EA Play Live isn't happening this year

EA Play Live has been canceled for the first time since the E3-adjacent event was established in 2016.

In a statement to IGN, an EA spokesperson revealed plainly that the event won't be happening due to timing conflicts. 

"We love EA Play Live as it's our way of connecting with our players and sharing what's new with all of you," the 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!"

EA Play Live is traditionally an in-person event that gives players hands-on time with the publisher's upcoming games, but as with most live events from the last couple of years, it converted to an all-digital show for 2020 and 2021. More broadly, the ESA canceled E3 2022's previously planned live event for what sounds like another virtual showcase similar to E3 2021. Somewhat conspicuously, the ESA has yet to reveal exactly what  it has planned for E3 2022 just a few months shy of the usual June start date.

Last year, E3 officially ran from June 12 to 15 and featured publishers including Ubisoft, Xbox, and Nintendo, as well as media-run events like the PC Gaming Show and GamesRadar's own Future Games Show, the latter of which has another showcase this month. It's likely we'll see a similar situation play out with E3 this year, with rumors suggesting Xbox is already planning an E3-style show for the summer.

For everything on the horizon, check out our extensive guide to new games of 2022.