Electronic Arts kicked off E3 with their EA Play event, showing off new gameplay for Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1 and many of their sports titles. We also got a behind-the-scenes look at the games they have in development like Mass Effect: Andromeda and a big lineup of Star Wars games by many EA studios. The CEO of EA, Andrew Wilson hosted the EA Play event in LA, with Peter Moore co-hosting at their EA event in London.
Titanfall 2
Things quickly moved on as they introduced Vince Zampella from Respawn Entertainment to showcase multiplayer and single player gameplay for Titanfall 2. Much more chaotic than the first, the game will include more player customisability, a single player campaign; and new weapons, gadgets and abilities for both the pilot and Titans. Titanfall 2 will have a multiplayer beta later this year, and releases October 28th, on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. For more information on Titanfall 2, we covered it here.
SPORTS! SPORTS! SPORTS!
Of course there was going to be a chunk of the event dedicated to sports games but luckily it wasn’t as bad as last year’s snoozefest. EA wasn’t afraid to go in lengths to talk about the growing competitive scene, their love for FIFA (with a man giving a passionate monologue about his journey for greatness…umm), banter with Manchester United’s manager and showcase ‘new features’. Madden 17 releases August 23rd, FIFA 17 releases September 27th
Mass Effect: Andromeda
BioWare will be revealing more information on Mass Effect: Andromeda later this year, but at the EA Play event, they gave us a glimpse of what they have been working on. Taking place in a brand new galaxy, Mass Effect: Andromeda is the start of a new adventure, taking players to new planets, encountering new species, characters and technology, and overcoming new challenges. The game is set to release early 2017. For more information on Mass Effect: Andromeda, we covered it here.
EA Originals: Fe
With the success of Unravel, EA have announced a new program to support indie game development, called EA Originals. They are looking to support small developers and their unique and innovative ideas; and provide funding for development, marketing and publishing. With this announcement they debuted their first EA Original game, by Swedish developers Zoink Games, titled Fe. Fe is an exploration adventure game where you control a young cub, that uses music and sound to connect with creatures and the forest environment. More information on EA Originals can be read here.
Star Wars
There are a handful of Star Wars games in development from different EA studios ranging from first-person and third-person experiences, virtual reality and mobile games. Visceral Games are creating an action adventure Star Wars game, an original story with new characters, set to release in 2018. Respawn Entertainment, the developers of Titanfall, are working on a third-person action adventure Star Wars game; and DICE in collaboration with Motive Studios and Criterion are working on the next instalment of Star Wars: Battlefront – which is said to include content from the new films.
Battlefield 1
EA closed the event with some Battlefield 1 gameplay, showing the weapons, vehicles and technology you will get to use during the campaign and multiplayer. DICE looks to bring more dynamics to the gameplay, making buildings more destructible – they showed an airship getting destroyed and changing the shape of the battlefield, introducing dynamic weather systems that can affect snipers and pilots, and other new improvements to infantry and vehicle warfare. After the conference, they went straight to a 64-player Battlefield 1 match consisting of internet personalities and celebrities including Terry Crews, Snoop Dogg, Zac Efron and Jamie Foxx….wow. Battlefield 1 releases October 21, on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. (with Titanfall 2 releasing one week after)
There is a lot to look forward to from EA. With new Star Wars games in development, two FPS experiences releasing this holiday, and worlds to discover and adventure like Mass Effect: Andromeda and Fe. We’ll be covering news from E3, so be sure to check out all our coverage here on TechGeek and Twitter