EA Play E3 2018: Anthem, Battlefield 5, Jedi Fallen Order, more - all news here
EA Play 2018 kicked off the biggest show off the year this evening. All the news out of it and the stream replay is right here.
EA was first out of the gate this year, giving it a jump on everyone else with the usual mix of shooters, sports, smaller titles, and information on its Origin service.
Bioware discussed its latest, Anthem, and showed off some gameplay with new footage, an in-depth look at combat, and a bit of information on the Javelin class’ exosuit powers.
Gameplay was described as "single player and shared world", but Bioware was quick to point out Anthem is not an MMO.
There will be cosmetic boxes, but no pay to win loot boxes. In other words, no monetization schemes.
We checked out an extended Anthem Demo at EA Play beyond what was at the conference - and found it owed a fair bit to Mass Effect's multiplayer mode as well as to other co-op RPG shooters like Destiny.
We'll have more on Anthem as it comes. It's out on February 22, 2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
DICE took the E3 Play 2018 stage to show a rather quick look at Battlefield 5 multiplayer. The company called the game the "deepest and most immersive" entry in the series to-date.
The studio reiterated the destruction system is back, touched again upon customization of characters and vehicles, and the lack of loot boxes and premium passes. It also provided more information on Grand Operations, and some new and returning multiplayer modes.
After the EA Play live stream was over, Matt went hands-on with Battlefield 5's new Grand Operations co-operative mode.
DICE also confirmed Battle Royale for Battlefield 5, but said it would discuss it later this year.
Single-player, also known as War Stories, will be shown and discussed tomorrow during the Xbox E3 briefing.
Respawn Entertainment teased its Star Wars game today during EA Play 2018 at E3. Respawn boss Vince Zampella announced the name of the studio’s Star Wars title. It’s called Jedi: Fallen Order.
According to Zampella, the game takes place place during the “dark times” where the Jedi are being hunted. Timeline wise, it takes place between episodes Star Wars episode 3 and episode 4. It's out during holiday 2019.
A first look at FIFA 19 and NBA Live 19 were shown along with annual football title, Madden 19 - which is coming to PC. Upcoming DLC for Star Wars Battlefront 2 was briefly discussed, and it is Clone Wars-based.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson announced “new tier” of its Origin Access PC gaming membership. Called Origin Access Premier, subscribers can play full games such as Battlefield 5, FIFA 19, Madden NFL 19, and Anthem before launch. Not trials, full games. Subscribers can play over 100 PC titles whenever they like as long as a Premier member is maintained.
The service will go live this summer.
Zero news regarding the Assassin’s Creed-style “action project” at EA Motive expected in 2020 was provided, and we heard nada on the “revamped” Star Wars title from now defunct Visceral Games. Maybe its creative director Amy Hennig will discuss it during the E3 Colosseum program.
Other than the obvious triple-A reveals, the new title from EA Originals , Sea of Solitude, was detailed. EA Originals picked up the title in 2016 as part of the publisher’s Originals label that aims to help small studios get their games out into the world. It's out in early 2019
Unravel 2, which was been in development since the first title's release, is out today.
A new mobile title was announced, and its Command & Conquer: Rivals. No, you're not reading that wrong. The mobile RTS will feature 1v1 real-time matches with rival commanders in the War for Tiberium.
Starting today, Android players can pre-register on Google Play to be notified when the game will be available worldwide. By pre-registering, Android players in US and Canada may also be invited to the Command & Conquer: Rivals pre-alpha. iOS can also pre-register.
E3 2018 doesn’t technically start until Monday, June 11, but the past few years, many publishers have opted to host separate presentations ahead of the conference.
It’s a busy show, and things tend to get lost in all of the noise after all. Tomorrow, June 10, Microsoft and Bethesda will host off-site presentations.
On Monday, we’ll find out what Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Sony have in store. Nintendo will follow with its own pre-recorded Nintendo Direct on Tuesday, June 12.
Be sure to look over our handy E3 2018 conference page to find out start times, how to watch and everything else you need to know.