Tag: Electronic Arts

The next Sims 4 expansion might have leaked

It looks like the next Sims 4 expansion leaked, and assuming the information is true, we’re getting rental properties in the life sim game

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It looks like the next Sims 4 expansion leaked, and assuming the information is true, we’re getting rental properties in the life sim game. The leak comes from Instant Gaming, an online store with a pretty solid track record of leaking previous Sims 4 expansions, and while not every Simmer is convinced, there are a few details that make it seem legit.

The expansion, named just “Rental Houses” on Instant Gaming, reportedly lets your Sims buy and manage rental properties as landlords or move into multi-occupancy buildings – apartments, in other words – to live closely with your neighbors.

Sims dataminer and Twitter user Anadius posted a more robust description that says you can do everything from renting out basement rooms to building apartments and using new lots for duplexes. Rentals currently exist in The Sims 4, but only as vacation getaways for your Sims.

“From potlucks to evictions, there’s a lot to do and a whole new world to do it in,” the leaked description reads on Instant Gaming.

That world is Tomarang, complete with an animal shelter and a bustling night market. The description from Anadius and Instant Gaming also mentions street food items up for grabs as pre-order incentives, including a grill cart and street umbrella. EA and Maxis recently launched an item pack with an emphasis on cooking up street food, so that particular tidbit has me thinking this is probably true.

If so, EA will reportedly be launching The Sims 4 Rental Homes on Dec. 7, 2023, for PC and console.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Disney executives reportedly want Bog Iger to acquire EA

A new report from Bloomberg suggests that Disney and CEO Bob Iger are in trouble, and some want to see Disney embrace video games

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A new report from Bloomberg suggests that Disney and CEO Bob Iger are in trouble, and some in the company want to see Disney embrace video games as a solution. Bloomberg’s Thomas Buckley says that Iger’s deputies are pushing him to make significant changes, including the possible acquisition of EA and a more ambitious transformation of the company.

“ESPN agreed to a sports betting deal with downmarket casino operator Penn Entertainment Inc. that will pay Disney as much as $1.5 billion over a decade,” Buckley said. “For years, Iger insisted Disney couldn’t get into gambling because of reputational concerns; now it seems like one way to plug holes. Iger’s deputies are pushing him to consider a bolder transformation of Disney from gaming licensee to gaming giant through, say, an acquisition of Electronic Arts.”

Disney owns a broad range of lucrative game IPs, including Marvel’s Spider-Man, Star Wars, and Avatar.

An earlier Bloomberg profile of EA suggested the company split itself into more distinct pieces – EA Sports and EA Entertainment, for example – so prospective buyers could purchase the division they wanted more easily. 

While EA-owned Respawn found success with Apex Legends and the Star Wars Jedi series, EA has struggled in the past decade to keep up with competitors, waffling between multiplayer and single-player games and closing disastrous projects such as Anthem. That record and EA’s Star Wars license may make them an attractive prospect for acquisition, but Buckley’s sources say Iger remains noncommittal.

Disney and EA did not comment on the situation after Bloomberg published its report.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

How EA imbued Immortals of Aveum’s Sigils with FPS magic

EA’s Immortals of Aveum puts a fresh spin on the usual first-person shooter setup, with a unique magic system and intuitive Sigil designs

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EA’s Immortals of Aveum puts a fresh spin on the usual first-person shooter setup. Gone are the shotguns and automatics, and in their place are Sigils, enigmatic objects you strap to your wrist that fire different magical projectiles depending on what color the Sigil is affiliated with. Jak, the hero of Aveum, wields a special power as a Triarch Magnus that lets him use all three Sigils.

Each Sigil grants power with a certain kind of magic. Blue is for precise attacks that hit exactly where you want them to. Red has a tendency to explode and must be handled with caution, and green magic draws on spiritual energy to let the wielder unleash rapid-fire attacks and overwhelm foes.

Immortals of Aveum doesn’t have the detailed, lovingly crafted gun models you get in most modern games, even Starfield. However, the team at EA put a similar level of care and attention into Jak’s fantastical toolset and added an extra layer of worldbuilding in the Sigil design, which you can get a glimpse of in our video below.

Blue Sigils look like carefully crafted surgical instruments, in keeping with their emphasis on precision. Red’s jagged edges and harsh design scream “You’ll hurt yourself if you’re not careful,” which you absolutely will, and Green lives up to its nature as the spiritual energy of the world.

Sigils in Aveum consist of three parts. The first is the base, which attaches to the Sigil Plate and sits on your arm. Jak’s arm. Well, it’s essentially the same thing. Anyway, the next bit is the bezel, the part that holds the crystal corresponding to the magic you’re using. Finally is the tip at the end, which directs the magic where you want it to go.

Check out the video below for an exclusive teardown of the devices. Immortals of Aveum is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Madden 24 is reportedly a ‘make or break’ game for the franchise and that’s not surprising

This seems a bit overdue.

The Madden video game franchise is the only officially licensed NFL game series, meaning it carries a lot of influence in the gaming industry simply by existing. But that hold on the market might not have been the best thing for the game’s year-to-year quality, especially considering how often it’s released.

According to a report from Insider Gaming’s Mike Straw, the upcoming release of Madden 24, likely slated for its usual late-August window, will be “make or break” for the series. After an update file caused many players to lose their Franchise mode saves in late 2022, leadership at EA is apparently displeased with how similar matters have been handled. One way they’re trying to rectify the situation is by offering a 50 percent discount on the next edition of Madden for those who had save issues.

More from Insider Gaming:

“The discount for players who lost their franchise is only the beginning,” one close to the game’s development said. “EA has big plans for Madden 24 and the management of the game knows how big of a year it is. Not just for the game, but for their future in their positions.”

What “make or break” means here is a little unclear. Either way, this is undoubtedly significant news for one of the biggest video game franchises in history.

EA reveals Wild Hearts, an all-new hunting game from Koei Tecmo

There’ll be a full trailer later this week, potentially showing off gameplay.

There’s been plenty of hype for the mysterious collaboration between Electronic Arts (EA) and Koei Tecmo, but excitement is going into overdrive.

On Monday, EA revealed Wild Hearts, an all-new hunting title from the Dynasty Warriors team at Koei Tecmo. Outside of the name drop, we don’t know much about the game, but it’ll supposedly be a Monster Hunter-like inspired by feudal Japan.

Thankfully, there’ll be more details later this week. The reveal trailer for Wild Hearts is coming Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, at 7:00 A.M. PDT // 10:00 A.M. EDT // 2:00 P.M. GMT. So the wait to hear more isn’t a long one. 

Some official promo art for Wild Hearts was teased too, which you can check out below.

“The EA team fully embraces our creative independence and have become invaluable partners offering both development and publishing support,” Yosuke Hayashi, president of Koei Tecmo, said in a press release. “Adding the global resources of EA with our own will help us introduce a new kind of hunting game to a global audience of players and expand our reach into global markets. I’m really looking forward to the day that gamers from around the world can play this new game.”

It’s quite an interesting partnership. Hopefully, whatever is shown off later this week excites fans of the genre.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Reports refute rumors of Amazon buying Electronic Arts

Though it’s been rumored Amazon will announce today that it’s put in a formal offer to acquire Electronic Arts (EA), the publisher behind Apex Legends, FIFA, Madden, and more, it’s unclear whether that will happen. 

Editor’s note (10:37 a.m. ET): Earlier today, GLHF — a gaming/e-sports outlet and content partner of For The Win — ran a version of this story on our website that violated our editorial standards regarding the use of unnamed and unvetted sources. We have updated this story to remove all mention of those sources. 

Though it’s been rumored Amazon will soon announce that it’s put in a formal offer to acquire Electronic Arts (EA), Amazon is not expected to make a bid for EA, according to CNBC.

Rumors have been circling online for a few weeks about a potential EA buyout, with Apple, Disney, and Amazon listed as potential buyers.

The rumors come after a range of unprecedented acquisitions and consolidation in the video game space, with the biggest of them being Microsoft’s purchase of Activison Blizzard for $69 billion.

Written by Kirk McKeand on behalf of GLHF. 

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Electronic Arts bans Russian esports teams from events

The company further imposes restrictions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Electronic Arts will no longer allow teams from Russia and Belarus to compete in its esports events following the invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Electronic Arts (EA) announced the suspension of all its game sales within Russia and Belarus. On Wednesday, the company took things one step further by imposing further restrictions. Specifically on the Apex Legends and FIFA 22 esports events.

“We continue to be shocked at the conflict that is unfolding in Ukraine and join so many voices around the world in calling for peace and an end to the invasion. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” EA’s statement reads on Twitter. “We have made the decision to remove Russia and Belarus as eligible countries in our esports programs. Effective immediately, players and teams in Russia and Belarus are ineligible to participate in the Apex Legends Global Series and EA Sports FIFA 2022 Global Series.”

EA already removed Russia’s national teams from FIFA 22 and NHL 22 in response to the invasion.

Many major companies within the games industry are cutting ties with Russia. Sony, Microsoft, CD Projekt Red, GSC Game World, Itch.io, Square Enix, and The Pokémon Company have either stopped doing business with the country or aided humanitarian efforts within Ukraine through charitable donations.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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EA Play Live isn’t happening this year

The company is reportedly not holding any events this summer.

Electronic Arts will not hold its annual EA Play Live showcase in 2022.

A report from IGN confirms that EA Play Live 2022 isn’t going forward with any press conferences or fan events. An EA spokesperson gave some insight as to why.

“We love EA Play Live as it’s our way of connecting with our players and sharing what’s new with all of you,” EA’s statement reads. “However, this year, things aren’t lining up to show you everything on one date. We have exciting things happening at our world-class studios, and this year we’ll reveal much more about these projects when the time is right for each of them. We look forward to spending time with you throughout the year!”

It sounds like there’s not enough to reveal, which is a good enough reason not to put one of these shows together.

For several years now, EA has held Play events around the same as E3. However, even as in-person events are slowly becoming the norm again, E3 2022 will be an online-only event yet again. 

Many were hoping that Dragon Age 4 and the Dead Space remake might make an appearance at EA Play Live 2022, though that’s (obviously) not happening anymore. Sorry, no dragons or necromorphs for any of you.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Electronic Arts suspends all game sales in Russia and Belarus

EA is temporarily halting sales in both countries following the invasion of Ukraine.

Electronic Arts (EA) is joining the ever-growing list of companies no longer doing business with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The company isn’t selling games, digital content, or products in Russia or Belarus until the conflict is over.

On Friday, EA shared a statement on its website regarding the decision.

“We continue to be shocked at the conflict that is unfolding in Ukraine, and join so many voices around the world in calling for peace and an end to the invasion. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” EA said. “We have made the decision to stop sales of our games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and Belarus while this conflict continues. As a result, our games and content will no longer be available for purchase in our Russian region storefront on Origin or the EA app, including through in-game stores.”

Earlier this week, EA also removed the Russian national teams from both FIFA 22 and NHL 22, a move that mirrors the real FIFA and UEFA’s lead, removing both teams from competition.

EA is only one of many companies within the games industry cutting ties with Russia. Microsoft is doing the same, as is Witcher 3 developer CD Project Red. All of this comes days after Ukraine’s vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s call for all video game companies to stop doing business in Russia. 

The Pokémon Company also took action, donating $200,000 towards humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Battlefield 2042’s head of design Fawzi Mesmar leaves DICE

Mesmar’s last day is this week.

Fawzi Mesmar, head of design at DICE, has left the company following Battlefield 2042’s   release.

A report by Video Games Chronicle (VGC) confirms that Mesmar, who oversaw design development on Star Wars: Battlefront, Battlefield V  and Battlefield 2042, is no longer at DICE. Despite ongoing controversies surrounding  the launch of Battlefield 2042, Mesmar was planning to leave the studio for quite some time.

“I have been made an offer I couldn’t refuse at another company that has been kind enough to wait for me until we have shipped [Battlefield 2042],” Mesmar said in a staff email  via VGC. “It was super important to me to be here with the team as we achieve this historical milestone.”

Mesmar will still be at DICE until Nov. 26, so he’s undoubtedly been helping with  post-launch patches for Battlefield 2042. No word yet on what studio Mesmar is heading to next if it’s within the games industry at all.

Battlefield 2042  is rough right now, although, with enough patches,  it could turn into something great. DICE will need to sift through the mounds of fan feedback to figure it out. Thankfully there’s a list that should help them out.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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