Speaking in a recent interview with Wccftech, when asked about the same, game director Corinne Busche acknowledged that a pre-launch character creator demo was a “much-requested feature”, and added that though it “would be pretty cool”, EA and BioWare are still “TBD on that.”

The action RPG is, of course, still over a month away from release, so there’s time yet for EA to announce something along those lines. If it were to happen, however, you’d expect to not have to wait too long for something like that, so hopefully we’ll be hearing more soon.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches on October 31 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Henderson claims the next Battlefield is set in the late 2020s, with its campaign set to tell the story of a private military group’s conflict against NATO. The campaign will be set across multiple different locations, with Gibraltar being what was shown in the recently released concept art (which you can view above), and the US being where Ripple Effect Studios’ rumoured free-to-play battle royale experience will be set. The battle royale experience will allegedly be tied to the mainline game, similar to Call of Duty: Warzone.

Where the mainline title’s multiplayer is concerned, the report claims the next Battlefield will launch with 45 different weapon types, while DICE is also targeting “around 10” multiplayer maps. Additionally, though it’s unknown if Battlefield 4’s Levelotion will be returning, the report does claim that the game will feature a “significant overhaul” for the destruction mechanics.

As part of that overhaul, the game is allegedly also set to feature caliber-based destruction similar to Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege, which means different caliber weapons will cause different levels of environmental destruction. Meanwhile, new movement options are also reportedly being introduced, such as being able to pick up and move downed players.

Where the game’s name is concerned, the report claims the development team has been conduction “mass surveys” with the community for a year or so as it tries to decide whether to call the game Battlefield 6 or simply Battlefield.

As per prior reports, the next Battlefield is targeting an October 2025 release. Recently, EA’s Vince Zampella said the company “would love to see” the upcoming shooter on Nintendo’s currently unannounced next-gen console. Read more on that through here.

Darrah responded on Twitter, addressing any potential claims about the project being a “commercial failure,” that it sold “over 12 million at this point.” The fantasy RPG also “massively” oversold internal projections at publisher Electronic Arts. Check out our review of the title when it first launched.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches on October 31st for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. BioWare has released several details over the past few months, highlighting the UI customization options, The Lighthouse, which acts as the player’s base, and specializations for the Duelist and Mage.

Check out the latest video outlining the various locations in Thedas to explore or learn more about the core party. You can also learn more about the PC-specific features here.

Yeah I’m not sure where “DAI was a commercial failure” came from…
Its over 12 million at this point.
MASIVELY oversold the internal EA projections
…
Oh yeah and was GotY in 2014.

— Mark Darrah (@BioMarkDarrah) September 17, 2024

In an update published on its official website, the company has revealed that rather than focusing on “linear, sequential Sims releases”, it instead intends to offer players a wide variety of experiences, the centerpiece of which will continue to be The Sims 4. Also included will be Project Rene, previously rumoured to be The Sims 5, but described now by EA as “a story driven mobile test”.

“When we talk about The Sims as an entertainment platform driven by our community, it’s because we see the future of The Sims as more than any one title,” the update reads. “We’re expanding the franchise to better serve the diverse needs of the growing number of Simmers around the world. The Sims will move beyond linear, sequential Sims releases and offer more options for players than ever before. We’re focused on creating a variety of games and experiences that will touch different categories across the simulated life genre including cozy games, social and collaborative based gameplay, mobile narrative games and continued depth, improvements, and modernization of The Sims 4, which will continue to be a foundational Sims experience.

“We’re creating new and innovative experiences that connect with players on their terms, wherever they are and however they choose to play. These explorations are being tested via The Sims Labs including individual features from Project Rene, a story driven mobile test, enhancements to The Sims 4 with discovery and search tools, creator tools, and more.”

Interestingly, franchise boss Kate Gorman has also confirmed in an interview with Variety that there are no plans to make The Sims 5 and use it to replace The Sims 4, with the plan instead being to continue supporting, enhancing, and expanding on The Sims 4.

“The way to think about it is, historically, The Sims franchise started with Sims 1 and then Sims 2, 3, and 4. And they were seen as replacements for the previous products,” she said. “What we’re really working with our community on is this a new era of The Sims. We are not going to be working on replacements of previous projects; we’re only going to be adding to our universe. With that, you’ll see there are more ways to experience The Sims on different platforms, different ways to play, transmedia, and lots of great offerings within this universe. So absolutely, we’re still continuing to support The Sims 4 more than ever. Still continue to deliver expansion packs and updates and fixes. But what this is to say is, the way we’re going to do things going forward is a little different. And it’s really exciting and it’s really the most expansive iteration of The Sims yet.”

“What this means is that we will continue to bring HD simulation experience and what people would want from a [Sims] 5 — but it doesn’t mean that we’re going to start you over, reset all your progress, and really feel like you’re going to lose all of that amazing play you put into 4,” she added. “I think as we think about the future of it, we want you to continue all of those families and generations. Those creations are your progress, your attachment. We don’t want to reset your progress. And so it’s not about as much of what the numbers are in the games, but know that the future of the franchise looks more like keeping your progress, keeping things across titles, and really having an ongoing experience, and not a start-and-stop experience between products.”

Speaking during the company’s recent Investors Day 2024 presentation, EA’s president of entertainment and technology Laura Miele revealed that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor have collectively seen over 40 million players to date.

Individual figures weren’t provided for the two titles. Fallen Order stood at 20 million players as of June 2021, while player numbers haven’t been provided for its sequel to date. Following its launch last year, however, EA did confirm that it was selling better than expected. Meanwhile, with a PS4 and Xbox One release coming up, Jedi: Survivor is likely to keep seeing increasing player numbers.

EA has also confirmed that the next and final instalment in the Star Wars Jedi series is also in development.

Speaking recently at the company’s Investors Day 2024 presentation, EA’s president of entertainment and technology Laura Miele confirmed that developer Respawn Entertainment is at work on the follow-up to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which she described as the “final chapter” of the saga.

“Respawn is working hard to bring the final chapter of this thrilling story to players,” she said. 

Shortly after Jedi: Survivor’s release last year, job listing revealed that development on its sequel was already underway at Respawn Entertainment, which was later confirmed by actor Cameron Monaghan, who portrays protagonist Cal Kestis. 

The next game in the series will not be directed by Stig Asmussen, who directed both Fallen Order and Survivor. Asmussen left Respawn Entertainment in September last year, and has since formed a new independent AAA studio. 

EA has also confirmed that the Star Wars Jedi series has surpassed 40 million players to date. 

Unlike previous titles, the Skate reboot is free-to-play. It features a variety of cosmetics, including deck art, wheel colors, outfits, and more. Some cosmetics are unlocked by playing the game, while others require purchasing from the store. Full Circle has stated that there are no pay-to-win elements with all content available to players without paywalls.

While a release window for Skate’s early access is to be announced, the developer previously confirmed console playtests for this Fall. Stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks.

Skate is coming to PC (including Steam) and consoles. Check out some of the latest pre-pre-alpha gameplay here.

we’re incredibly stoked to announce that skate. will be launching in Early Access in 2025. we’ll share more details on what to expect in the coming months. pic.twitter.com/ZbFL3WycWu

— skate. (@skate) September 17, 2024

With the success of the Switch in mind, however, can we expect the company to pay greater attention to its successor? For instance, will the next Battlefield launch for the Nintendo Switch 2, or whatever else it ends up being called?

Series boss Vince Zampella was asked that question by IGN, and though he unsurprisingly did not officially confirm anything, he did say that EA “would love to see” the next Battlefield on Switch.

“I mean, since [Switch 2] isn’t announced and it doesn’t exist, I can’t really comment on that,” he said. “But I would say absolutely, Nintendo, along with Microsoft and Sony are great partners for us, are important to us on our business at EA, at Respawn, would love to see it. We don’t have anything to announce, but is there a world? Sure. We love them as partners. They’ve been great to us. I love the [Switch].”

In the same interview, Zampella also confirmed that the next Battlefield game will feature a modern-day setting. The game will also revert to 64-player maps, and will not be bringing back Battlefield 2042’s Specialists. Read more on that through here.

After having gone with World War 1, World War 2, and near-future settings with recent instalments in Battlefield 1, Battlefield 5, and Battlefield 2042 respectively, with its next outing, the series will return to the modern-day settings of beloved instalments such as Battlefield 3 and 4, which, as per franchise boss Vince Zampella, was the peak of the franchise.

“If you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it’s that Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern,” he said. “And I think we have to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do that amazingly well, and then we’ll see where it goes from there. But I think for me, it’s that peak of Battlefield-ness is in that Battlefield 3 and 4 days. So I think it’s nostalgic for players, for me, for the teams even.”

Zampella has also confirmed that the next Battlefield game will return to 64-player maps, and that 2042’s Specialists won’t be returning either. Meanwhile, he has also briefly touched on the possibility of a Switch 2 release for the title, saying that he “would love to see” the game on Nintendo’s console, but stopping short of officially confirming anything. Read more on that through here.

For instance, though Battlefield 2042 introduced 128-player maps on current-gen consoles and PC, the change proved to be an unpopular one with players, causing developer DICE to eventually switch back to 64-player battles. With the next instalment in the series, we’ll be seeing the latter right off the bat, as revealed by Vince Zampella, Head of Respawn and Group General Manager for EA’s Studios Organization, in conversation with IGN.

“The maps, once they get to a certain scale, become different. It’s a different play space, and I think you have to design around that,” Zampella said. “So we are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields. I’d rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces. Some of them are really good. I can’t wait for you to see some of them.”

Similarly, Specialists are another new feature that Battlefield 2042 introduced to mixed reception from players that will not be returning in the next game in the shooter franchise, with Zampella confirming a return to classes, which he describes as being “at the core of” the franchise’s gameplay identity.

“So I wasn’t there for 2042. I don’t know what the rationale was, but for me, it’s like the team tried something new,” he said. “You have to applaud that effort. Not everybody liked it, but you got to try things. It didn’t work. It didn’t fit. Specialist will not be coming back. So classes are kind of at the core of Battlefield, and we’re going back to that.”

Leaks have claimed that the next Battlefield game is targeting an October 2025 release, though EA hasn’t said much about the title or its launch plans in an official capacity. Zampella, however, has expressed interest in potentially bringing the game to Nintendo’s as-yet unannounced next-gen console. Read more on that through here.