E3 2021 recap: All the big news, major reveals and must-see trailers

We saw new trailers for huge upcoming games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, Back 4 Blood and Starfield, as well as announcements of brand new titles including a Guardians of the Galaxy game, WarioWare: Get It Together and Metroid Dread.

And that's not even half of it! To check our handy recap of all the major news from E3 2021, keep on reading and we'll break it all down for you, starting with the most recent day of the conference and working backwards from there.

E3 2021 recap (Tuesday 15th June)

Nintendo, Bandai Namco and Yooreka Studio were all on the schedule for this final day of E3 2021. There was also a stream hosted by GameSpot and an awards ceremony honouring the best bits of the conference. Here's the news you might have missed:

Nintendo E3 2021 recap

It's always an exciting day when a fully-fledged Nintendo Direct takes place, and this E3 2021 edition of the series did not disappoint. You can watch the full stream on Nintendo's YouTube account, or check out this rundown of the best bits:

• Kazuya is coming to Super Smash Bros Ultimate for a Tekken crossover.
• Square Enix's Guardians of the Galaxy game will launch on Nintendo Switch.
• Metroid Dread trailer reveals a brand new 2D Metroid game.
• Worms Rumble comes to Switch on 23rd June 2021.
• Post-launch additional content confirmed for Mario Golf Super Rush.
• Shin Megami Tensei V is launching exclusively on Nintendo Switch on 12th November 2021.
• A new WarioWare game, WarioWare: Get It Together, revealed for the first time - and it will include multiplayer!
• The show finished with a brand new trailer for the sequel to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is aiming for a 2022 release.

Everything else from Tuesday, E3 2021 recap

Nintendo was definitely the highlight of E3 2021's closing day, but there were a few other interesting things going on as well! If you didn't watch along, or if you switched off after the Nintendo show, this is what you missed:

• Bandai Namco shared a new interview about House of Ashes, the next game in The Dark Pictures Anthology (out 22nd October 2021).
• Yooreka Studios revealed eight new indie games to be published by the company, with more details on the Yooreka website.
• The GameSpot Play For All showcase also highlighted a number of interesting indies.
• The E3 2021 awards show closed the conference, with Xbox and Bethesda winning Best Presentation and Forza Horizon 5 named the Most Anticipated Game.

E3 2021 recap (Monday 14th June)

Monday was an interesting day for E3, with a lot of smaller showcases getting their slot in the schedule, including tech companies like Razer and a handful of indie developers. The biggest AAA developer to appear on Monday was Capcom, so let's start there:

Capcom E3 2021 recap

The developers of Resident Evil, Monster Hunter and many more big-name franchises brought plenty of news to E3 2021. You can rewatch the Capcom show in full or read our recap below:

• Development has "just started" on DLC content for Resident Evil Village, with more details promised to be coming later.
• Resident Evil's latest multiplayer experience, RE:Verse, will go live in July 2021 - it's free if you already have Resident Evil Village.
• Extended trailer for Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, launching on 9th July 2021 for PC and Switch.
• Monster Hunter Rise is launching its Capcom Collab Event Quest on 18th June 2021, tying in with Wings of Ruin.
• The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles gets a "new features trailer" ahead of its PS4, Switch and Steam release on 29th July 2021.

Everything else from Monday, E3 2021 recap

There were a few other live streams on Monday, but we wouldn't call them major ones. This is probably the day on which Sony and EA would have slotted into the schedule, if both companies hadn't decided to sit this year's conference out. Instead, this is what we got:

• Take-Two hosted a panel discussion on diversity in the gaming industry. (The company didn't reveal GTA 6.)
• The Indie Showcase, Freedom Games presentation and Mythical Games presentation all spotlighted upcoming indie games.
• Verizon shared a keynote presentation on its vision for a 5G-powered future of gaming.
• Razer revealed its next wave of tech, from gaming laptops to peripherals, before posting a handy four-minute recap.
• The new Intellivision Amico got a decent-length trailer - it's a home gaming system aimed at families.

E3 2021 recap (Sunday 13th June)

E3 2021 took things to the next level on Sunday, with Xbox, Bethesda, Square Enix, Warner Bros and more big names taking to the stage at this year's virtual conference. Keep on reading for all the highlights.

PC Gaming Show and Future Games Show, E3 2021 recap

These two wildcard shows (where any company can show up and drop a reveal) are always worth checking in on, especially because this is where you'll see interesting smaller games that don't have a huge company behind them. You can rewatch the PC Gaming Show and the Future Games Show online, or check out our quick recap of the bits which caught our eye:

• New gameplay footage for Two Point Campus, the sequel to Two Point Hospital.
• Overcooked celebrates its fifth anniversary with free downloadable content coming 9th August 2021.
• Story details and more revealed in the new Dying Light 2 trailer.
• Valve's Gabe Newell announces Steam Next Fest event, bringing free demos and games to Steam from 16th June to 22nd June.
• A new Hello Neighbour 2 trailer was revealed.
• Sonic Colours Ultimate gameplay video shows off Tropical Resort Act 2.
• Vampire the Masquerade: Swan Song trailer reveals a bloodsucking RPG.

Warner Bros E3 2021 recap

One of the shorter shows on the E3 2021 schedule, the Warner Bros showcase took up a 20-minute slot to tell us all about the upcoming multiplayer horror game Back 4 Blood (from the makers of Left 4 Dead). You can still watch in full on the game's Youtube account, or just read this list of the main points:

• The stream mainly focused on showcasing PvP gameplay from Back 4 Blood's Swarm Mode.
• Confirmed that an Open Beta will begin on 5th August 2021, for everyone that pre-orders the game.
• The full release date is 12th October 2021, with a day-one launch on Xbox Game Pass confirmed.

Square Enix E3 2021 recap

Square Enix provided one of the big surprises of E3 2021 by opening its showcase with a full reveal of its Guardians of the Galaxy game, which has been rumoured to be in development for years. The show is available in full on YouTube, and these are the key moments to be aware of:

• Guardians of the Galaxy trailer and gameplay footage revealed, with 26th October 2021 release date confirmed.
• Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster revealed as "coming soon" for Steam and mobile.
• Legend of Mana remaster confirmed for 24th June 2021 on PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
• A new trailer for Marvel's Avengers game's Black Panther DLC, War for Wakanda.
• Life is Strange Remastered Collection gets 30th September 2021 release date.
• Life is Strange: True Colours gets a new trailer ahead of its 10th September 2021 release date.
• Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin trailer teases the new FF game, with a PS5 demo coming soon.

Xbox and Bethesda E3 2021 recap

Xbox and Bethesda teamed up for the first time at E3 2021, which makes total sense now that the companies have merged into one. You can watch their whole showcase online, or check out our summary below:

• Starfield release date confirmed as 11th November 2022, with the first in-game footage revealed – and it's an Xbox exclusive!
• Halo Infinite multiplayer trailer arrives as Microsoft promises 'holiday 2021' release window.
• The hilarious first trailer for The Outer Worlds 2 confirms it's in production.
• Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life trailer confirms an in-game crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean.
• STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl gameplay trailer confirms release date of April 28th 2022.
• Fallout 76 roadmap revealed, summing up Seasons 4, 5, 6 and 7.
• Doom Eternal and 9 more Bethesda games are coming to Xbox Game Pass.
• Forza Horizon 5 trailer confirms release date of November 9th 2021.
• Microsoft Flight Simulator console release date, on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, confirmed for 27th July 2021.
• Battlefield 2042 gameplay footage revealed.
• Arkane Austin's next game, Redfall, revealed with a trailer.

E3 2021 recap (Saturday 12th June)

The first proper day of E3 2021 kicked off with a countdown and a pre-show live event, and then the news proper began to appear. The first full presentation was Ubisoft Forward, so let's jump into that now.

Ubisoft Forward E3 2021 recap

Ubisoft kicked things off in confident style (you can watch the full presentation on its YouTube channel), dropping several big announcements on Saturday. Here's our brisk recap, just click off to see any of the trailers mentioned:

• Ubisoft shared the first trailer for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, a video-game spinoff to the James Cameron film franchise.
• The Far Cry 6 Battle Pass was revealed, teasing that you'll play as the villains for the first time.
• The sequel to Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, titled Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, got its first trailer.
• Ubisoft promised another year of Assassin's Creed Valhalla DLC, with the next chunk coming this summer.
• Rainbow Six Extraction gameplay trailer gave a closer look at the next Tom Clancy game.

Gearbox E3 2021 recap

You can watch the Gearbox E3 show on the company's YouTube channel. Or if you just want to know what happened during the stream on Saturday, these were the key moments:

• Prior to the conference, Gearbox revealed a dragon-shooting Borderlands spinoff, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, with a trailer.
• At E3 itself, Gearbox shared a video from the Borderlands movie set, featuring such stars as Kevin Hart.
• Godfall PS4 release was confirmed, and the game's Fire and Darkness DLC was shown too.
• The first trailer for Tribes of Midgard was revealed.
• Homeworld 3 was also confirmed to be in production.

• For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.

Sumer Games Fest 2021 recap (Friday 11th June)

Prior to E3 2021 kicking off formally on Saturday, there was a Summer Games Fest live stream on Friday, hosted by industry favourite Geoff Keighley. You can rewatch the whole thing if you want, or read our quick summary below:

• FromSoftware showed the first Elden Ring gameplay trailer, confirming 21st January 2022 as the game's release date.
• Frontier announced Jurassic World Evolution 2 with a trailer, featuring the dulcet tones of Jeff Goldblum!
• Speaking of Hollywood stars, Ryan Reynolds popped up with a new trailer for Free Guy, his gaming-inspired action movie.
• Hideo Kojima announced Death Stranding: Director's Cut with a trailer.
• Activision dropped the first trailer for Call of Duty Season 4, which will span Warzone and Black Ops: Cold War.

And that's your lot! We'll be sure to keep you updated on all the major games announced at E3 2021, with more details sure to drip out in the coming months. Watch this space, folks, and follow Radio Times Gaming on Twitter for breaking news and updates.

Check out some of the best subscription deals in gaming below:

• Get unlimited gaming with Utomik 3 month subscription for £13.49
• Buy Nintendo Switch Online 12 months membership for £14.99
• Get a 14-day trial of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for £2.99
• Get PS Plus 12 months at CDKeys for £43.99

Visit our video game release schedule for all upcoming games on consoles. Swing by our hubs for more gaming and technology news.

Looking for something to watch? See our TV Guide.