EA Play Live 2020 Recap: Here’s What You Missed

EA seems to be learning some lessons, as its 2020 EA Play Live showed off games without microtransactions, indies, and the revival of Skate.

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While marinating in a bed of hot water for many, many years, Electronic Arts has consistently attempted to revamp and restyle their image in the eye of consumers. The tainted release of Battlefront II, later compounded with the controversy surrounding Battlefield V’s debut, not to mention numerous other mishandled issues, has had devastating effects on the way EA is viewed, translated best in deteriorating sales numbers for some games and dwindling interest in others.

Still, EA has remained in the positive this fiscal year, with net bookings averaging $4.052 billion and much more to come on the horizon. This culminated in a tantalizing EA Play Live 2020 event, a staggering lineup of future titles, indie-hits, next-gen workings, and collaborations will seemingly breathe new life into an otherwise distrusted publisher.

Upcoming Projects & Collabs

The main attraction of EA’s Play Live 2020 event may have been their highly anticipated gameplay reveal of Star Wars: Squadrons, but it wasn’t the only showstopper. To kick off the event, Respawn invited immense hype with the reveal of crossplay and a Switch port for Apex Legends. While the title’s Season 5: Fortune’s Favor has made one mighty explosion, on par with Bangalore’s rolling thunder, their newest adventure into Lost Treasures will boast all-new forms of exploration and game modes, not to mention a ton of ancient cosmetics.

New ways of experiencing EA titles were also introduced during the show in the form of a Steam collaboration. From Sims 4 and Titanfall 2 to Dead Space 3 and even Apex Legends, PC players with a penchant for Steam will now be able to enjoy all of their favorite EA games without the necessity of Origin.

New EA Originals

Following one epic and bombastic EA Originals animated intro, which showcased three studios with powerful words from their creators, a trio of independent game reveals took hold of the audience. First to the plate was co-op focused Hazelight and their It Takes Two, which debuts in 2021. Known for A Way Out and Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons, Hazelight has evolved into a couch cooperative gameplay developer under the guidance of studio founder and storytelling mastermind Josef Fares. Their next project will most assuredly shine as bright as their last installments, so grab a reliable friend and prepare for an out-of-body experience unlike any other.

Following the reveal of It Takes Two was the lovely-looking adventure game by Zoink! called Lost in Random. Blending Alice in Wonderland with the aesthetic of Tim Burton, the upcoming EA original harkens on adventure and exploration with players taking control of Even. Aided in her quest to thwart the deterministic future of all Random citizens with her trusty sidekick, Dicey, Even must come to grips with the power of chaos before it destroys her and her world. Last among the EA Originals reveals was the Overwatch-inspired RPG third-person shooter called Rocket Arena, which sees players tackling 3v3 battles with nothing but specialized rocket-propelled weaponry. Final Strike Games appeared not only excited but breathless in the anticipation of their game’s July 14th release.

Next-Level Sports

There’s little surprise in the announcement of multiple upcoming EA Sports titles, main among them being Madden and FIFA 21. The latter franchise has slowly burned out in popularity, with well-known content creators calling FIFA 20 “the worst FIFA title in history.” The frightening news of FIFA 21’s PC port being a mere shadow of its console iterations is a twisted ankle for the franchise’s beloved fanbase, a small portion of which has already turned to Pro Evolution Soccer instead.

The former isn’t any better off, either, with Madden 20 generating little to no love from reviews, highlighted best by Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jarrard saying, “Madden NFL 20 cements the series as the worst major sports video game series available, by no small margin.” Clearly, EA Sports will have to work extra hard in delivering these so-called next-tier sports titles, with little but a few small snippets shown off in a montage among the EA Play Live event.

Next-Gen Secrets

At the very climax of the show, EA Chief Studios Officer Laura Miele discusses what is going on behind the scenes in terms of next-gen properties. As she divulges, in extreme subtlety, on the future of development and the potential of EA’s forthcoming lineup, teases in the form of stills and pre-development reels play in the background, highlighting works in progress under such devs as Motive, BioWare, DICE, and Criterion. What exactly they might be and look like in their final stage remains an absolute mystery, but it’s clear EA has its sights on the near-future with next-gen potentialities like Dragon Age 4, Battlefield 6, Criterion’s secret racing game, and Motive’s Dreams-like experience, which Miele explained as simply a “new game that puts the power and creativity in your hands.”

Given that it was last to be shown and little if anything is known about it, Skate 4 may well be among these other secret next-gen projects – that is, if it’s even being called “Skate 4.” The anticipation for an all-new Skate outing is palpable both on and offline, but above all, it’s obvious EA has some major goodies cooking for every form of gamer. The EA Play Live event may have been a short 1-hour show, but their apparent dedication to delivering future worthwhile experiences and adapting their shady business practices can be felt tremendously.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/ea-play-live-2020-recap-apex-legends-star-wars-skate/