EA has announced the return of its EA Play event for 2019. The event, which takes place during E3, but is a separate entity, is returning for its fourth year. However, the publisher also announced a huge change. It won’t be holding a press conference during E3 2019, marking the first time it hasn’t held a conference in years. This makes EA the latest company to forgo a press conference at E3. The EA Play event will take place from June 7-June 9, 2019.
Of course, technically EA hasn’t been at E3 since it started EA Play, which runs adjacent to the expo every year. However, it has held a major press conference every year, similar to other publishers. In place of a press conference, EA will be running a series of live streams showing off its upcoming slate of games. As usual, the event will take place in the days before E3 officially kicks off and will be open to the public. The streams will take place during the first two days of the event.
Outside of the press conference, some other changes are being planned. The whole thing will start with an “EA Play kickoff event.” With the focus on live streams, the event will be full of content, even if you aren’t there in person. EA promises “exclusive gameplay reveals, developer talks, and breaking news.” Upcoming games from EA include Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a new Plants vs. Zombies, and its usual crop of sports titles.
This news from EA is only the major change for E3 2019. Sony made the surprising announcement that it was pulling out of the expo altogether and not even having a presence on the floor. Shawn Layden later elaborated on the decision, saying it was at least partly due to decreasing relevance. Nintendo has opted not to have a press conference for years now, instead releasing a massive Nintendo Direct each E3.
Even though it seems like more companies are pulling out of E3 than ever, many publishers have confirmed they will be at the expo. CD Projekt RED recently confirmed it will be showing off Cyberpunk 2077 this year.
[Source: EA]
