Though it certainly had its moments, some may find it hard not to feel just a little underwhelmed by everything that E3 2021 had to offer. Going into the expo, there were scores of big titles that could theoretically have made an appearance and yet the majority of them failed to even get a mention, let alone a trailer. It's possible that the gaming community's expectations were a tad higher than they should have been, but there remains a sense of disappointment lingering in E3's wake nonetheless.
Sony's decision to once again pass on the expo no doubt played a big part in this, with many PS5 exclusives likely being saved for the company's next State of Play event. The ongoing global pandemic won't have helped much either, with the development of many upcoming games having been hindered by COVID-19. With any luck, though, updates on some of E3's big name absentees will not be too far away.
10 Fable
Aside from Halo, it's difficult to think of too many IPs that contributed as much to the early success of the Xbox brand than Fable. Two sequels and a number of remakes and spin-offs have followed in the years since the first Fable game released in 2004. Other than a free-to-play card game in 2017, however, fans haven't gotten a new Fable game in almost a decade now, although there is one in the works.
Following months of speculation, Microsoft finally announced a new Fable game for Xbox and Windows back in July of 2020 and even provided a minute-long trailer to get fans excited. Since then, though, there's been very little news on the Playground Games developed title. Many had hoped to get an update at this year's E3, but were forced to settle for a Halo Infinite-centric show instead.
9 God of War
Given its PlayStation exclusivity, few, if any, will have expected to see the new God of War game making an appearance at E3 2021. In that sense, expectations were well and truly met. All the same though, the absence of God of War and other big first-party titles from Sony perhaps highlights the impact that the company's decision not to attend E3 is having on the event.
Despite diminishing interest in recent years, E3 is still the largest event in gaming. With many of the biggest and most anticipated games now being showcased elsewhere, however, some are questioning how much longer that will remain the case. Given the lackluster showing this year, it would not be too surprising if Sony's next State of Play blows E3 out of the water, which may well lead to Microsoft and Nintendo reconsidering their attendance at next year's event.
8 Final Fantasy XVI
While Sony's first-party titles were never likely to show up at E3, some of the PlayStation exclusives being developed by third-party studios were in with an outside chance. With Square Enix having already announced all of its upcoming Dragon Quest titles ahead of E3, in fact, some were expecting news on either Final Fantasy XVI or Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2 at some point during the developer's E3 presentation just to fill the void.
Those people were left disappointed, however, with neither game getting even a mention during the 40 minute conference. It wasn't all bad news for Final Fantasy fans, though, as two new projects were announced, including HD remasters of the series' first six mainline games. Still, compared to Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2, Stranger of Paradise and the Pixel Remaster collection were a little underwhelming.
7 Chorus
Announced back in May of last year and currently slated for a 2021 release, many had expected Deep Silver to provide a closer look at its upcoming sci-fi adventure game, Chorus. The last real update came at Gamescom 2020 and, as it wasn't among the list of games de-confirmed by Koch Media ahead of the event, Chorus seemed something of a certainty for the company's E3 2021 presentation.
Instead, those who tuned in for the event were instead treated to a long presentation about its new Prime Matter publishing label. In some ways, it felt more like a presentation aimed at developers and potential partners than one geared towards gamers, with very little on offer in the way of new gameplay footage and trailers. That said, there were one or two nice surprises on offer.
6 Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
News of a Switch port of Warhorse Studios' popular action RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance will have pleased some, but it's far from the sequel announcement that many had been hoping for. Rumors of a new Kingdom Come game have been floating around for a while now and intensified in the week leading up to E3 following a tease by Koch Media.
The company set up a website titled "We Know Something You Don't Know" that featured a countdown to its Primetime Gaming Stream. In the background of said site was a CCTV feed of an office containing a coffin, a mace and a crown; three items with strong links to Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Rather than a sequel however, it's now clear that the items were instead teasing the upcoming Switch port.
5 State of Decay 3
Many consider Sony to have the edge over Microsoft when it comes to exclusives (at least for the time being), but when it comes to open-world zombie games, the Xbox has a pretty strong lineup. With Dead Rising 5 having been cancelled a few years back, though, Xbox players looking to get their fill of brain-munching monsters have been forced to look elsewhere, with many of them turning to the State of Decay games.
State of Decay 3 was announced at the Xbox Showcase in 2020, but, much like the new Fable game, updates on the title have been sparse since then. Many had hoped to get one at this year's E3 and maybe even a new trailer, but there was no mention of Undead Labs' upcoming title anywhere in the Microsoft and Bethesda event. Whether the developers will have something ready for Gamescom or Microsoft's next big showcase event remains to be seen.
4 Bayonetta 3
Having first been announced at The Game Awards back in 2017, it has now been more than 1,200 days since fans caught a glimpse of Bayonetta 3. Its absence from E3 2018 was perhaps to be expected and few really thought it would show up at the following year's event either. For it to have once again been a no-show in 2021, however, will be a cause for concern for some series fans.
There have been a few updates over the past three and a half years, although they've generally been little more than confirmations that the game is still happening. According to creative director Hideki Kamiya, PlatinumGames has a lot of projects in development at the moment which is why things are taking so long. In January 2021 he suggested that a real update could be forthcoming, but the game was once again absent from E3.
3 Perfect Dark
Though Goldeneye 64 tends to take most of the plaudits, many consider the original Perfect Dark to be the best multiplayer FPS of the N64 era. Critics seem to agree, with Joanna's debut outing just edging out the Bond classic by a single point on Metacritic. With that in mind, when rumors of a Perfect Dark reboot began circulating back in 2018, excitement levels were fairly high among the gaming community.
It took almost two years for the game to be officially announced, with a two minute teaser trailer debuting at The Game Awards 2020. With some of the creative minds behind such series as Tomb Raider, God of War, Titanfall and Destiny working on the project, expectations are high and many had hoped to get an update at this year's E3. Much like Avowed, Project Dragon and Everwild, however, it was a no show at the Microsoft event.
2 Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
Though announcements relating to the Pokemon series tend to take place during their own standalone directs these days, the likelihood of hearing at least some Pokemon related news at E3 2021 remained high. Leading up to the event, the series had failed to miss even a single E3 since 2013, excluding of course, E3 2020 which was cancelled due to the global pandemic.
With this in mind, news regarding either the Diamond & Pearl remakes or the upcoming open-world adventure game, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, seemed fairly likely, especially as both games are due out in the next seven months. 2021 also marks the franchise's 25th anniversary; yet another reason why some fans had anticipated an appearance from Pikachu and his pals at some point during the event.
1 Super Mario Odyssey 2
It may seem like only yesterday to some, but it has now been almost four years since the release of the last new Super Mario game. The last time that fans have had to wait this long for a new entry in the series was way back in 2002, with Super Mario Sunshine releasing some six years on from Super Mario 64. Given that a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey is yet to be officially announced, that unwanted record may well be in jeopardy.
Fans have been clamoring for a true sequel to Mario's debut outing on the Switch for years now, but, as of the moment, Nintendo has remained tight-lipped regarding the future of everybody's favorite Italian plumber. An announcement at E3 2021 was always unlikely, but, with a new version of the Switch seemingly imminent, it could still happen before the year is out.