Sony and Microsoft have all been E3's biggest focus seeing that both companies' next-gen consoles are on the horizon. Then there's Nintendo.
The backbone of the video game industry are third-party software developers themselves. They drive the business and sometimes give input to hardware developers. This is what makes their presence at next month's E3 just as important. With that in mind, we give you five third-party developers who stand above the rest.
Konami
Expect Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (including the prequel Ground Zero) to be the focus of Konami's E3. The next Pro Eleven Soccer entry is slated to use MGS5's Fox Engine so expect some information on visual and gameplay improvements. Something that's surprisingly been more quiet than MGS5 is the sequel to its Castlevania reboot in Castlevania:Lords of Shadow 2. Official Xbox Magazine mentioned that the series may go for an open world while emphasizing the metroidvania style of constant backtracking seen previous entries.
EA
EA already showcased its next-gen Ignite engine that's powering at least four EA Sports titles including Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, MMA and NBA Live. Another engine focus will come through DICE's Frostbite engine finding use through Battlefield 4 and Need for Speed Rivals.
Activision
Call of Duty: Ghost is Activision's focus this E3. A trailer was shown at Microsoft's Xbox reveal but gameplay will be the focus at the convention. Rumor has it that a new entry in the much dormant Crash Bandicoot franchise will be shown. Activision's second biggest game of the year is obviously it's first game with Bungie in Destiny. The black horse of Activision's E3 showing is undoubtedly going to be its adaptation of Deadpool.
Capcom
Outside of its Deep Down announcement during Sony's Playstation 4 debut in February, Capcom plan's have been kept under tight wraps. Making things interesting is that Deep Down is suppose to be a new IP for PS4. So where does that put Microsoft in Capcom's plan. Last generation saw the Japanese company debut its Dead Rising franchise exclusively to the Xbox 360 before going multi-platform.
Ubisoft
Sure Ubisoft's focus is going to be split among Watch Dogs, Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Assassin's Creed IV but their true next-generation games haven't been announced. There have been rumored that the next Rainbow Six is going next-gen after a significantly long gameplay trailer surfaced and a new Prince of Persia. One of the interesting things Ubisoft did was purchase the publishing rights to for South Park: The Stick of Truth from THQ before it closed. Hopefully, Ubisoft can lend a better quality to it than THQ then unstable track record.
Any third-party developer you're excited about this E3? Comment below.