Microsoft kicked off E3 with a bang, unleashing a spectacular volley of announcements that ranged from the meh (new Lego Star Wars), to the WTF (Terminator Dark Fate tie-in to Gears 5), to the AWESOME!

So what exactly are the awesome announcements?Here they are!

Game Pass Ultimate.

Xbox One Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox Live Gold in ONE handy package?! SIGN US UP!

Plus, if you’re on an existing subscription, those months are automatically converted to Game Pass Ultimate! How is that NOT a good deal, especially if you have only ONE of the three services?

Double Fine is now part of Microsoft.

Don’t underestimate the power of the dork side.

Double Fine might not have made a big splash in recent years but make no mistake, Tim Shaefer’s studio is still one to watch, especially with the upcoming weird ass Psychonauts 2.

Will them being under Microsoft’s thumb lead to more games, quicker? Who knows but we’ll be watching.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is back.

Filed under ‘Nobody Saw That Coming’, Microsoft’s brought back their MIA series with a bang. Promising to utilize the power of the cloud and Azure computing technologies, Microsoft Flight Simulator looks like THE definitive flight simulation game…well, EVER!

This time console gamers get to take the planes for a ride too, though we do have to wonder how the complicated controls will translate to a gamepad. Looks like Hori’s Ace Combat 7 HOTAS flight stick might come in handy for more than one game after all.

New Xbox Elite controller.

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. It’s a mouthful, but that’s the name of the successor to what is arguably the best controller for a console.

The new Elite controller comes with Bluetooth, a rechargeable battery (FINALLY!) and the ability to save up to three custom profiles on the controller.

There are other changes (like better grips and responsive triggers) too, which is on top all the features the original Elite controller brought to the table.

We can’t wait to get this in for review to see how it stacks up to the original!

PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2 IS COMING!

Forget the neutered version we got on the PC that shut down a few years back. Bury deep that memory. This is what Phantasy Star Online 2 is supposed to be!

Every released content update so far all in one handy package! We know we’ll definitely be rolling a HUmar again once it’s out!

Only downside? It’s free to play…which means a ton of purchasing stuff with in-game currency probably. Much sadness.

Project Scarlett is the next Xbox and Halo Infinite is a launch title!

There’s no name (other than its project moniker) but it’s supposed to be at least 4 times more powerful than the Xbox One X.

Project Scarlett is supposedly built to have frame rates up to 120fps, 8K resolution, hardware ray tracing, use new SSDs (which are supposedly better than current ones) AND backwards compatibility with all legacy systems! Yup, all the way to the original Xbox.

The best news? It’s coming at the end of next year. Start saving your moolah folks! Oh, and Halo Infinite is the first confirmed Project Scarlett title.

Can anybody say system seller?

E3’s barely started and we already have some major reveals! We can’t wait to see the other press conferences (namely Bethesda’s) to see what other surprises might be waiting!

Sal's been in the industry since the early 2000s. He's written for a ton of gaming and tech publications including Playworks, Hardwarezone, HWM and GameAxis. Recently, Sal served as a juror for the Indie Game Awards at Taipei Game Show 2020. A geek and hardcore gamer, Sal will play everything, on any platform.