EA Play 2020: Fifa 21, Star Wars Squadrons and Skate among highlights of gaming event

From Fifa, Star Wars and a new Skate game there was lots on show during the EA Play event

With the next generation of gaming consoles on the way Electronic Arts has been showing off some of its new games coming out in the next few months.

Like many gaming announcements this year, the company streamed the EA Play event as an online-only event because of coronavirus and if you missed it, here are some of the highlights.

Fifa 21

Could Mbappe be the new cover star of Fifa 21?

Footage from Fifa 21 has been revealed for the first time and the big news from EA was confirmation that if you buy the game on current gen consoles (PS4, Xbox One) you'll be able to upgrade your copy of the game on the next gen consoles for free.

The game will be released for the current generation of consoles and the PC on 9 October. However, with uncertainty over when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will officially go on sale, EA was unable to announce a release date for Fifa on the new consoles.

No release date for Fifa 21 has been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch or Google Stadia, but EA has promised more details on those editions later this year.

So what do we know about the game?

There could be new fan animations in the new Fifa game

Paris St-Germain star striker Kylian Mbappe featured heavily in a video clip that also included footage of Madden 21.

It does suggest that Mbappe might take over as the cover star of the game, replacing Eden Hazard. Liverpool are also in the trailer a lot, with attention given to the exterior of their home ground, Anfield and there's possibly new fan animation in the game, with a glimpse of the crowd singing the famous song 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

Fans will be hoping EA Sports has made several improvements to Fifa 21, after Fifa 20 was criticised for having several glitches and bugs after its release last year.

EA has promised to reveal more details about gameplay, career mode, Volta, Pro Clubs and Ultimate Team in August.

Star Wars: Squadrons

The new Star Wars game focuses on fighter pilots

Prepare for take off because there was loads more footage of Star Wars: Squadrons in a near six-minute game play video.

The game seems to take place completely from a fully customisable cockpit of an X-Wing or Tie-Fighter and can be played from start to finish in VR (virtual reality).

The trailer showed off a single player campaign, multiplayer modes, and fleet battles which sees you squad up with four friends or other online players to take on another squadron.

You can meet up in a 'social hub' which looks like a mission briefing room to plan out a strategy.

Cockpits will be customisable in Star Wars: Squadrons - check out the Ewok bobble head

As for the single player campaign, the game is set some time after Return of the Jedi and several years before The Force Awakens. It sees the Rebel Alliance, now known as the New Republic, take on what's left of the Empire.

There are two versions of single player, you can play through the story as an Imperial or New Republic fighter pilot.

Squadrons is due out on 2 October.

Rocket Arena

Rocket Area looks like a combination of Fortnite and Overwatch

"Welcome to the curious World of Crater — where rockets reign and champions are made!"

In a game that looks like a combination or Fortnite and Overwatch, Rocket Arena brings explosive action to a variety of colourful maps.

In its description of the game, EA says: "Rockets rule everything in Rocket Arena, an explosive 3x3 shooter where you're never out of the fight

"Master your hero's unique rockets and abilities to blast your rivals off the map and rule the arena!"

Like Fortnite, it looks like Rocket Arena will also have several seasons, it releases for the Playstation 4 and Steam on 14 July.

Skate

There's a new Skate game for the first time in ten years

After years of fan demands, EA says a new Skate game is in development, the fourth game in the series, announced 10 years since the last one.

EA said very little about the game during the livestream, there was no trailer or release date. However it's a busy year for skateboarding games, as well as Skate, the re-released and re-mastered version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 is due to launch this September, while new game SkaterXL is out next month.