Electronic Arts is postponing its EA Play Live event by one week. The company made the announcement on social media along with a message in support of the ongoing protests against racial inequality.
EA Play Live 2020 will now take place on June 18th at 4pm PT. In lieu of an event in Los Angeles where attendees could get hands-on time with its upcoming games, Electronic Arts announced a fully livestreamed event that will act almost exactly as its usual E3 press conference. EA is just one of a number of companies to have had to shift its plans in light of the ongoing global pandemic.
The delay for EA Play Live is meant to show support to the movements focused on correcting racial inequality within the United States. It also follows a statement from EA CEO Andrew Wilson that showed support for standing up to racial injustice and a donation of $1 Million to organizations seeking to better the lives of African Americans.
Numerous events, like Sony’s PS5 gameplay stream and the Cyberpunk 2077 Night Wire presentation, have been delayed in order to keep the attention on the movement and nothing else. EA even delayed plans to showcase Madden NFL 21 earlier in the week, but this is a much larger event to postpone. EA had yet to announce what gamers could expect at the event, but there are enough in-development and rumored projects to fill a lengthy time slot.
Battlefield 6 is definitely in the works but there are some questions about when the game will be ready and if it is better to wait for next-gen to fully launch. Dragon Age 4 has been announced but there have been claims of rocky development at BioWare. And with EA still in control of the Star Wars IP, there is always the possibility the company will announce new games in the property.
Since splitting off from E3 proper, EA has found a place to capture a similar atmosphere with a wider scope through EA Play. The event starts before the E3 show floor actually opens and allows anyone to attend. Past EA Play events have included developer presentations, hands-on booths for upcoming games, and smaller activities themed around EA properties.
In many respects, EA Play Live 2020 is going to be the first taste of an E3-level event that takes place since E3 2020 was canceled. The pandemic had already forced numerous developers to shift plans and design new ways to reach their fans, but it might also be the first shift towards a new approach to game reveals that don’t exist around single events.
Source: EA