Electronic Arts have announced that its annual EA Play Live showcase will return this year as a digital event, in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. EA Play Live will be held on Thursday, 11 June.
EA Play Live goes digital in 2020!
See you on June 11th at 4pm PST… World premieres, news and more! https://t.co/ShTNzjqJ3D pic.twitter.com/xqmYfGBWfs— Electronic Arts #stayandplay (@EA) May 4, 2020
EA first launched EA Play in 2016 as an E3-adjacent event where the publisher could spread out – both in terms of physical and calendar space – to show off its own games. With E3 2020 canceled completely due to the COVID-19 crisis, EA is shifting its plans as well and launching this digital show. The Summer Game Fest, a new seasonal meta-event organized by The Game Awards’ Geoff Keighley, confirmed that EA Play Live will be part of its umbrella of industry happenings.
The company is working on a number of high-profile games right now, all of which could be enhanced for next-gen consoles.EA’s list of confirmed titles for 2020 includes the usual slate of sports games, including FIFA 21, Madden NFL 21, and NHL 21. EA plans to ship 8 major AAA games between 2020 and 2021: four sports games, and four “other titles that draw from the breadth of our IP.”
EA’s official Twitter account shared that, the showcase will stream on EA.com. While EA’s previous Play events have been known to stretch for multiple days – taking place around the same time as E3 – this year’s Play Live appears to only span a single day. A full official schedule for this year’s event can be expected in the coming weeks.