23 Jul, 2021
0The online-only EA Play 2021 event showcased a number of upcoming games by developers under the Electronic Arts umbrella. The broadcast played for an hour and a half, hosted by Austin Creed from the WWE. After the pre-show toward the beginning of the broadcast, the reveals steadily trickled out. We got to see new trailers for Battlefield, Apex Legends, and Knockout City, along with a special surprise toward the end.
Battlefield 2042
Battlefield returns with all-out warfare in Battlefield 2042 set in the near-future. Maps will have dynamic storms and environmental hazards, and Battlefield’s unique take on destruction during gameplay. The maps will support up to 128 players on PC and current-gen consoles, while players on last-gen consoles will be limited to 64 players. The new Battlefield Portal allows players to create and share their own tailor-made maps for others to enjoy. Today’s EA Play stream shows off just what you can do with the Battlefield Portal, where you can replay reimagined scenes from Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3. You can pre-order the game here for early access to the open beta.
Battlefield 2042 releases October 22, 2021 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Apex Legends: Emergence
The free-to-play shooter Apex Legends also got the spotlight at EA Play. Respawn and EA teased the launch of Apex Legends: Emergence, featuring a new Legend named Seer, a map update to World’s Edge, a new weapon from Rampart, the Rampage LMG, and ranked matches in Arenas and Battle Royale. Players can expect an Emergence Battle Pass with new limited skins, and challenges to complete in order to earn more rewards. The Emergence Pack contains a limited skin for Seer, along with 600 Apex Coins, releasing August 12 following the full Emergence launch. The end of the launch trailer teases more reveals to come on July 26.
Apex Legends: Emergence launches August 3, 2021.
Knockout City Season 2 – Fight at the Movies
Velan Studios has a new update for Knockout City, the action-packed dodgeball multiplayer game. Season 1 of Knockout City is currently drawing to a close. Season 2 is just around the corner with Fight at the Movies, featuring a new map, a new play mode, and more. The Holowood Drive-in map changes in real-time, showcasing scenes from movies while you battle it out against other players. The new Soda Ball covers other players’ screens with sticky soda when you hit them. League Play offers new rewards, cosmetics, and Playlists. The Crew Vehicle lets you arrive to matches in a brand new stretch limousine. Players can also look forward to new weekly Crew Contracts.
Knockout City Season 2 – Fight at the Movies launches July 27, 2021.
Dead Space Remake
Following the revival of the Mass Effect trilogy from BioWare, EA hopes to bring back another beloved series. The sci-fi survival horror Dead Space got a teaser trailer toward the end of the EA Play broadcast. Motive Studios has rebuilt the game from the ground-up in the Frostbite game engine, aiming for visual enhancements and gameplay improvements over the original. The remake will be available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. We don’t yet have a launch window for the game, though this trailer only features game engine footage, which is highly subject to change in the future.
Finally, the EA Play broadcast showed a few snippets of Madden, FIFA, and F1. EA largely kept the focus on Battlefield, Apex Legends, Knockout City, and the Dead Space remake. After skipping E3 this year along with Sony, EA saved these reveals for their own event instead.
