Its visual fidelity, its detailed open world, and complex team-based combat set an early benchmark for what we should expect from the next generation of games. If ever there was a question of why we should invest in one of the two new consoles, The Division's first trailer (opens in new tab) was the answer.

People talked about this trailer for months. Unveiled alongside Massive Entertainment's proprietary Snowdrop engine, that first look at a next-gen exclusive was genuinely spellbinding. Its surprise reveal was a moment that had necks snapping to attention.

Let's flash back to 2013 one last time to talk about the surprise that closed the show: The Division. Nothing in the Ubisoft Forward showcase had that same visceral impact, if anything it made the argument that there's still life in the PS4 and Xbox One yet, given the bold design choices being made with Valhalla and Legion. We got an extended look at Watch Dogs following its reveal in 2012 it had always looked too ambitious for the PS3 and Xbox 360, and once it was confirmed for next-generation consoles it was as if we were given permission to believe that what we had been seeing was real. Ubisoft unveiled The Crew, a sprawling open-world racing game that sought to blur the lines between single and multiplayer sessions say what you will about the game now, but back then the tech was impressive enough to garner interest. Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Rayman: Legends were good looking games that were easy to get excited over, the types of games you'd expect to see closing out a successful generation. Its E3 2013 presentation did an excellent job of giving us games we could look forward to playing in the fall, and on either generation of consoles. That's exactly where we are today, months out from the launch of the PS5 (opens in new tab) and Xbox Series X (opens in new tab) with little indication of the games we should be excited by beyond launch.īack then, it was a question that Ubisoft was only too eager to answer. Just five months out from the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One, many of us were looking to the third-party publishers to get a gauge on what the next generation could actually deliver. In preparation for the first Ubisoft Forward, I found myself looking back to E3 2013.

Watch Dogs: Legion's ability to play as anyone puts you in control more than ever (opens in new tab)

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