For the last few years EA has skipped E3 and instead hosted its own EA Play Live event around the same time in Los Angeles. Last year EA Play Live went online instead, and this year will be no different.
Well, there are a couple of differences: while EA Play Live usually takes place the same week as E3, this year is taking place more than a month after E3 2021 – which was of course online-only itself too.
More than that though, this year EA ran several smaller streams ahead of the main event – we’ve embedded them all below.
The month delay has hopefully given EA more time to prep its biggest announcements, with the new Battlefield 2042 certainly high on the agenda. Here’s when EA Play Live takes place, how to watch every stream, and what to expect.
When is EA Play Live 2021?
EA Play Live takes place today, Thursday 22 July, starting at 10am PST/1pm EST/6pm BST. EA says that it will begin with a “short” pre-show, but it sounds like you should tune in from the start time to make sure you don’t miss anything.
We’ve embedded the stream at the top of this article for easy access.
EA has confirmed that the show will be hosted by Austin Creed, perhaps better known as the WWE star Xavier Woods, and that the whole stream should last around 40 minutes.
Before the official Play Live stream, EA held four EA Play Live Spotlight streams in the run-up. If you missed them, here’s what they covered:
8 July: The Future of First-Person Shooters
This stream focussed on Apex Legends and Battlefield 2042. Representatives from both Dice and Respawn discuss their games and the genre in general – and tease the larger reveals we should expect in the full EA Play stream.
Re-watch it right here:
13 July: EA <3s Independent Studios
This panel discussion about indie devs featured Josef Fares of Hazelight (It Takes Two), Olov Redmalm of Zoink (Lost in Random), Melissa Phillips and Abubakar Salim of Silver Rain Games, and Guha Bala of Velan (Knockout City).
Re-watch it right here:
19 July: Madden NFL 22 All-Access: Scouting – How the Community is Shaping Madden NFL 22
This video discussed how fans influenced the development of Madden NFL 22, including its Franchise Mode, via the Madden Design Council. There was also a deep dive reveal of the new scouting feature coming to the game.
Re-watch it right here:
20 July: FIFA 22 | Official Gameplay Reveal
This panel gives a first look at the gameplay of FIFA 22, and includes interviews with developers who discuss some of the next-gen features of the title.
Re-watch it right here:
How to watch EA Play Live
EA Play will be streamed on EA’s YouTube and Twitch channels, and we’ve embedded the YouTube livestream for each event right here on the page – so just scroll up to find the one you want to watch.
What will EA announce during EA Play?
EA owns a huge number of massive franchises, so there’s a lot that it could tease or show off during EA Play. That makes it hard to predict exactly what will show up, but there are definitely some safe bets.
The company has already confirmed that we’ll see more from the newly-announced Battlefield 2042. Leaked news from Game Rant indicates that this should be about a new custom mode called ‘Portal mode’, which features remastered maps from earlier games.
There should also be news about Apex Legends, as well as the first gameplay from EA-published indie title Lost in Random.
Proper looks at FIFA 22 and Madden 22 are also certain, and we could also see the new Need for Speed that EA has confirmed it’s working on.
It might be too early for footage from the expected sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but the company might tease it with a logo reveal or similar.
Finally, there are two things we definitely won’t see: Dragon Age 4 and Mass Effect 5. Developer BioWare has already tried to manage expectations by confirming that neither game will appear at EA Play Live, so adjust your plans accordingly.
We’re hard at work creating the next @dragonage and @masseffect games and have some exciting stuff coming to @SWTOR this year. While we won’t be showing anything at EA Play Live, be sure to check out our SWTOR Livestream at 12PM PT today for info on what’s to come!
— BioWare (@bioware)
July 1, 2021
