EA Play Returns For A Second Year Running, Publisher Skipping E3 Once More

Whatever its reasons are for doing so, EA has decided to once again skip E3 this year, preferring instead to continue showing off its new games as part of a near-concurrent event dubbed EA Play. Scheduled to take place from June 10-12, this year’s iteration of the exhibition will be held at the Palladium in Hollywood, California rather than the Club Nokia venue used in 2016. As was the case last time, the entirety of EA Play will be streamed live to the public through the usual channels which, the publisher says, promises to provide (via Polygon) “deeper looks into EA’s upcoming games and experiences.”

So, what exactly can we expect to see shown off over the event’s three-day duration? There is, of course, the obvious dedication to EA’s vast library of sports titles that will no doubt take up a chunk of the new announcements (new FIFA and Madden games are almost a given), but on the other end of the spectrum, we could well be getting a Star Wars-centric showing this year. We already know that Star Wars Battlefront 2 is slated for release at the tail end of this year, but let’s not forget Visceral Games’ own take on the sci-fi universe, which is supposedly taking cues from Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series and the ill-fated Star Wars 1313.

As for brand new, unannounced projects, 2017 could well be the year that EA decides to unveil the latest entry in the Dragon Age saga. Perhaps unlikely, considering BioWare is only now coming to the end of development on Mass Effect: Andromeda, but certainly not impossible. Expect more details – including a schedule and ticket availability – to come forth over the next few months. If you want to be the first to be notified of such things, you can sign up to the EA Play newsletter here.