Tech giant Microsoft has kick-started Electronic Entertainment Expo 2019 (E3 2019) with a bang by making a number of the stunning announcements. With tech giant Sony absent from the event, a report by The Verge said that it was Microsoft that took the lead.

Here are some of the key announcements made by the US tech giant during the event:

Project Scarlett:

The next version of the Xbox is all set to arrive in the hands of gaming enthusiasts by next year. The tech giant not only unveiled ‘project Scarlett’ but also gave a glimpse of what to expect from the next version including 8K gaming support and frame rates of 120fps.

xCloud: Another announcement that grabbed headlines was the news regarding the launch of gaming service xCloud. The tech giant announced that it will go into preview in October and allow users to stream games directly from their own Xbox consoles, instead of Microsoft's servers.

Halo Infinite and Gears 5: In addition to the announcement of the launch of the new Xbox version, it was revealed that Halo Infinite and Gears 5 will be available to gamers from September 10.

Microsoft Flight Simulator to make a comeback: The iconic PC game that had thrilled a generation of gamers is all set to return. Microsoft, the report said, is launching a new take on the classic game next year with more realistic settings.

Other key announcements: In addition, other popular games such as Phantasy Star Online 2 and RPG Minecraft Dungeons will be released next year. However, the more eye-grabbing announcement was the fact that Keanu Reeves will be starring in Cyberpunk 2077 that is set to release next year.

Further, it was revealed that horror flick Blair Witch is being turned into a video game.