So to all the PC gamers out there, let me start my summary of the PC Gaming Show by saying something – I am primarily an Xbox One console gamer.

I do have a ageing PC and I do play the odd RTS and turn based strategy game like Civilization. Back in the early days I also bought a gaming PC in order to play Doom in 1993. I like PCs – I like the customisation, the tweaking and doing whatever you can to get a few extra megahertz out of your CPU and GPU. I know that without PCs, we wouldn’t have the games we have today, regardless of gaming platform.

However, I really struggled to enjoy the E3 2017 PC Gaming Show. It did have some interesting reveals, which I will write up here. It did have some entertaining moments, like when they were showing people playing the Oculus Rift in the background during a live interview and watching a guy take the VR headset off before what appeared to be throwing up.

Apart from that though it was a very hard show to watch. They didn’t really talk about any new tech, apart from Intel mentioning the X series Core i9 Extreme CPU, which we only really saw via a PowerPoint presentation. The MC did his best but the jokes fell flat at every possible moment. The crowd barely cheered because they were probably wondering why they went to the show in the first place. I apologise if this sounds a bit harsh but the PC show really had a basement cable show feel about it.

Out of this 1 hour 40 minute show though there were a few gems so here they are:

Xcom 2 – War of the Chosen was first up and it looked pretty good. There is a lot more enemy types and a new campaign to add to Xcom 2.

Battletech – They are bringing a turn based strategy Battletech game and it looks good. I’m pretty keen to see more when it is released in 2018.

Destiny 2 PC launch. PC gamers finally get a chance to play a Destiny game, the first of which was fine for gameplay but short on story. Don’t expect the release on PC to be the same as console as it will be out on the consoles first.

Age of Empires – Definitive Edition. I loved the original Age of Empires (the second game being my favourite in the series). Not content with Age of Empires Online the developers are releasing a 4k enhanced version of the game. You can sign up for the beta at ageofempires.com/beta.

In terms of specific PC highlights that is all I really found remotely exciting. There were re-announcements of games like Forza Motorsport 7, Middle Earth: Shadow of War and Sea of Thieves but you can check those out in the Microsoft coverage here.

Here are some other games mentioned that you might want to take a look at if you want: Ooblets, Mount and Blade II: BannerLord, Total War 2 Warhammer, Wonderland Dreams, Tunic, Killing Floor Incursion, Grift Lands, LoreEcho (VR), Law Breakers and WarGroove.

So there you have it. Unfortunately there was really no new announcements on new VR tech or hardware. This style of presentation would have been better suited to a panel discussion or smaller press event. I think next year Night Owl and I will have to draw straws to see who covers the E3 2018 PC Game Show. 🙂