wyer said.
“Theatre is where we come to imagine who we could be.”
Pic: Reed Watts
‘Every piece has its own little quirks’
Last year, the National set itself targets of 50% of the materials used in its productions having had a previous life, and 65% being repurposed at the end of each production.
For set designer Frankie Bradshaw, hitting those targets has meant working with a lot more repurposed furniture.
“Lots of second-hand cabinets, bookshelves,” she said. “Ordinarily [carpenters] would have been used to building from scratch following a drawing and this has been quite different.
“Every piece has its own little quirks, and they’ve had to adapt their processes to fit that way of working.”
While it’s by no means straightforward, the process is proving rewarding.
“It requires everyone to be a little bit more flexible, a little more patient, but it does mean you can end up with a product you’re a lot more proud of,” Ms Bradshaw added.
Ballet Shoes runs at the National Theatre until Saturday 22 February.
Neil Young has been confirmed as a headliner at this year’s Glastonbury – despite saying he was dropping out due to the BBC’s involvement in the festival.
The 79-year-old Canadian musician wrote on his website earlier this week that both he and his band, The Chrome Hearts, were pulling out because the BBC’s involvement was a “corporate turn-off”.
He has now said in a statement that this decision was down to “an error in the information I received”.
Emily Eavis, the organiser of the Glastonbury Festival, posted on Instagram on Friday: “Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury.
“He does things his own way and that’s why we love him.
“We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”
Glastonbury, which takes place at Worthy Farm in Somerset in the summer, has worked closely with the BBC – its exclusive broadcast partner – since 1997.
Posting on Neil Young Archives, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer wrote in his initial statement: “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs.
“We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.
“It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
Young performing at Glastonbury in 2009. Pic: AP
Young, who headlined the festival’s Pyramid stage in 2009, added: “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be.
“Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”
Read more:
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In an updated statement, he wrote: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved.
“Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!”
Young, who is married to US actress Daryl Hannah, was booked to play Glastonbury in 1997 but pulled out after cutting his left index finger while making a ham sandwich.
Glastonbury, one of the UK’s largest music festivals, is set to take place between 25 and 29 June, with Sir Rod Stewart booked for the Sunday teatime legend slot.
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