Bleszinski will join the show as a Storytime Speaker, so we can be sure that Bleszinski will discuss his storied background in the industry. The man has worked on not only the Gears games, but also on the classic shooter Unreal Tournament and cult side-scroller Jazz Jackrabbit. We hope he discusses his plans for the future, as well as the fate of Fortnite.
We're also expecting commentary on the place of the new Unreal Engine 4 within the new console cycle. Bleszinski's former employer Epic Games is the home of the Unreal Engine, which numerous developers license to build games.
The upcoming Fortnite is to be the first Unreal Engine 4 title. Its hardware demands, and plans to continually update the title a la Valve's Team Fortress 2, has necessitated a PC-only release. That hasn't stopped Bleszinski and friends from saying that a release on next-gen systems like PS4 and Xbox 720 is not out of the question.
- Watch: Unreal Engine 4 video demo
One question that lingers in our minds: since Fortnite is meant to be a living, evolving title with continual updates, who will be steering the ship now that Bleszinski is gone? And how much notice did Epic Games have regarding his departure?
Diablo 3 for consoles
Fortnite isn't the only game with a console release that we're curious about. Attentive viewers to Sony's PlayStation 4 broadcast will remember a mention of PAX East when Blizzard's story and franchise man Chris Metzen took the stage.
Metzen dropped the bombshell that hellacious action-RPG Diablo III will be making the leap to PlayStation 3 and PS4. He also said the first playable version would be unveiled at PAX East.
Obviously, this will be the PS3 version being demoed, since the PS4 has yet to actually be revealed, but perhaps Blizzard will talk more about this leap to the console space? Will the sinfully addictive Diablo will be coming to Xbox 720 or maybe even the Wii U, as well as Sony's new system? One can only hope.
A musical mashup
PAX shows always feature plenty of musical acts regaling the crowds with songs of geekery, and PAX East 2013 will be no different. So far the announced lineup includes VGO, Those Who Fight, Protomen, Sam Hart, MC Frontalot, Jonathan Coulton and Paul and Storm.
Among those names Jonathan Coulton is likely the most famous. Until recently, he was known mainly as the man behind hilarious and pathos-filled songs at the end of Portal and Portal 2. Now, Coulton has been in the spotlight as the man who may have been ripped off by Glee.
Recently, Coulton was all over the entertainment newswires when he accused the Fox hit Glee of knocking off his acoustic cover of Sir-Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back." Coulton and Glee's arrangements are indeed very similar, and singer-songwriter is still investigating legal avenues for the situation.
Singing comedy duo Paul and Storm have had a recent uptick of fame as well, thanks to a viral video of their tune "Write Like the Wind (George R. R. Martin)." Martin is the author of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, which has been adapted by HBO as the wildly popular A Game of Thrones. Their song mocks Martin's notoriously drawn-out writing process, imploring him to hurry up and finish the series before he or his fans expire.
The question is, will these entertainers be playing the (in Coulton's case controversial) hits? Or will they have new music to debut for the gaming-friendly crowd?
The parties
Updated: Events are filling up! Some of these shows have sold out and are marked as such.
When it comes to parties, PAX goers know how to throw down. There are always a ton of nightlife events hosted by different companies and organizations where attendees can mingle.
