EA’s six most important E3 2015 announcements

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If you had to boil down Electronic Arts into its base elements, it would be sports and science fiction. The company's E3 showcase all began with a first look at the new Mass Effect and ended with an extended look at multiplayer in Star Wars: Battlefront. Somewhere in between we got a lot of sports anecdotes, the return of free-running and speed-needing, and a few adorable surprises. Here's everything you need to know.

Star Wars: Battlefront is... wow

Sure, it's only "pre-alpha gameplay" — a caveat which ostensibly means there's a lot more development to go — but the Star Wars: Battlefront multiplayer footage EA showed off today had basically everything you could want in a game like this, from taking down an AT-ST to hopping in a TIE fighter. And yes, there are lightsabers. Star Wars: Battlefront is showing a lot of promise, and it's coming November 17th for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Star Wars Battlefront screengrab

Need for Speed is back this November

EA is calling this the definitive version of Need for Speed with "the richest customization ever seen" for the franchise. There's also reportedly an abundance of driving and drifting. Need for Speed (no subtitle or sequel numbering) is coming November 3rd for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Need for Speed

Mass Effect is back holiday 2016

Bioware's venerable sci-fi RPG is (almost) back. EA finally gave us a small glimpse at the new Mass Effect: Andromeda, which is coming holiday 2016. While there are some definite callbacks to the Mass Effect universe — including an N7 designation on the armor —  the trailer is more playful and more... Western-y? Don't expect too many details for a while, though: we still have another E3 before its release.

Mirror's Edge is back February 2016

The incredibly stylish free-running game Mirror's Edge is returning early next year on February 23rd. The cinematic trailer for Mirror's Edge Catalyst shows more style, more dystopian drama, and more parkour than the 2008 original. (Fun sidenote: the main evil guy looks just like EA CEO Andrew Wilson.)

Mirrors Edge

Sportsball galore!

EA Sports' annual releases were on full display this year (and, tangentially, resulted in some bizarre moments during today's event, like a low-energy interview Pelé that dragged on a bit too long). Highlights include a fantasy football-inspired mode for Madden NFL 16 and a new face-scanning app, GameFaceHD, that quickly makes a 3D render of your face for NBA Live 16.

Unravel is... adorable

Not everything was a sequel or reboot, however. One of our favorite moments of the event might be a first look at Unravel, a new puzzle-platformer about an anthropomorphic ball of yarn. On the surface, that does sound a bit like other yarn-based games (of which there are a surprising number), but it's adorable.

Unravel

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