We went into Star Wars Battlefront II with a goal to make the deepest, biggest Star Wars game you've ever played. That meant transporting you to all three eras and handing you a huge assortment of heroes, classes, and vehicles - as well as bringing tons of free post-launch content to all Star Wars Battlefront II players.

The Beta gave us a welcome chance to test all of our systems in action and tune things up for better balance. A few weeks back, we mentioned we were going to take another look at how the progression system works. After incorporating feedback from the Beta, we're happy to share our plans for launch.

The death knell is sounding in Visceral Games (creators of the Dead Space series), courtesy of EA. The publishing company has shuttered another one of its studios, and is looking to move employees from Visceral to what others remain. Apparently, the Star Wars game, which had a tentative release date for 2019, was shaping up as a "story-based, linear adventure game": not that much of a surprise, considering it was being helmed by Uncharted series veteran Amy Hennig. A development team from across EA Worldwide Studios will take over development, led by a team from EA Vancouver that was already working on the project.

Apparently, EA wasn't much enjoying the way the game was developing; usually, linear, story-based games don't lend themselves much for microtransactions or loot boxes, now do they? Citing "shifts in the marketplace", EA says that "It has become clear that to deliver an experience that players will want to come back to and enjoy for a long time to come, we needed to pivot the design," so that it "allows for more variety and player agency." All in all, this sounds much like Destiny, or upcoming Bioware game Anthem. But it will also certainly lend itself better to further monetization, considering how it's one of the industry's most important sources of revenue.

Electronics Arts announced that pre-ordered copies of its upcoming flagship motorsport simulator "Need for Speed: Payback" will feature exclusive graphics effects not found on copies bought after its release. The pre-order page for the game lists out benefits for paying for the game before reading or watching a single review from a neutral source; including "the platinum car pack," a selection of exclusive vehicles, and a curious-looking "exclusive tire smoke."

While giving away bonus content, a tiny headstart in the game with more in-game currency or items, isn't new to pre-orders, this is one of the first times that a big production title is presenting exclusive graphics effects, the tire smoke color in this case, that otherwise won't be available even on machines with the most powerful hardware, or the most powerful consoles. If successful, this model could lure more gamers toward pre-orders of untested and unproven games.

Mass Effect: Andromeda was met with a lukewarm reception from reviewers and users alike (even if there was just a smidge of overblown issues,) and it would seem this has made EA cautious regarding this IP. Make no mistake: Mass Effect still lines up alongside EA's biggest franchises, and it's almost guaranteed the publisher will want to return to it at some point in time. It just so happens that its less than stellar reception has seemingly put further plans on the IP on hold. Bioware Montreal, the studio behind Andromeda's push, as apparently been relegated to a "support studio" role, with staff being channeled towards the new Star Wars Battlefront 2 game and other projects. Part of the staff will still be working on Mass Effect: Andromeda, looking to work through patches and multiplayer support, though it would seem that there are now no plans for eventual Andromeda DLC. This is a sad development, all in all, as Mass Effect counts one of the most interesting settings - and the most potential - among game franchises

On to Bioware's new original intellectual property, codenamed "Dylan", Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson revealed during a recent call with investors that its launch has been postponed. Originally scheduled to launch by the end of March 2018, the not-yet-named title has been pushed back to EA's 2019 fiscal year (April 2018 through March 2019.) This game looks to be EA's take on the kind of "live" game that is Bungie's Destiny and upcoming Destiny 2 (under Activision's supervision), and Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's The Division, being built around a live service and a "disruptive" new social design which was, according to Andrew Wilson, the reason for the delay.

Microsoft acquired Havok Physics, the industry's most popular in-game physics API, from Intel. Microsoft intends to add Havok's IP to its existing tools and platforms, including DirectX 12, Visual Studio, and Azure. Havok will continue to remain accessible to all its existing licensees and partners, including Activision, EA, Ubisoft, Nintendo, and Sony. It currently features in more than 600 AAA game titles across major platforms, such as the PC, PlayStation, Wii, and Xbox.

Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that EA SPORTS FIFA World, a new free-to-play* game for PC, is set to launch a new game engine that will give fans an even better, more realistic, football experience. By removing the barriers of having access to a console or a high powered PC, EA SPORTS FIFA World brings the FIFA experience to more gaming and football fans around the globe. Available in 9 languages, fans with an average spec laptop or desktop PC and a broadband Internet connection can play a fun, free, authentic football game, driven by live content and featuring real players and real clubs from over 30 officially licensed leagues.

Since being announced at Gamescom 2013, EA SPORTS FIFA World has seen more than 3.5 million registrations from over 180 countries register to play the Beta, with over 45 million total matches played. Based on fan feedback, over 20 major updates have been made to the game, including gamepad and keyboard-only controls, as well as Accomplishments - a new feature that captures compelling storylines from the real world of football as they happen, challenging and rewarding fans to recreate and re-live these defining moments in EA SPORTS FIFA World.

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Electronics Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) to create a range of Titanfall-branded gaming products. Expected to be in stores for the launch of Titanfall, the Titanfall-branded product range includes TRITTON gaming headsets, R.A.T. mice, S.T.R.I.K.E. keyboards, F.R.E.Q. gaming headsets and G.L.I.D.E. gaming surfaces.

"Titanfall has earned critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including Best of Show, Best Original Game, and Best Online Multiplayer at this year's E3 conference. Mad Catz is excited to bring a range of cutting-edge, innovative, Titanfall-branded products to gamers in connection with one of the most anticipated game launches in recent history," said Darren Richardson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. "The Titanfall license builds on Mad Catz' strategy to align our product portfolio with AAA content that appeals to passionate gamers."

AMD revealed that EA's highly-anticipated online shooter, Battlefield 4, is an AMD Gaming Evolved title, in the run up to its GPU'14 event, slated for later today. It also hints at the possibility of Battlefield 4 being part of an upcoming "Never Settle" bundle that's exclusive to buyers of the Radeon R 200 series. What does this translate to in the real world? Radeon HD 7700 series and above, and the upcoming Radeon R 200 series, feature 100% support for DirectX 11.1, which Battlefield 4 is rumored to take advantage of, on PCs running Windows 8 (and above). It could translate to better performance or visual effects.

EA-DICE' upcoming online shooter Battlefield 4 will take advantage of DirectX 11.1 API, on PCs running Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Running the game with DirectX 11.1 will have a positive performance impact compared to running it on DirectX 11.0, or on older operating systems like Windows 7 (which doesn't support DirectX 11.1). In the words of the technical director behind Frostbite, the underlying engine for Battlefield 4, "We use DX11.1, there are some optimizations in it (constant buffer offsets, dynamic buffers as SRVs) that we got in to the the API that improves CPU performance in our rendering when one runs with DX11.1." This could give Radeon HD 7000 series GPUs an edge over their GeForce competitors. GPUs based on NVIDIA's "Kepler" micro-architecture don't fully support DirectX 11.1. Incidentally, Battlefield 4 was just bagged and tagged by AMD for its future "Never Settle" bundle. Join the dots.

All Frostbite 3 Titles Will Be Optimized For AMD Only (Updated)

According to a report from IGN, EA and AMD have entered an agreement which sees the latter benefiting from exclusive rights to optimization for games based on EA's Frostbite 3 engine. Titles like Battlefield 4, Need for Speed Rivals and Mirror's Edge 2 are subject to this rumored accord between AMD and EA, but also many other current and future EA titles. Of course, this will not completely remove NVIDIA from the Frostbite 3 table, they will simply be absent from it until the actual launch takes place, meaning that pre-launch testing and driver optimization can only be done by AMD, leaving NVIDIA at a clear disadvantage.

While still an unconfirmed rumor, AMD refused to deny it in a reply to Ryan Shrout's query regarding the story. AMD's reply below.
"It makes sense that game developers would focus on AMD hardware with AMD hardware being the backbone of the next console generation. At this time, though, our relationship with EA is exclusively focused on Battlefield 4 and its hardware optimizations for AMD CPUs, GPUs and APUs."

AMD updated its "Never Settle" game bundles for all graphics card models upwards of Radeon HD 7700 series. The update adds a game to each of the three product families - HD 7700, HD 7800, and HD 7900 series. The offer covers new purchases made after the 15th of May. Buyers of single-GPU HD 7900 series graphics cards no longer have to choose between Crysis and Tomb Raider; while buyers of HD 7800 series get Crysis 3 Hunter Edition. In essence, single-GPU HD 7900 and HD 7800 series buyers get the same bundles.

You get Crysis 3 Hunter Edition, Bioshock: Infinite, Tomb Raider (2013), and FarCry 3: Blood Dragon; with both single-GPU Radeon HD 7900 series, and Radeon HD 7800 series. Buyers of Radeon HD 7700 series will get an addition, too, Tomb Raider (2013). This is a limited offer that runs while supplies last, covers only new purchases made after May 15, and only targets North America, EMEA, Australia, and New Zealand.

Acer America is now offering its Acer B6 and V6 Series LED-backlit displays combining smart ergonomics and eco-conscious materials for both professional customers and consumers in Canada. The new monitors offer a thinner body than the prior generation and a wide array of models in various screen sizes, which feature a vertical alignment (VA) or twisted nematic (TN) panel depending on model.

The Acer V6 Series value line of displays focused on offering great quality at a good price is available in 19- to 24-inch screen sizes. The B6 Series premium line ranges in screen sizes from 22- to 27-inches and boasts a multi-function ergonomic stand, dual speakers and on select models, USB 3.0 with power-off charging for smartphones and other digital devices.

Monster, the world leader in high-performance personal audio, is proud to announce it is entering the gaming accessories space with the breakthrough EA SPORTS MVP Carbon by Monster headphone. Jointly developed with EA SPORTS, a label of Electronic Arts Inc., a global leader in digital interactive entertainment, the new EA SPORTS MVP Carbon by Monster headphone (SRP: $269.95) is the first-ever collaboration between a game developer and a headphone manufacturer that offers an unprecedented level of immersive sonic gameplay - just the way the game developers intended. Follow Monster during CES at #MonsterCES and the EA headphones launch at #PlayLoud.

The seemingly age-old question 'Will it run Crysis?' is back with a vengeance as EA has provided the system requirements for the third installment of Crytek's first-person shooter. Set for a February 2013 release, Crysis 3 'demands' the following:

Minimum

• Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8
• DirectX 11 graphics card with 1 GB Video RAM
• Dual core CPU
• 2 GB Memory (3 GB on Vista)
• Example 1 (Nvidia/Intel):
  o Nvidia GTS 450
  o Intel Core2 Duo 2.4 GHz (E6600)
• Example 2 (AMD):
  o AMD Radeon HD5770
  o AMD Athlon64 X2 2.7 GHz (5200+)

DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio, today announced that Battlefield 3: Aftermath, the fourth digital expansion pack for Battlefield 3, is now available for all Battlefield 3 Premium members on the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system.

Battlefield 3: Aftermath provides a new brand of carnage to urban combat delivering four new maps in a vertical and horizontal setting, depicting a continuing struggle for supremacy and survival amongst Iran's post-earthquake devastation. G4TV even said, "DICE continues to play with Battlefield 3's multiplayer action in creative ways with its downloadable content releases. Aftermath is shaping up to be the most unique of the bunch by far."

Electronic Arts Inc. and developer Crytek GmbH, today announced that fans who pre-order Crysis 3 will receive a free digital download copy of the original Crysis game for Xbox 360, PS3 or PC*. Lauded by GameSpot as "One of the greatest shooters ever made" and universally hailed upon its release for breaking new ground with jaw-dropping visuals, industry leading technology and sandbox gameplay, Crysis thrusts players into the middle of a global conflict between the U.S. and North Korea over a mysterious artifact that turns out to be extraterrestrial in nature. In Crysis, players are outfitted with the series signature Nanosuit and an arsenal of fully customizable weapons that provide a wide array of options not only for the games story missions but also every single objective and individual encounter. In addition, those that pre-order Crysis 3 will receive the Crysis 3 Hunter Edition, giving fans a head start in multiplayer with immediate access to the powerful new Predator bow and the Hunter Nanosuit module and more**.

EA has confirmed reports that a beta invite to Battlefield 4 will be included with pre-orders of the Medal of Honor: Warfighter Limited Edition. The announcement claims the Battlefield 4 beta will be available sometime in fall 2013, so you have a while to wait. EA points out that the two games are very different, but touts the shared heritage of the Frostbite engine. Yesterday, the rumors started churning from a leaked ad that promised the beta. Today you can actually order the Limited Edition from Origin, which costs $10 more than the standard edition.

EA has made a major push into PC digital distribution with Origin, and it seems to be paying off. Analysts have predicted that we're heading toward an all-digital age, and EA intends to speed up the process by actively moving toward that goal itself. "We'll continue to deliver games in whatever media formats make sense and as one ebbs and one starts to flow, we'll go in that direction," EA Games president Frank Gibeau said. "Ultimately Electronic Arts, at some point in the future - much like your question about streaming and cloud - we're going to be a 100% digital company, period. It's going to be there some day. It's inevitable." He also noted the problem that many in the industry have pointed out: our only measure of tracking sales numbers is through NPD, which tracks retail sales but has lagged behind on reporting digital numbers. Part of that is probably that the large digital marketplace Steam is reluctant to share its sales data, but it still creates a definite issue of incomplete data. "I think one of the problems with this industry right now is that people tend to look at it like they're looking at an elephant through a straw," he told GI.biz. "They only see a little parts of it and they're not looking at the total picture, right? Between Facebook, social, mobile, free to play on PC, Asia, consoles... it's a vibrant, growing, huge market. An occasional bad report from NPD, which measures a sliver of what's actually happening in gaming gives people an erroneous impression."

While many scoffed at Battlefield 3's late-arriving competitor to Call of Duty Elite, it seems to have worked quite splendidly for the publisher. More than 800,000 players have signed up for Premium in its first two weeks of availability, EA Games' Patrick Soderlund revealed. Although Premium less a "service" like Elite and more of a DLC Season Pass, the $50 asking price does include a lot of content. Namely, Premium includes access to over $75 worth of content, making it a "value" for hardcore fans of the series. Speaking to USA Today, Soderlund said that "we are very pleased with the performance so far." When asked if this strategy is something EA will pursue with future games, he said: "We're actually only two weeks into it, so it's a little early to tell how this is going to pay off. It certainly it looks very promising right now."

Call of Duty Elite currently has over two million paying subscribers, a number which took about six months to reach.

Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd, today announces a brushed aluminum EATX supported chassis with a front placed PSU - PC-V750. With the power supply placed in the front, the PC-V750 can hold the hardware that enthusiasts desire while keeping a smaller footprint.

Shorter than most EATX supporting chassis, the 440mm (17.32") tall PC-V750 can hold up to six 3.5" hard drives with hotswap capabilities in the HDD cage with one 2.5" at the bottom of the cage. Two more 2.5" drives can be installed if only four 3.5" drives are in the cage.

EA has started a new program to generate awareness and charitable contributions to fallen Special Operations soldiers, titled "Project Honor." The program is a marketing tie-in with the upcoming Medal of Honor Warfighter, but it's also planning some smart ways to benefit military charities. Various weapon and gear manufacturers will donate to the Navy SEAL Foundation and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Their products will be featured in Warfighter, and they'll also be selling Medal of Honor merchandise with 100% of the proceeds going to one of the listed charities. In addition, EA and Danger Close will be selling a "Military Edition" of the game made exclusively for active, reserve, and former US military. It includes the Limited Edition with some exclusive unlocks. If you fit that bill, you can check out the GovX site for ordering details.

"This partnership with EA and Medal of Honor will raise awareness on the work we do to help the families of fallen Special Operations warriors and facilitate contributions that help provide college scholarships for surviving children and financial assistance to families of severely wounded special operations warriors," said Special Operations Warrior Foundation president John T. Carney, Jr., in the announcement. "This is a great way to give back to some of our country's greatest warriors."

hat if your tablet or phone knew what you were watching on TV and presented bonus features without you having to lift a finger? What if you could use your tablet to draw up a play in EA SPORTS' "Madden NFL" and then perform it to perfection on your TV? What if you could control your favorite websites on the TV with a simple swipe, pinch or zoom on your tablet's touchscreen?

To kick-start the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Microsoft Corp. today unveiled a bold new vision for enjoying entertainment at home and on the go with Xbox SmartGlass. Launching this year, Xbox SmartGlass is an application for Windows 8, Windows Phone, and other portable devices that connects phones, PCs and tablets with your Xbox 360 console to make your entertainment smarter, more interactive and more fun.(1) The intelligence of Xbox SmartGlass makes your entertainment more engaging, Web surfing more effortless, and playing games more immersive by delivering companion content and control to enhance your TV experience.

Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, today announced the addition of a custom headset to its Collector's Edition gaming peripheral suite. Inspired by tactical aviator headsets and armed with total audio immersion, the Razer BlackShark delivers the full force aural intensity of Battlefield 3, EA and DICE's military shooter masterwork, the fastest-selling game in EA history.

Battlefield 3 is the most physical, dynamic and progressive shooter experience on the market. Now with the Razer BlackShark, gamers will be able to take to the skies feeling like a genuine attack helicopter pilot with complete circumaural ear cups designed to facilitate an authentic auditory in-game experience. Razer's superior sound-isolating technology blocks out undesirable ambient noises and, for moments of truce, the Razer BlackShark comes with a detachable boom microphone for use on-the-go.

While content-creation and media transcoding applications have transitioned to native x86-64 applications that can take advantage of large amounts of system and video memory, a similar transition by game developers has been rather slow. Very few PC games ship with 64-bit executables, as most games are ported from game consoles anyway, which have slim system requirements.

EA-DICE has been behind developing games that take advantage of the latest PC technologies (such as DirectX 11), and according to a lead developer and rendering architect with the studio, Johan Andersson, games that are driven by Frostbite engine, which are slated for 2013, will require 64-bit operating systems, these games will not run on 32-bit Windows, or in 32-bit mode, on 64-bit Windows, but with full-fledged 64-bit executables. The 64-bit address-space would allow games to take advantage of system memory over 4 GB, and more importantly, high amounts of video memory, as 2 GB and 3 GB become standard with performance-segment graphics cards.

PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY") today introduced the XLR8 GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 graphics card. The GTX 670 delivers state-of-the-art features and technologies found only in the newest NVIDIA Kepler architecture to redefine smooth, seamless, lifelike gaming.

The PNY XLR8 GeForce GTX 670 was designed to produce faster, more power-efficient performance and is 30% faster than the previous generation graphics card. PNY will offer consumers a value-added bundle: the GTX 670 graphics card coupled with a PNY High Speed Thin HDMI Cable. The HDMI cable connects the GTX 670 directly to an HDTV or monitor for maximum high definition 1080p gaming.