EA Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

EA has begun to open up playtesting opportunities for the next Skate game, alongside some very early footage of the title during its development.There was no release date provided alongside the incredibly early footage of the next entry in the Skate franchise, but EA has begun to share playtesting details for the game.There’s no guarantee of when people will get to play, but EA says that the closed tests are being done to “get this right” – you can sign up for the eventual playtests here.You can also check out the game’s early footage below:we're

Battlefield 2042‘s update 5.2.0 rolls out squad orders and management, changes to the Hourglass map and All-Out Warfare attachments for vaulted weapons this week.The most notable amelioration in the patch notes is the work done to Hourglass. Developer DICE explained that it “reduced the overall size of Hourglass to keep combat focused, while having more opportunity to defend yourself through added cover along the primary routes”.Additionally, there will be new “remnants of combat” in the map, transforming the Al Wadha Arches, Bridges, Downtown, Security Checkpoints and Village areas with “increased military presence and new fortified positions”.Squad orders will be a feature, letting Battlefield 2042 players coordinate themselves more effectively and win additional experience points for completing objectives assigned to them by the squad leader.

EA Sports boasted that there will be an innovative level of immersion in its upcoming EA Sports FC, as well as offering fans a first look at the game and its features that aim to “blur the line” between virtual and real football.During La Liga’s Nueva Era showcase (via The Loadout), fans found out about the latest iteration of the HyperMotion V technology that forms the foundation of the players’ animations.EA Sports FC vice president David Jackson explained that the technology uses more than 590 million frames of real-world football game capture that then leads to the most advanced in-game animation that the studio has created in its history of sport simulations.In other words, that is 80 times the data that was involved in the development of FIFA 23.

FIFA 23, yet several of the players have expressed disappointment over their likeness in the game.On Tuesday (March 22), a major FIFA 23 update introduced the likes of the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) to the game.The update introduced all 12 NWSL teams, along with their kits and four of the league’s stadiums.However, the newly-introduced leagues do not appear to have adequately captured the likeliness of many of its stars (via Kotaku).“I’m grateful EA Sports is finally including the NWSL but this does not represent me,” wrote Caprice Dydasco, who plays for Houston Dash.“Be grateful they gave you hair lol,” joked Liverpool striker Katie Stengel.Be grateful they gave you hair lol— Katie Stengel (@ksteng12) March 22, 2023“Please tell me I did not do an entire body scan for that,” tweeted Sydney Leroux, an Olympian gold medalist who currently plays for Angel City FC. “You are going to scare my children.”You are going to scare my children.

Respawn Entertainment is opening a third studio to support the development of Apex Legends, weeks after parent company EA laid off over 200 of the game’s testers.Respawn’s third studio will be located in Madison, Wisconsin, and will initially support the company’s battle royale shooter Apex Legends.As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the studio will be led by Ryan Burnett, who previously worked as Epic Games‘ director of engine production and, prior to that, worked at Call Of Duty developer Raven Software for 14 years.“Wisconsin is quickly becoming a central development hub here,” Burnett told GamesIndustry.biz.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has shared that the organisation’s upcoming FIFA game series will be “the best egame for any girl or boy,” despite moving away from long-time developer Electronic Arts (EA).As noted by The Times‘ chief sports reporter Martyn Ziegler, Infantino confirmed that FIFA still plans to launch its own football game to rival former FIFA developer EA.“The new FIFA game – the FIFA 25, 26, 27 and so on – will always be the best egame for any girl or boy,” stated Infantino, who added that FIFA will “have news on this very soon”.Infantino says FIFA will go head-to-head with EA Sports by launching rival video game (EA Sports refused cash demands to keep FIFA's name)"The new FIFA game – the FIFA 25, 26, 27 and so on – will always be the best egame for any girl or boy, we will have news on this very soon."— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) March 16, 2023The company’s partnership with EA came to an end in May 2022, following reports that negotiations “hit the wall” when FIFA demanded double the money it was receiving from EA in its existing deal.When the partnership ended, Infantino said “the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans”.“The interactive gaming and esports sector is on a path of unrivalled growth and diversification,” he added.

Criterion Games general manager Matt Webster has announced the founding of Fuse Games, and has told NME why he stepped away from EA to start a new studio with other Criterion veterans.Announced today (March 16), Fuse Games is based in Guildford, UK, and currently numbers 17 employees.The studio has already started work on a AAA title with “significant funding”, and has claimed its debut game will fuse “uncompromising attention to game-feel with blockbuster spectacle and player-centric innovations in social gameplay, self-expression, and creativity”.Speaking to NME, Webster shared more on the direction that Fuse will take for its first game.“Over the last decade, Fuse’s founding team has had a lot of experience in a variety of genres, with work on games like Battlefield and Battlefront, as well as racers like Burnout and Need For Speed when we were at Criterion,” reflected Webster. “It’s too early to announce what we’re working on at Fuse right now, but we’ll be sticking to the values that have served us well over the years – working fast, rapidly iterating, and letting our team be creative within the genre.”While Webster will serve as the studio’s general manager, he is joined by four other co-founders who worked alongside him at Criterion.

The Sims 4 has recreated Bill’s town from the third episode of HBO‘s The Last Of Us adaptation – check it out below.The build was created by YouTuber Isambardy (via Eurogamer), who takes fans through the process of making Bill’s compound in a 26-minute video.“When I was watching the show, I just thought this would be a great build to do,” they said, adding that they wanted to give the town a more overgrown look.Isambardy explained that they based the build on still images of the show instead of how it appears in the original game. They were originally just going to build Bill’s house, but decided that the town was too important to miss.

Electronic Arts (EA) has confirmed that it will close the online services for several titles including Mirror’s Edge and Onrush.Citing the impracticalities of continuing “the behind-the-scenes work” needed to sustain the online services for older games, EA has made the decision to pull such support over the coming months.Other titles that will be affected include Army of Two: The 40th Day and Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel, the online services of which will both cease on October 20.Online services for Mercenaries 2 (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (PS3 and Xbox 360) and Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, including the Kane’s Wrath expansion (Xbox 360), will then be closed on November 9.Later, online services for Onrush will shut on November 30. Mirror’s Edge, NBA Jam On Fire Edition, Gatling Gears and Shank 2 will cease on January 19, 2023.EA said in a statement: “The decisions to withdraw particular features or modes of certain EA games, or to retire online services relating to older EA games are never easy.

Apex Legends is a popular battle royal game that took the gaming world by storm back in February of 2019. The game has players pick from a certain number of different characters that they call Legends and they each have their own unique abilities.

The Sims 4 has been revealed, with new fashion choices for children and desert-themed furniture on the way.Revealed last night (August 30), the next DLC for The Sims 4 is titled First Fits Kit, and will launch on September 1.As detailed on Twitter, the First Fits Kit will allow players to “up your child Sims’ closets with trendy patterns & colourful fits,” and was made in collaboration with Sims YouTuber XUrbanSimsX.The second DLC – the Desert Luxe Kit – will be released several weeks later, on September 14. This will introduce “new furniture inspired by the natural landscape of the Southwestern Desert so your Sims can arrange a space indoors & outdoors for both relaxation & entertainment.”Like the First Fits Kit, this DLC also featured a YouTuber collaboration, as EA Creator Aveline announced that she had helped “with the creation process” of the Desert Luxe Kit.The DLC follows The Sims 4‘s High School Years expansion, which launched on July 8.

EA has said that Skate will launch as a free-to-play game to help it cater to both Gen Z and Gen Alpha players.This comes from the EA earnings call that took place earlier this month, where the company was asked why it moved the Skate franchise from the company’s typical “premium plus live service” releases to a free-to-play model.“When we look at Skate, I think what happened is our ambitions have continued to grow,” said EA CEO Andrew Wilson. “So as we thought about that, we really took a step back and evaluated how best we deliver that.

EA has announced a playtest for Skate 4, set to take place next month. The email confirming the news was sent to players registered for EA’s Playtesting community, and has since been shared online.EA first revealed that it would be bringing back its beloved skateboarding series Skate in 2020, with game director Deran Chung saying “we’ve been waiting years, honestly, to make the right game at the right time with the right idea.

Steam earlier this year, Alice: Madness Returns has once again been delisted from the platform, and the game’s director is attempting to rectify the issue. Published by EA and developed by Spicy Horse, Alice: Madness Returns is the second in a planned trilogy of games based on the 19th century book by Lewis Carroll. Whilst unavailable on Steam, Alice: Madness Returns can still be played on PC via EA’s Origin launcher.As of publication it is unclear why Alice: Madness Returns is not on Steam, after it returned this February following a digital rights management issue (via, Eurogamer).

Electronic Arts (EA) has shared that the company will not make a public statement defending abortion or transgender rights, claiming that “being an inclusive company means being inclusive of all […] points of view.”During an internal company-wide town hall meeting on Tuesday (May 24), Kotaku has reported that “many” employees at EA repeatedly asked company leadership to make public statements to defend abortion rights and transgender rights.However, according to a transcript of the meeting, chief people officer Mala Singh told employees that EA will only make public statements that “actually have a positive impact.”“These things are hard and they’re personal and we all have our own perspectives and sometimes we won’t speak, and that will be upsetting and I understand that, we really do,” added Singh, who said that EA considers “multiple perspectives and then decide what’s in the best interest of EA and the various communities of stakeholders we have, including our people, our players, our fans and stakeholders, [and] our shareholders.”Addressing recent mass shootings in America and a potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, Sing said “one of the other things you’re going to see is we’re going to be making some more healing circles available through modern health.”It’s unclear what these healing circles entail, but EA’s corporate communications director Lacey Haines said “we’re not going to comment further on the Global Town Hall, as that is a company confidential forum.”“That said, we work to create an environment where our employees can talk about complex issues in our world today.

The Sims 4 developer Maxis has added customisable pronouns to the game, and has shared a blog outlining how the feature will work.In an article posted yesterday (May 24), Maxis outlined how it has been working to implement customisable pronouns in The Sims 4, a feature that was requested by 22,857 fans last year (via Eurogamer).“We reached out to the It Gets Better Project and GLAAD and worked with them to learn more about how pronouns are used, particularly by trans and nonbinary people. Through this research and through doing a deep dive into the game, we’ve learned about all of the different complex areas that binary gender was present in The Sims 4.

EA and Respawn Entertainment has confirmed when Apex Legends Mobile will launch.The mobile version of the hugely popular Battle Royale game will be released on May 17 for iOS and Android.The game has been developed by a dedicated team at Respawn, in conjunction with Tencent‘s Lightspeed & Quantum Studios. The studio is best known for its work on PUBG Mobile as well as dozens of other mobile games.Along with the news, a cinematic launch trailer has also been unveiled to remind players of what to expect.Players who pre-register for the game will unlock exclusive rewards.

FIFA has announced it will continue to make football simulation games following the split from EA.Yesterday (May 10) it was confirmed that FIFA and EA will end their partnership of over two decades, with FIFA 23 the last collaborative title.At the time, EA confirmed it would be renaming the franchise EA Sports FC with the current game modes, football leagues, tournaments and clubs set to remain.However FIFA has now announced it too will continue making football simulation games.

The Sims 4 developer Maxis has teased more downloadable content (DLC) for the game, which looks set to include a host of night-themed content – including werewolves.In a Twitter video posted yesterday (via PC Gamer), Maxis teased that players will be able to “seize the night” with one game pack and two kits set to arrive in May and June 2022.The video features an in-game Sim flicking through several TV channels, with one in particular depicting a night-time landscape with a full moon.

The Sims, after three copies of the game auspiciously appeared at the scene of an arrest alongside Nazi paraphernalia.Yesterday (April 25), the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported that six people have been arrested in regards to an assassination plot. According to the Committee, the group was working with Ukrainian security services and planned to target journalist and alleged propagandist Vladimir Solovyov with a car bomb in Moscow.As reported by the New York Post, shared images of the arrest scene led to sceptics suggesting that the arrests were part of an operation to frame Ukrainian officials as Nazis, something that Russian president Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed since launching an invasion of Ukraine.And in these pictures from the raid we have a "Ukrainian neo-Nazi starter pack" courtesy of the FSB pic.twitter.com/5FSvpze1lG— Francis Scarr (@francska1) April 25, 2022The images in question display Nazi clothing and literature, Ukrainian passports, and – bizarrely – a copy of The Sims 3 with two physical expansions for the game.

Need For Speed game will be released later this year, but only for current-gen consoles.The claims come from VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb who suggests EA plans to release the latest edition of the long-running franchise towards the end of 2022.“Need for Speed is still coming this year. That game should be coming in November,” Grubb said on his Giantbomb show Grubbsnax (via VGC) “If you are a Need for Speed fan who has bought a next-gen console, here’s some news; it’s next-gen only.

EA and Maxis have revealed the newest Sims 4 Kit DLC (downloadable content) which is set to arrive later this month.The Décor to the Max Kit is the latest piece of DLC to be announced for Sims 4 and will feature an abundance of decor items for players who love maximalism.The DLC is set to release on March 21 for PC and consoles and will include everything from colourful wallpaper, furniture, knick-knacks, and more.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has reportedly claimed that the company has been “impeded” by the FIFA brand.During an internal company meeting in November, Wilson stated that the FIFA license had been “an impediment” to EA’s plans for the series. That’s according to anonymous comments provided to VGC. Supposedly, Wilson claimed that FIFA had prevented EA from expanding its games into modes away from traditional 11vs11.Wilson went as far to say that the only value EA got from the license in a non-World Cup year was “four letters on the front of the box”.

EA has declined to disclose sales figures for Battlefield 2042, with the company describing the sales as “disappointing.”Battlefield 2042 has widely been regarded as a disappointment by fans and critics alike. And EA’s most recent investor call (as transcribed by SeekingAlpha) suggests that that has resulted in the game not performing well.

Content Warning: Discussions of rape and assault.EA Sports have removed footballer Mason Greenwood from FIFA 22 following his recent arrest.Following Greenwood’s arrest on suspicion of rape and assault, the striker has been removed from offline game modes in FIFA 22 across its databases on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, today February 1. Greenwood is now no longer available as part of the Manchester United squad, but his FIFA 22 Ultimate Team item is still reportedly still active, meaning he can still be traded on the FUT 22 transfer market.In a statement to The United Stand, a Manchester United fan channel, EA Sports said “Mason Greenwood has been removed from active squads in FIFA 22 and has also been suspended from appearing in FIFA Ultimate (FUT) packs and Ultimate Draft.”Greenwood is currently suspended from the Manchester United squad until further notice.

EA has removed the community-created zombie survival mode from Battlefield 2042 due to issues with XP farming.The change was confirmed by Ripple Effect Studios (formerly DICE LA) senior design director Justin Wiebe on Twitter, who said the mode had an issue with “standard game progression.”​​”We’ve removed the Zombies mode and replaced it with Gun Game,” wrote Wiebe. “Hopefully we can fix it in the future and keep it in alignment with standard game progression.

EA’s director of product marketing from 2000-2003 has revealed details on why a Harry Potter MMO was cancelled.In an interview with Twitch Streamer The Real Brondolorian, as reported by Eurogamer, Kim Salzer, an ex-EA employee, was asked about a game that was never released.

EA‘s former director of product marketing from 2000-2003, Kim Salzer has said in an interview that it was planning to release a Harry Potter themed MMO but dropped the project believing the franchise would only last “a year or two”.As spotted by VGC, in an Twitch interview with Original Gamer Life the former EA executive claimed that EA had “thoroughly researched” a Harry Potter MMO, which would blend an online and real life experience.

EA has revealed more details about Neighbourhood Stories, a new update to The Sims 4.Neighbourhood Stories is being described as “a set of gameplay moments that all revolve around a single purpose: bring more life to Neighbor Sims that live outside the active household.”This aims to add realism and dynamic elements to the NPCs that the player character is not directly in control of.

Dragon Age 4 senior creative director Matt Goldamn has left developer BioWare.This comes after Goldman and the company “mutually agreed to part ways”, as outlined by a staff email sent by general manager Gary McKay (thanks, Kotaku).“I’m writing to inform you all that Matt Goldman is leaving BioWare. We have mutually agreed to part ways, and his last day is today,” writes McKay.“We understand that Matt’s departure has an impact on you, as well as the game’s development.