E3 is always a fun time for gamers, and part of the fun is seeing all of the unexpected announcements that developers kept hidden until the big show. Rumors run wild leading up to E3, so many big surprises are ultimately spoiled. However, this year several announcements managed to catch nearly everyone off guard. Here is the list of the five biggest surprises of E3 2018.

5 Super Smash Bros Ultimate Is Bringing Everyone Back (plus Ridley)

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Nintendo announced that Super Smash Bros Ultimate would be the headlining game for their E3 press conference, so Smash fans were eagerly waiting to see what Nintendo had planned for the popular fighting franchise. As it turns out, Super Smash Bros Ultimate will be bringing every single character from every previous Smash game back for the next big installment. Everyone from Young Link to Wolf to Ice Climbers - the gang is back together for one smashing extravaganza.

Also joining the incredibly large roster is Ridley from the Metroid franchise. The huge dragon is getting shrunk down to be on par with the other fighters and is the second new character to be confirmed for Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Ridley will be joining the Inklings from Splatoon as the new faces on the roster. Hopefully, Nintendo will shine some light on some more new faces coming to Super Smash Bros Ultimate when it launches on December 7, 2018.

4 Elder Scrolls 6 Officially Confirmed

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After a series of trailers for their upcoming games, Bethesda gave Elder Scrolls fans what they’ve wanted for a long time: confirmation that The Elder Scrolls 6 is in the works. Not much is known about the upcoming installment in the popular franchise, as only a brief teaser was shown at E3, but fans seem more hyped than ever to see what Bethesda has in store for Tamriel.

Alongside The Elder Scrolls 6 announcement, Bethesda showed off a parody trailer for Skyrim Very Special Edition for Amazon Alexa. The trailer, featuring Keegan-Michael Key, showcased a very fun take on a “new Skyrim port” for Amazon’s smart home system. The real joke is: Skyrim Very Special Edition is actually real, and fans can actually play this odd command-based version of Skyrim at home while they wait for more news on The Elder Scrolls 6.

3 Microsoft Announces Halo Infinite

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Another major announcement from E3 2018 was the return of Master Chief in Halo Infinite, the latest installment in the popular space shooter franchise. The trailer for Halo Infinite was a shocker since it opened up with a series of seemingly random nature shots before ending on Master Chief. Much like Elder Scrolls 6, not much is known about the upcoming continuation of Master Chief's story, but it may still be a way out since a new engine had to be developed just for Halo Infinite. Halo fans will be excited to know that 343 will allow fans to playtest Halo Infinite during the game's development cycle.

2 Microsoft Confirms A New Console Is In The Works

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Microsoft was a big hit at E3 this year, mainly due to the massive number of games they showed off during their press conference. Between announcing games and adding new game studios to the Microsoft family, Phil Spencer took a moment to confirm that the Xbox development team is working hard on a project that is rumored to be called Xbox Scarlet.

With the fairly recent release of the Xbox One X, this announcement came as a surprise to many. Following the brief mention of the console, rumors started spreading around the Internet regarding the mysterious project, including the rumor that the console will release in 2020. While none of this has been confirmed by Xbox, fans are certainly eager to hear more about what Microsoft has in store for the future.

1 Cayde-6's Death in the Destiny 2 Forsaken

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When Bungie announced that they would be giving fans a taste of the story that is coming with Destiny 2's Forsaken DLC, nobody imagined that the fan-favorite Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6, would be shot down in the trailer. Cayde's death signals a major shift in tone for Destiny 2, moving from a story of hope to a western-style tale of revenge. One dedicated Destiny 2 fan actually predicted Cayde's death almost a week before the trailer launched, using nothing but some clues in the Forsaken ViDoc and the lore within the two Destiny games.

From the surprise announcements of returning franchises to the death of a beloved character, E3 2018 held many surprises for those in attendance and those watching at home. These surprising reveals are what make E3 one of the most exciting events to watch and take part in. Hopefully, next year's E3 can be even more shocking than this year's convention has been.

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