E3 2016: What to expect from Sony — PlayStation VR and PS4 exclusives

Sony is gonna go right from a blockbuster hit in Uncharted 4 to hyping up gamers for virtual reality at next week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in Los Angeles.

The first pre-E3 media briefing starts Sunday, and Sony closes out those exciting events with its own presentation on Monday night. Fans should expect a lot of talk about PlayStation VR, the $500 head-mounted display for PS4. You should also look out for a lot of Sony first-party games. We’re well into the heart of this console generation, and Sony has now had enough time to build its own games to take advantage of the huge customer base for the PS4. Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Andrew House also finally confirmed the upgraded PlayStation 4 Neo is real, but he also said he won’t show it off at E3.

Let’s get you the basic details about how you can participate in the event, and then we’ll get on to Sony’s confirmed products as well as some rumors.

What: Sony will hold its annual media briefing in L.A. prior to E3.
When: 6 p.m. Pacific time Monday, June 13
Where: Twitch

Confirmed for E3

Sony has a huge booth, and it hosts a ton of third-party and independent stuff. Here’s most of what it has confirmed:

• PlayStation VR
• Destiny: Rise of Iron (PS4)
• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PS4)
• Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
• The Last Guardian (PS4)
• Gravity Rush 2 (PS4)
• Rigs: Mechanized Combat League (PSVR)
• Gran Turismo Sport (PSVR)
• Harmonix Music VR: The Dance (PSVR)
• Statik (PSVR)
• Tethered (PSVR)
• XCOM 2 (PS4)
• Pyre (PS4)
• How We Soar (PSVR)
• Dreams (PSVR)
• PlayStation VR Worlds (PSVR)
• Kill Strain (PS4)
• 100ft Robot Golf (PSVR)
• Rez Infinite (PSVR)
• Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (PSVR)
• Ace Combat 7 (PSVR)
• Driveclub VR (PSVR)
• Golem (PSVR)
• Superhypercube (PSVR)
• Thumper (PSVR)

This is only a partial list, and it emphasizes games that are exclusive in some way to Sony platforms. What’s most notable about the lineup is how many PSVR games the company is bringing to E3.

PSVR is due out in October, and Sony is planning on making it the central theme of its 2016 E3. You can expect virtual reality to take up a huge portion of the stage presentation. And as soon as that’s over, GamesBeat is going right into a meeting with Sony to try out PSVR games. We’ll have to try out Horizon: Zero Dawn during the show that starts the next day.

But because Sony is so focused on PSVR, it likely doesn’t want to confuse its messaging by introducing the recently confirmed PS4 Neo. That upgraded version of the PS4 has more power and the capability to output 4K video, but you won’t see it at E3.

Rumors and more

These are unconfirmed and could prove untrue, but rumors are a huge part of E3.

• God of War 4: This may happen. It will likely incorporate Norse mythology in some way. Developer Sony Santa Monica is once again the team behind it, according to multiple reports.
• Knack 2: A resume online listed Knack 2 under experience, and it’s possible we’ll see this at E3.
• Spider-Man: Sony owns the movie license for Spider-Man, and rumors claim Infamous developer Sucker Punch is making a PS4 exclusive Spider-Man game.
• New Sony Bend game: Bend is the studio that made Syphon Filter and the Uncharted game for Vita. It is working on something for PS4.