According to a statement sent by EA to IGN, the EA Play live event for 2022 is canceled. Instead, EA will focus its efforts on sharing details about its upcoming games individually. In its statement, EA explained that they can’t share all of their major games currently in development, with some possibly scheduled for a late 2022 release. EA added that many of the studios under its umbrella are working on exciting games and that it will reveal them in due time.
There are several ways that you could interpret what EA just said. For one, it could mean that it will hold separate individual events instead of just a big one, which would be similar to how Sony does its events like February’s Gran Turismo 7 showcase and the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy State of Play. Who knows? EA and Sony might be cooking up something together, as Sony has started opening up State of Play outside of first-party titles. Another possibility is that EA finally listened to what critics had to say. Fans didn’t care too much about the developer diaries that often filled most of the event. Not to mention, the lackluster success of Battlefield 2042, which could have been one of the highlights of a potential EA Play this year, probably played a role in its cancelation. For what it’s worth, EA isn’t lying nor exaggerating when it said that its studios had a lot going on right now. Earlier this year, EA confirmed that Respawn Entertainment was working on three Star Wars games. Meanwhile, BioWare is working on both the next Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. Fans are also expecting a new Need for Speed installment by Criterion Games. Of course, there’s also the Dead Space Remake that was delayed to 2023. These are just some of EA’s more well-known projects. EA could easily having more than a handful in development right now. Ultimately, fans don’t have to worry too much about losing one of the best press conferences for this year. EA will probably still hold an event or two or be part of an even bigger showcase, like E3 2022 or Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, for example. Also, we can always rely on the presence of Nintendo and Sony throughout the year with their own individual events.
