Items tagged with (NASDAQ:EA)
Battlefield 2042 is now just a week away from launching, and if you're planning to play, be on the lookout for hardware driver updates that could improve the experience. Specifically, GPU driver updates. To that end, AMD is pushing out is Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.11.2 driver package, and with it comes some purportedly sizable performance gains in EA's upcoming shooter. AMD often provides performance claims for whatever title or multiple games a driver release is optimized for, though sometimes just for a single graphics card. This time, however, AMD offered up some numbers for three of its desktop graphics cards based on RDNA 2. In all three cases, AMD is promising double-digit performance...
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Players who are anticipating the launch of Battlefield 2042 will have to wait a little bit longer, following news of a delay. In a message posted to Twitter, Dice Studio GM Oskar Gabrielson broke the news, saying the new release date is November 19, 2021. That amounts to exactly four weeks from the game's original October 22 launch date. Publisher Electronic Arts reiterated the news in a press release, saying the delay will not have an effect on its net bookings guidance for fiscal year 2022, that it provided back on August 4, 2021. Or put another way, it still anticipates selling a boatload of copies. And that's probably a fair assessment, given that three years have elapsed since Battlefield...
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The devastating security breach publisher Electronic Arts disclosed earlier this month may have been worse than initially thought. Not in terms of the scope of how much data was stolen (which is a lot), but in regards to EA possibly having prior knowledge that its systems were at risk, and allegedly choosing not to take appropriate measures that could have prevented the breach. Let's back up for a moment. A couple of weeks ago, hackers began bragging on private hacking forums that they infiltrated EA's servers and swiped a massive amount of data—around 780GB of source code, proprietary frameworks, software development kits, and engine tools. The stolen data was made available for sale....
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If you bought Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to play on previous generation consoles, a major update is now available to those who upgraded to next-gen Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles. As promised, Electronic Arts and developer Respawn Entertainment announced that the free cross-generation upgrade is now available to existing owners of the game. While Jedi: Fallen Order already looked good on consoles like the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro, the is next-gen makes the game look even better all-around while ramping up performance. According to Respawn, here are the updates presents with the next-gen upgrade: Higher Resolution Textures & Assets 4K/HDR Resolution Improved 60 FPS Performance...
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Anticipation is running high for the next major installment in the Battlefield franchise. As we wait for today's official reveal, more information has leaked out, seemingly confirming the game that has often been referred to as Battlefield 6 will indeed be branded Battlefield 2042, based on the upcoming title's time frame and setting. How much ends up being a surprise at this point remains to be seen. The reveal is scheduled for 10:00 am ET (7:00 am PT) today, in which developer DICE and publisher Electronic Arts will provide concrete details on what promises to deliver a "jaw-dropping experience for you to enjoy." Working towards that goal, DICE has assembled its largest team ever to construct...
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We imagine this is the time of the year that Amazon really bolsters its Prime membership numbers, with people signing up in anticipation of its annual Prime Day event. To that end, Amazon Prime Day 2021 is right around the corner (it takes place June 21-22). Ahead the event, however, Amazon is serving up another treat for Prime members—a free copy of Battlefield 4 for PC. Claiming your copy is rather easy. Just head over to Amazon's Battlefield 4 promotion page, click the Claim Now button, and then grab (copy) the key and redeem it on your Origin account. You will be prompted to sign into your Amazon Prime account when you attempt to do this, if you are not already. And if you are not a...
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After what seems like endless trailer leaks, Electronic Arts (EA) announced today that the latest game in the Battlefield franchise, led by DICE, will be revealed next Wednesday (June 9th). The event is scheduled to take place at 10 am EST on that date, and we're eager to see what's in store for gamers. Although we're referring to the game as Battlefield 6, we're not sure if that's what the game's official name will be. There are rumors that it will simply be called Battlefield, but perhaps we'll learn more with inevitable leaks between now and next week. While the official reveal will soon be upon us, there's still a ways to go before the actual release, as the "Battlefield development team...
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We have to wait a few more weeks before Electronics Arts unveils its next Battlefield installment, presumably called Battlefield 6 (or just Battlefield), as the publisher recently confirmed it will hold a reveal event in June. In the meantime, supposed screenshots keep leaking out, potentially providing us some juicy details of what to expect when the game arrives. One of the screenshots appears to show a robot dog. This is line with a previous leak suggesting Battlefield 6 will feature a controllable robot combat dog, with a setting in the near future. That leak came from Discord user Tom Henderson, who likened the dog to the Boston Dynamics BigDog, a legacy robot that served as a pack mule....
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More than four years after it came out, Titanfall 2 maintains an 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating on Steam, both in all-time reviews and in recent evaluations (it arrived on Steam a little more recently, though, in June 2020). Did you miss out on the game when it released in 2016? Well, now is your chance to jump in at no cost—it is free to play right now, and will stay that way throughout the weekend. The free-to-play period has already begun and lasts until May 3rd at 10:00 am PT (1:00 pm ET). Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why focus on a game that came out around four and a half years ago? It's a fun game, for one—see our Titanfall 2 review. There has been a big spike...
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In December 2020, we reported that EA swooped in and purchased Codemasters in a $1.2 billion mega-deal. This gave EA access to a quite healthy racing game portfolio, but there was concern at the time that the purchase could negatively affect consumers. It appears that EA did not waste any time with shenanigans affecting Codemasters games, however, as regional prices for F1 2021 could double or even triple that of F1 2020. Yesterday, Twitter user @RobotBrush posted a chart putting the global pricing for F1 2020 and F1 2021 side by side. It shows that countries such as China will face a 1.5x increase in price, whereas other places like India will receive a 2.7x price hike. Argentina is stuck with...
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There is a black market for everything, including FIFA Ultimate Team player cards. An EA employee, or someone otherwise connected to EA FIFA, has reportedly been selling FIFA 21 Ultimate Team items for cash. EA Sports has stated that they are currently investigating the allegation. Screenshots were recently posted on social media of a supposed EA employee selling rare FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) player cards. The seller offered various packs of Icon and Team of the Year Cards for between 750 to 1000 Euros (roughly $895 to $1,195 USD). There was even a pack of three Prime Icon Moments cards priced at 1700 Euros ($2,032 USD). Potential buyers were requested to provide their PSN, EA ID, and of course,...
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In November of last year, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was announced to BioWare fans worldwide. While the Legendary Edition is not a new game, the hit sci-fi RPG series is getting a makeover that make the prior games much more enjoyable. We will cover many tweaks and changes, and now we have a release date for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition: May 14th. First and foremost are the changes to textures throughout the Mass Effect series. The new reveal trailer below shows this off, but it is pretty impressive when you compare images side by side. Overall, textures look less flat, and there is more detail than the original textures. We can especially see this in characters' faces, which look significantly...
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Who doesn't like getting something for nothing? Sure, some things are so terrible that you might have a hard time even giving them away, but Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition is genuinely good these days, and also free right now at the Epic Games Store. The only problem is, so many people flocked to claim their copy that Electronic Arts is having a hard time accommodating them all. Star Wars Battlefront II features both single-player and multi-player gameplay. Those who want to partake in the single-player campaign can hop right in and play the game without issue. However, the multi-player action has been overwhelming EA's servers, apparently, causing players to report seeing server...
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You know that we love freebies here at HotHardware, and we've a hard to pass up one for you today courtesy of the Epic Games Store. The game in question is Star Wars Battlefront II, which launched just over three years ago for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 platforms. When the game first came out, it was more than a bit rough around the edges and drew a lot of complaints from gamers. The most infuriating aspect of the game was its loot system, which made progression and unlocking some of the most cherished characters a time-laden (or expensive) proposition. However, Electronic Arts and DICE worked through the kinks over the years and have massaged Battlefront II to be a worthy...
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Take-Two Interactive nearly acquired Codemasters in a deal worth approximately $994 million. In fact, the publisher thought it was a foregone conclusion, having announced in November that it had reached an agreement with the developer of Dirt 5 and other racing sims. But then Electronic Arts swooped in at the final hour with a better offer, announcing today it has reached an agreement to buy Codemasters for an implied enterprise value of $1.2 billion. Cue the State Farm commercial with the elder fisherman dangling a dollar and taunting, "Ooh you almost had it, you gotta be quicker than that." "Electronic Arts and Codemasters have a shared ambition to lead the video game racing category. The Board...
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Happy N7 day, Mass Effect fans! November 7 has been something of an unofficial holiday for BioWare fans over the years, as news of a new game in the enormous hit sci-fi role playing series has traditionally dropped on this date. Today, BioWare announced that it has heard its fans' cries and has been working on a remaster of the original trilogy. Mass Effect Legendary Edition will come in Spring 2021 and bring Mass Effect to a new generation. Let's take a look at the official trailer, which dropped today. What makes this release so legendary is that it's not just a remaster of the original game. Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes all the base content and downloadable content...
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We already know how Take-Two and Sony feel about prices increases for next-generation games for Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 consoles, but one major publisher that has been relatively silent is Electronic Arts. Any talk of raising the price of games from $60 to $70 is sure to rile up gamers, so EA was perhaps wise to stay out of the discussion until the dust cleared. However, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen finally decided to wade into the fray during the company's earnings call this week. And given his comments, it appears that EA is receptive to raising prices if the industry starts trending that way. "We've always said games are getting more expensive. The experience is getting deeper....
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Electronic Arts seems to have learned something over the weekend—people do not like to be bombarded with ads, particularly in the middle of a video game they paid $60 to play. Seems like that lesson would fall into the 'common sense' category. Not for EA, apparently, which reversed course after immense blow back on the web. Everything about the execution on this one stinks of greed. To start with, according Reddit user Ydino, who uploaded a video of the in-game ads in EA Sports UFC 4, the publisher added them "a month after [the game's] release so it wasn't talked about in reviews." While we can't say for sure, that would suggest a calculated decision on EA's part, to avoid negative press...
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I have a running joke when watching football games, where any time someone's helmet comes flying off as a result of a hard hit, I feign shock at their entire head separating from their body (yes, my family is tired of the running gag). Nobody actually loses their noggin in the NFL, but you might come across a headless player in Madden NFL 21, along with a whole bunch of other glitches. To be clear, I have not actually played Madden NFL 21. However, a glance around the web reveals a plethora of annoying and sometimes hilarious glitches. Like misspelled names, quirky physics, and a cut scene with an invisible football coach (as a result of a rendering glitch) talking to one of his players about...
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Star Wars fans have a new video game to look forward to from EA called Star Wars: Squadrons. Recently EA showed off a nearly 6-minute long gameplay video that gives a glimpse at the beautiful graphics and starfighter action that players can expect. The game is a first-person space dogfighting title that will allow players to fight as either an Imperial pilot or a Rebel pilot in a single-player campaign mode. The Imperial pilot that players can choose is Case Kassandora, while the Rebel pilot is Rao Highmoon. Both of the pilots are customizable by the player, and there's also a multiplayer mode in the game. In the multiplayer mode, Squadrons offers 5v5 online fighting action with multiple game...
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Real-time strategy video game fans who were around in the '90s may have fond memories of playing various Command & Conquer games. The titles were incredibly popular in their day and are still popular with retro gamers today. One of the more exciting things to be announced by EA was that iconic RTS games Command & Conquer Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn were being remastered. The Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is now available to purchase on Steam. The C&C Remastered collection includes Command & Conquer and Red Alert, both remastered in 4K by former Westwood Studios team members. The collection includes all three expansions, rebuilt multiplayer, a modernized UI, map editor,...
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EA producer Jim Vessella has taken to reddit to talk about something that is surprising to hear from a major game publisher. EA will be heavily supporting game modders with the upcoming re-releases of some classic video games, including Command & Conquer and C&C Red Alert. According to Vessella, EA will be "releasing the TiberianDawn.dll and RedAlert.dll and the corresponding source code under the GPL version 3.0 license." By releasing that source code, EA is enabling fans of those old games to "design maps, create custom units, replace art, alter gameplay logic, and add data." Some fans who create mods for the game already have the source code to allow them to get content ready to download...
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