Bethesda E3 Crowd

Audience plants in general are annoying. There’s polite applause and then there’s loud cheering for mundane announcements, which gets old quick. But Bethesda’s crowd took it to a whole other level, yelling and screaming after almost every sentence. It was a small contingent, for sure, but you just know that they had mics next to them to drown out any potential boos. Shout out to that one guy who cheered after every sentence. You earned your paycheck for sure.

Along with FIFA 20, Madden NFL 20 is one of the bigger releases for Electronic Arts this year. Several new features like the Scenario Engine for dynamic challenges, X-Factor abilities, and more are coming this year. Perhaps the most significant new addition is the campaign, Face of the Franchise: QB1.

Much like last year’s Longshot, players will create a character, pursue a career into the NFL, partake in the draft process, and so on. The Pro Bowl is also making a return with Madden NFL 20. On top of this, there’s a new RPO play-style for Quarterbacks and more than 200 RPO plays overall.

As for the X-Factor abilities, they’re essentially talents for each player. Alvin Kamara of the Saints can make sharper cuts, while the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes has Bazooka Zone for a 15 yard increase on maximum pass distance. The best players even have their own custom animations to better capture their character on the field.

Madden NFL 20 is out on August 2nd for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, with a closed beta taking place on June 14th to June 16th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMjoohwe1OQ

Among the many leaks that took place today was The Sims 4: Island Living, a new expansion for the 2014 title. It’s since been revealed at EA Play 2019 and has players heading to the island of Sulani for all kinds of rest and relaxation. Did we mention you can live next to an active volcano, meet Elementals, and create mermaids?

Along with new items and new hair-styles, there will also be new clothing, Sims being able to go into the open water, and much more. Sims can become friends with aquatic life like Dolphins. Tropical Fish and the Coral Reefs surrounding the island also help liven up the surroundings.

And yes, there are jet-skis you can ride on the water. You can also have your Sims care for the ecosystem and clean up the island. New careers like fishing, lifeguard, dive instructor, and much more will be available. The Sims 4: Island Living will release on June 21st for PC and July 16th for Xbox One and PS4.

Electronic Arts already revealed the new VOLTA mode coming to FIFA 20 this year. It allows players to customize their own avatars and face off against others across the world in street football. At EA Play 2019, the developer offered more details on what’s new with the gameplay.

The Football Intelligence system is the first and allows for more realism in matches. There’s a better game flow as well, allowing players to be more aware of their positioning and space while playing. There’s also Set Piece Refresh, Controlled Tackling, and Composed Finishing for offering more control.

If that weren’t enough, Ball Physics will provide more believable interactions and new shot trajectories. FIFA 20 is out on September 27th for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, with FIFA 20 Legacy Edition coming to the Nintendo Switch. Pre-ordering the Ultimate Edition will provide access to VOLTA mode three days before the full launch. Stay tuned for more details from EA Play 2019.

DICE was on hand at EA Play to showcase new content coming to Battlefield 5. The first person shooter will be receiving new multiplayer maps like Al Sundan and Marita, the former releasing on June 27th and the latter in July. However, we also saw some footage for Marita. Check it out below.

Other maps are coming with Chapter 4 – Defying The Odds in August. Operation Underground, inspired by Operation Metro from Battlefield 3, will be releasing in October. Before that, Private Games will be coming in September, allowing players to host games with the choice of who to invite.

If that weren’t enough, Chapter 5 will be coming in Fall 2019 and will head to the Pacific Theater. There will be a map based on Iwojima with new amphibious vehicles, the M1 Garand, and the historic conflict between the United States Army and Japanese forces. More information and reveals will be coming from EA Play 2019, so stay tuned.

After unveiling gameplay for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Respawn Entertainment showcased what’s coming next to Apex Legends. We already heard about improvements coming to the next Battle Pass, but now we get to see the newest weapon and Legend coming in Season 2: Battle Charge.

Titanfall 2’s energy LMG L-STAR is coming to Apex Legends and looks pretty potent. It’ll be a care package weapon due to its power and doesn’t use the same ammo as other weapons. Furthermore, it’s capable of shooting down doors.

The tenth Legend coming to the game is Wattson. She’s a more defensive-minded character that’s capable of deploying electric fences with up to 12 nodes that can be placed. Described as the “smartest woman in the Frontier,” it was actually Wattson and her father who built the ring around the game’s arena.

Season 2 goes live on July 2nd, but currently, the Legendary Hunt limited time event is going on with the Elite Queue for top 500 players. There’s a Double XP weekend also going on, allowing players to earn more rewards at a quicker rate. Don’t worry about the Elite Queue going away after the event – Ranked Mode is also coming to Apex Legends in the future. Stay tuned for more news from EA Play.

Electronic Arts returns to Los Angeles this year with EA Play 2019, a special pre-E3 event where it showcases its upcoming releases. There’s no stage event this year, but there will be a series of livestreams. Check out the YouTube stream below to see all the announcements as they happen – it starts at 9 AM PDT.

From there, it’s a countdown to the actual series of livestreams at 9:15 AM PDT. At 9:30 AM PDT, you can expect to see the gameplay reveal of Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. As a single player-focused title set between Star Wars Episode 3 and 4, the main crux will be the combat and exploration.

At 10 AM PDT, we’ll hear more about Apex Legends and its second season of content. Battlefield 5 is on at 10:30 AM PDT with more information on upcoming content. Expect to see more information on EA Sports FIFA 20 (with FIFA 20’s VOLTA mode recently being revealed) and EA Sports Madden NFL as well. Finally, the show ends with The Sims 4 at 12 PM PDT, with the new expansion, Island Living, likely to be revealed (check out its leak here).

It seemed likely that Electronic Arts would announce a new expansion for Maxis’s The Sims 4 during its EA Play livestreams. Sure enough, The Sims community forum user Jovan Jovic discovered a product page for The Sims 4: Island Living on Origin. Though it was brief and immediately redirected to a 404 page, assets and screenshots for the expansion were available in Google’s Inspect Elements section.

If that weren’t enough, Origin also leaked its description for the expansion. Though the link has since gone down, you can check it out below. Rumours about Island Living first started circulating a few days ago when Nordic retailer PanVision revealed the title and its release date. It’s expected to release on June 21st.

The Sims 4 has been very successful for Electronic Arts and seen numerous expansions and free updates released since 2014. Interestingly, the publisher said that we’d see 20 new content drops and expansions for the game in this year. Could there be free content to go with Island Living, and perhaps a peek at future content at EA Play? Stay tuned in the meantime – EA Play’s livestreams kick off at 9 AM PDT today.

• Sit Back and Relax

Welcome to Sulani, where the sun shines bright and the nights are totally chill. Set sail on the glistening water in your island canoe, swim to your heart’s content, and explore the scenery on a watercraft. Build a spectacular sand castle, catch some rays, and even meet a mermaid!

• Pitch In or Help Out

Become a conservationist, clean up the beaches, and watch your Sims’ impact bloom all over the island. Take to the waves in a fishing or diving career or become a lifeguard to keep the locals safe under the sun. No career? No problem! Sims can do a few odd jobs or fish for their next meal.

• Engage in Local Culture

Tradition runs deep on Sulani, and your Sims get to experience everything it has to offer. Immerse Sims in their newfound lifestyle by attending a pit barbecue event, learning about local folklore, tasting tropical delicacies, and chatting with ancestors from the island.

• Rock the Island Vibes

Dress Sims in tropical garb inspired by sun, sand, and waves. Or, gear up for water activities like snorkeling and swimming. Decorate a rustic oasis with home objects and unwind at the tiki bar. Everything is chill (except for the occasional sunburn) when it’s Island Living.

DICE’s support for Battlefield 5 continues with Tides of War – Chapter 4: Defying the Odds. Starting from June 27th, players will receive a whopping four new multiplayer maps, two of which support 64 players. Check out the trailer below for how they look.

The first map is based on the “Under No Flag” War Story from the campaign and is called Al Sundan. It places a focus on vehicles and great distances, which should offer up enough sight-lines for long-range combat. The second map is Marita, which is set in Greece like the recent Mercury map. Infantry fighting is the focus here.

In August, two more maps – Provence and Lofoten – will release and also provide hefty amounts of infantry combat. Operation Underground will be out sometime in October as an interval between Chapter 4 and 5, providing a map inspired by Battlefield 3’s Operation Metro.

More information on future content will be provided on June 8th at the EA Play event. Battlefield 5 will be showcased at 10:30 AM PT, so stay tuned for more details.

Electronic Arts has had quite the year already, what with the rough release of Anthem and Battlefield 5 under-performing. It also announced no press conference for EA Play, opting for an event with livestreams and gameplay instead. It consolidated all of its livestreams to June 8th, and has now revealed its somewhat bare-bones schedule for the day.

Starting at 9:30 AM PST, we have the gameplay reveal of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. After that, we can expect Apex Legends (likely new details on Season 2), Battlefield 5, EA Sports FIFA, EA Sports Madden NFL, and The Sims 4 (which has 20 content drops and expansions planned for this year).

EA has already confirmed that the new Need for Speed won’t be at the event. But looking at this livestream schedule seems to indicate that the next Plants vs. Zombies won’t be revealed either. Could we see trailers for new titles released on June 9th, EA Play’s second day? Time will tell. Check out the full schedule with PST timings below:

• 9:15 am: Countdown to EA PLAY
• 9:30 am: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Hosted by online personalities Greg Miller and Andrea Rene)
• 10:00 am: Apex Legends (Hosted by commentator Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez)
• 10:30 am: Battlefield 5 (Hosted by online personality Julia Hardy and EA’s Adam Freeman)
• 11:00 am: EA SPORTS FIFA (Hosted by Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez)
• 11:30 am: EA SPORTS Madden NFL (Hosted by NFL Network’s Adam Rank)
• 12:00 pm: The Sims 4 (Hosted by Andrea Rene)