One person is all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat it's ever faced. BioWare, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. today revealed that the Mass Effect Legendary Edition will launch May 14 worldwide on PC via Origin and Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with forward compatibility on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition features the single-player base content and 40+ downloadable content (DLC) story, weapons and armor packs from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 and will allow players to relive the legend of Commander Shepard in 4K Ultra HD with HDR.

"It's been an incredible journey revisiting the stories, characters and iconic moments of the Mass Effect trilogy, enhancing the experience for modern platforms while staying true to the spirit of the original," said Mac Walters, Project Director on the Mass Effect Legendary Edition and lead writer of the original trilogy at BioWare. "Remastering a game, let alone three, is a huge undertaking as there's over 100 hours of gameplay included, but we wanted to do this for our fans as well as a new generation of gamers looking to jump into the iconic story of Shepard."

Microsoft has recently announced that the introduction of EA Play on PC to Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has been delayed until 2021. EA Play is the subscription service that gives you access to a large catalog of EA's games along with other benefits such as early access to new games and discounts on other EA games and DLC. Microsoft has stated that this delay is required so that they can fully integrate EA Play into Xbox Game Pass and deliver a more complete experience for their users. Microsoft will update us on the exact timeline for EA Play on PC early next year.

MicrosoftWe established this partnership with Electronic Arts because they are as passionate as we are about helping people and communities discover great games, and we knew we could provide a great experience for members by working together. In order to deliver on that, we need more time to provide the Xbox Game Pass experience.

Electronic Arts has reportedly expressed interest in taking over UK-based game developer Codemasters, the studio behind the official Formula One-licensed F1 series; DiRT series, and other hit motorsports franchises. EA comes from the legacy of Need for Speed, and is possibly eyeing the prestige of the F1 license that comes with Codemasters, besides the studios innovations and expertise with race simulation. In doing so, EA has gatecrashed the £725 million take-over bid by Take-Two Interactive, announced in November 2020. EA will reportedly formalize and disclose its competing bid for Codemasters later today (December 14, 2020), which is naturally expected to be higher than that of Take-Two.

UPDATE: EA really swung out of the gates with a baton made of stylishly compacted bills, and took the prize home. The company has announced it has reached an agreement with Codemasters' Board of Directors to purchase the company for $1.2 billion.

Electronic Arts Inc. is taking The World's Game to the Next Level with today's unveil of EA SPORTS FIFA 21 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, launching December 4. The power of new generation consoles combined with advances in the Frostbite engine enables players to experience lightning fast load times and enhanced sights, sounds, and player movement, in addition to ultra-realistic football environments that immerse fans in the most authentic matchday experience in EA SPORTS FIFA franchise history.

The sights and sounds of FIFA 21 are reimagined for next generation consoles, with the brand new EA SPORTS GameCam inspired by the look and feel of top-level football broadcasts and LiveLight Rendering, a deferred lighting system that enhances every aspect of the on-pitch experience. Thousands of authentic chants captured exclusively from the world's biggest competitions, including the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga, deliver the ultimate EA SPORTS Atmospheric Audio experience, unparalleled in sports video games.

Electronic Arts have recently confirmed that Apex Legends will be coming to Steam when Season 7 launches on November 4, 2020. Players with existing progression and unlocks can transfer their progress from Origin to Steam and vice versa. The game will still require an EA account to play even if launched through Steam. EA also announced that the Nintendo Switch version has been delayed to 2021 but will include full feature parity and cross-play support with existing platforms.

Respawn Entertainment, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), and Oculus from Facebook today announced during Facebook Connect that the highly-anticipated upcoming Virtual Reality (VR) title, Medal of Honor : Above and Beyond will release on December 11, 2020, worldwide. This new innovative and immersive title blends films and games into one, and will be available on the Oculus Store for Oculus Rift and Steam with OpenVR support and cross-platform play.

"The Medal of Honor franchise has always been a powerful series that tells the untold stories of war heroes, and from the beginning of this series in 1999, our goal has been to create grounded and emotionally authentic games that are true to the experiences of people that fought and lived through it," said Peter Hirschmann, Director, Respawn Entertainment. "We're honored to share these moving first-hand stories from survivors and veterans of WWII and deliver an immersive VR gameplay experience that provides high-flying action and emotional, intimate storytelling in equal measure."

EA has recently added Steam achievements to a number of their games on the platform after popular demand. EA has enabled over 1000 Steam achievements for a large number of recently released games including Battlefield V, Titanfall 2, and Need for Speed Heat. These Steam achievements will be awarded retroactively to gamers who have already complete the achievement on Origin or in-game. The full list of games that have received achievements on Steam can be viewed below.

Electronic Arts are simplifying their EA Access and Origin Access services into a single service under the name EA Play while Origin Access Premier becomes EA Play Pro. The rebranded EA Play will continue to provide gamers with access to a library of top titles, early game trials, and 10% game discounts that the previous services offered just under a fresh new look.

This move comes as EA continues to expand the program with the offering set to arrive on Steam, August 18th to coincide with the rebrand. The new EA Play service will also be rebranded on existing platforms including the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Origin client. EA's annual live event previously EA Play will become EA Play Live and continue to be the place for the latest EA news and game updates.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced preliminary financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2020. "This was an extraordinary quarter, and we're deeply proud of everything our teams at Electronic Arts are doing for our players and communities," said CEO Andrew Wilson. "We launched new games, deeply engaged players in our live services, and welcomed tens of millions of new players to our network. It was an unprecedented first quarter of growth in our business, and we will continue building on that strength with more innovative experiences, more groundbreaking content, and more ways to connect with friends and play great games throughout the year."

"Player engagement through the first quarter was exceptionally high, and well above our forecast," said COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen. "Our Stay Home, Play Together initiatives have been a strong tailwind for the business, as players look for safe and social entertainment in these difficult times. We are focused on delivering high quality titles for our players, combined with our incredible ongoing live services and increasing reach across platforms and geographies which should continue to expand our business over time."

Today, Electronic Arts Inc. revealed new innovation in fan favorite modes coming to EA SPORTS FIFA 21. From more ways to play with friends through new social elements, to having more control than ever to manage every career moment, players can experience The World's Game like never before. FIFA 21 also embraces a new generation of football with Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappé, gracing the cover across all editions and available worldwide on October 9, 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC via Origin and Steam.

"Being on the cover of FIFA is a dream come true. From my time at Bondy to Clairefontaine to the World Cup, this marks another big milestone. I've been playing this game since I was a kid and I am honored to represent a whole new generation of footballers and be in the same group as many other amazing footballers who I now share this honor with," said Kylian Mbappé.

Today, Electronic Arts and LaLiga announced a long-term partnership that will continue to offer unrivaled authenticity to EA SPORTS FIFA players for the next 10 years. Under the partnership renewal, EA SPORTS will remain the exclusive Official Video Games Partner of LaLiga while the two organizations will expand their efforts to create world-leading football entertainment. This includes a joint commitment to grow fandom and esports participation through LaLiga's official esports competition, eLaLiga Santander.

The new agreement comes as the world is playing and watching more EA SPORTS FIFA than ever before as football fandom continues to grow. EA SPORTS FIFA 20 for console and PC is the most-played game in franchise history. Unique players have increased 10 percent year-over-year and daily active players reached an all-time engagement high. Fans are watching record volumes of EA SPORTS FIFA content as more than 12 billion minutes have been viewed on Twitch since launch--the equivalent of more than 133 million traditional football matches. The 260 percent year-over-year growth in EA SPORTS FIFA content viewership was also fueled by the recent global EA SPORTS FIFA Stay and Play Cup that aired to millions in more than 100 countries.

During Electronic Arts Play 2020 event, Respawn, the maker of popular battle royale Apex legends, has announced that Apex Legends is getting cross-play support. Not only that, but Respawn is now launching Apex Legends on Steam and Nintendo Switch platforms so the cross-play can be bigger than ever. Now, players that use either PC (Steam or EA Origin), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, can be brought together and play against each other. However, Respawn didn't just announce the cross-play support. Along with it, they have announced a new seasonal event called the "Lost Treasures Collection". In this event, players get a new game mode called "Armed and Dangerous Evolved". This game mode allows for new player abilities and resurrection of knocked out players. You can find more about it in the video below.

Calling all pilots! Electronic Arts Inc., Motive Studios and Lucasfilm today announced Star Wars : Squadrons, an immersive, first-person space dogfighting experience set in the beloved Star Wars galaxy. Star Wars: Squadrons will feature thrilling 5v5 multiplayer dogfights, monumental fleet battles, and an original story set during the final days of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the New Republic after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The game will launch October 2, 2020 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC via Origin, Steam and the Epic Games Store, and will be playable via Virtual Reality (VR) on PlayStation 4 and PC with cross-play support. Tune into EA Play Live on June 18 at 4:00pm PT for the gameplay reveal of Star Wars:Squadrons.

Update Jun 18th: EA has confirmed that the game will fully support joysticks and HOTAS joysticks. They have also published the minimum and recommended system requirements which can be viewed down below.

According to a recent report from CNBC AT&T is considering selling the Warner Bros. gaming division for about 4 billion dollars as it seeks to divest assets with total debts nearing 200 billion dollars. Interested parties include Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard according to Industry Insiders. Most Warner Bros. Interactive games are based on Warner-owned intellectual property, such as "Harry Potter," "Game of Thrones" and "The Lego Movie." in addition to several separate franchises such as "Mortal Kombat" and "Scribblenauts". Any deal will likely involve a commercial licensing agreement with AT&T where they can continue to receive revenue from its IP.

Players can experience modern day warfare in Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 or the WWI and WWII battles of the past in Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V respectively. Players can also fight for humanity as Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3 or visit new worlds as Sara or Scott Ryder in Mass Effect Andromeda. In addition, players can play as iconic Star Wars characters and with the incredible Star Wars vehicles in Star Wars Battlefront I and Star Wars Battlefront II.

Last Friday, the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection was the second new EA game to launch on Steam to great success, reaching the top game globally on Steam best-selling charts during its launch weekend. Last weekend, EA games also had five games appear in the top 10 of the Steam best-selling charts with their first wave of titles released on Steam last Thursday, giving players the opportunity to explore the fantastical worlds of the BioWare award-winning Role-Playing Games - Dragon Age : Inquisition and Dragon Age II and experience high-speed, white-knuckle driving action in Need for Speed Heat, Need for Speed: Rivals and Need for Speed (2016). Players can also battle it out in the wacky, fun and over-the-top shooter, Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, or play from a selection of the bold and innovative games from EA's indie development partners like Unravel, Unravel II, Fe and Sea of Solitude.

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Command & Conquer, Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is now available worldwide on PC via Origin and Steam, and as part of an Origin Access Premier subscription. Developed as a labor of love between EA and some of the original Westwood Studios team members at Petroglyph, the Remastered Collection is comprised of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn, Command & Conquer: Red Alert and their three expansion packs - Covert Ops, Counterstrike and The Aftermath. Veteran fans and those new to the franchise can now experience one of the most beloved real-time strategy games in history with native 4K support, rebuilt multiplayer, enhanced UI, a seven hour remastered soundtrack by Frank Klepacki, modding support and much more.

Built with the community in mind from day-one, an active Community Council has been involved since early pre-production with 24/7 access to the teams at EA and Petroglyph to provide feedback during development. This feedback has helped shape features such as a revamped UI, updated controls, a Map Editor, and a modernized online multiplayer experience, featuring custom games, 1v1 quick match, Elo-based matchmaking, leaderboards, replays and much more.

Today, Electronic Arts Inc. launched the first wave of 25+ EA games on Steam, with more on the way. Starting today, players can explore BioWare 's award-winning Role-Playing Games - Dragon Age : Inquisition and Dragon Age II, experience high-speed, white-knuckle driving action in Need for Speed Heat, Need for Speed: Rivals and Need for Speed (2016) and battle it out in the wacky, fun and over-the-top shooter, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. A selection of the bold and innovative games from EA's indie development partners like Unravel, Unravel II, Fe and Sea of Solitude will also become available. Additionally, these games and many others will be available as part of an EA Access subscription on Steam that will launch to players later this summer.

"We want to make it easy to play the games you love, wherever you want to play. Delivering games to the Steam community is an important step in achieving this goal," said Mike Blank, SVP, Strategic Growth. "Not only are we excited to have our games on Steam, but we look forward to bringing them even more value when our subscription becomes available in the Summer."

EA has confirmed that it's existing games for Xbox One and Playstation 4 will receive free patches to upgrade them for next-generation consoles. The PS5 and Xbox Series X both feature ways to play current-generation games, both consoles will attempt to automatically boost games up to 4k resolution. While these options ensure broad inter-generation compatibility issues can arise from game limitations, this is where manual patches come in allowing developers to take advantage of the extra performance and radically overhaul their games.

Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen confirmed in a recent earnings call that EA would not charge consumers for these patches. "As usual, we have presented the quarterly phasing of our net bookings in our earnings presentation. Note that this year, the phasing includes the effect of revenue recognition from the games we are launching for the current generation of consoles that can also be upgraded free for the next generation."

In the latest episode of Inside Xbox, Microsoft showed off trailers for several new games including Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Dirt 5. Alongside the new game trailers, Microsoft also published a list of over 140 publishers and studios all working on games for the new console. Big names such as 2K Games, Activision, Bethesda, Bungie, Electronic Arts, SEGA, Square Enix, and Ubisoft are all present along with countless smaller publishers and studios. The full list of publishers and studios can be found below.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced preliminary financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended March 31, 2020. "We're humbled to see people around the world connecting through our games during this unprecedented period," said CEO Andrew Wilson. "Our focus continues to be on everything we can do for our people, our players, and our communities. Thanks to the amazing dedication and determination of our teams at Electronic Arts, we're able to deliver the games, experiences and content choices that our players are looking for during this challenging time."

"We've had a strong year. Our results this quarter prove the value of the live services path we've been on now for a decade. The breadth and depth of our live services give the flexibility we need at times like this to meet player needs," said COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen. "I want to thank everyone at EA for rising to the challenge. People across the company have shown extraordinary innovation, energy and ingenuity. Learnings from this period will forever change the way we work at EA."

Google Stadia has unveiled several new games and changes coming to the platform in a recent Stadia Connect Event. Google Stadia will be adding 11 new games to the platform, along with updates for Stadia Pro subscribers. The Pioneer Edition of PUBG will be free for Stadia Pro subscribers and $39.99 USD for other users. Stadia also announced that EA would be joining the platform with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order coming this fall, along with Madden NFL & FIFA coming this winter. Stadia will also be launching some various other new games such as Crayta, Get Packed, Wave Break, Embr, Zombie Army 4: Dead War, The Turing Test, and SteamWorld Heist in the coming weeks.

The Crysis Twitter account today once again became active, after almost four years of inactivity, to post a two-worded tweet - "RECEIVING DATA". The tweet is an indication of something happening and the current industry rumors are pointing to a nonother then a remaster of the beloved title. Yes, we are talking about a remaster of one of the Crysis games, possibly the last entry added in 2013 - the Crysis 3. Originally developed by a German developer Crytek and published by Electronic Arts, the game is powered by CryEngine. The game is being worked on by both teams of EA and Crytek, however, the possible launch of the game is determined by EA, as it has rights to the game still. During the Q2 earnings call, EA's CEO mentioned that they are working delivering "some exciting remasters of fan favorites" for the fiscal year of 2021, so we can expect the game in a timeframe close to us.

It seems like the popular question "but can it run Crysis?" will gain traction again, as the game will likely be a real treat for the eyes. Implementing Crytek's latest CryEngine 5.6, it will feature all the latest bells and whistles of computer graphics. That means that Ray Tracing and support for 4K textures are going to be present. Meant for next-generation hardware of PCs and consoles like PS5 and Xbox Series X, the remastered Crysis game would need a powerful system to run on, however, judging by rumors of next-generation hardware it should be enough to power it without a problem. To see more about CryEngine 5.6, please check out the video below.

Ghost Games, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) studio, today announced Need for Speed Heat, the ultimate street racer versus cop fantasy. The game deepens and expands everything Need for Speed fans love - expressive customization, authentic urban car culture, and an immersive narrative that pulls you into the game. Watch the announce trailer here.

"Our fans have been clear that they want more cars, more customization, and more challenges, and we're tuning up on every aspect. From your character's style to your car's performance and your driving style, we're fuelling everyone's creativity with this new game."

We've been covering the loot box controversy for a while on TechPowerUp now. Independently of which side of the fence you're on - that loot boxes are akin to gambling and thus unethical in some of their implementations, or just cold to the entire issue - it's likely good news for everyone that these so-called "surprise mechanics", as they've been called, will now see their odds being disclosed by console makers and publishers.

In the gaming industry, everything is evolving around game graphics. GPUs are integrating new technologies such as ray tracing, there are tons of software dedicated to making in-game illustrations look as realistic as possible. Electronic Arts, one of the game publishing companies decided to release a state of the art AAA games, today revealed an update to DICE's Frostbite engine.

DICE's Frostbite engine is powering many of today's AAA titles such as Battlefield V, Anthem and Star Wars Battlefront. Today it got a big update. EA released new capabilities to render the hair of in-game characters with almost real-life realism. This is pretty impressive considering that hair is very difficult to model artificially. Being one of the most interesting topics for game developers, good hair animations are extremely important to achieving the lifelike look newer AAA titles are targeting.