EA Play Live, EA’s annual showcase for revealing new games as well as updates for existing titles like Apex Legends, isn’t happening this year.
“We love EA Play Live as it’s our way of connecting with our players and sharing what’s new with all of you,” EA said in a statement shared with IGN. “However, this year things aren’t lining up to show you everything on one date. We have exciting things happening at our world-class studios and this year we’ll reveal much more about these projects when the time is right for each of them. We look forward to spending time with you throughout the year!”
It’s yet another blow to what was typically a summer season filled with gaming news and announcements, at a time when in-person gatherings and events finally look to be making a comeback. E3 will not return in-person this year, with plans for an online version of the event still unclear. Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest will return this summer. Gamescom will also return as an in-person and online hybrid event this year in August.
Prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the publisher has hosted an EA Play Live event every summer starting in 2016. In addition to including announcements about new games and updates for existing ones, EA Play also allowed fans to attend in-person and go hands-on with new EA games. Prior to 2016, EA held a traditional press conference at E3 for its upcoming game announcements. The last two EA Play events have been livestream-only due to the ongoing pandemic.
EA has multiple new projects in the works, including a Dead Space remake and multiple new Star Wars projects.
Update March 15: The text and headline of this article originally stated EA Play Live 2022 was cancelled. The article has been updated to reflect that this is not the case–the event had not been officially announced, so it technically couldn’t be cancelled.
