EA at E3 2017: The 8 best announcements

Electronic Arts’ big pre-E3 press conference just wrapped and it was a doozie. Not only did we learn more about games like Star Wars Battlefront 2, Need for Speed Payback and Battlefield 1’s night and Russia content, we also found out about a new title from the people behind Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and a brand new BioWare game.

Below you’ll find a quick summary on the biggest news to come out of E3 2017’s first major press conference.

Battlefield 1 gets night maps, Russian details

With about 20 million players spending time in EA’s massively successful Battlefield 1 shooter, it’s not surprising the company decided to announce and detail new content for the game at E3.

This summer the game will be getting two new night maps. But the big news for the game at the show was the new details for the In the Name of the Tsar expansion. The expansion will add six new maps, the Russian army, new weapons, new vehicles and deeper player progression through new assignments and specialization. It all hits this September.

Finally, EA said it will be discussion competitive Battlefield during Gamescom later this year.

Madden is getting a story mode too

For the the first time in the 29-year history of the game, Madden 18 will feature a story mode that is designed to be a playable movie, according to the developer.

In the Longshot story mode, players will take on the role of Devin Wade as he makes one more go at going pro.

Need for Speed Payback’s new heist mode

EA showed off Ghost Games’ upcoming Need for Speed Payback in a new trailer called Highway Heist, which showcases the game’s new heist missions. The trailer also demoed the game’s Relic system, which modernizes classic cars for the game.

FIFA 17’s popular story mode is getting a sequel

The Journey: Hunter Returns is the sequel to last year’s incredibly popular FIFA story mode. FIFA 18’s story will see Alex Hunter, now an established superstar, faced with deciding which new club to join.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons creators are developing a prison break-out game

A Way Out will have players control two inmates as they try to breakout of a prison for differing reasons. The game will feature split-screen co-op only, either online or on a couch, according to the developer.

BioWare has a new game and it’s based on an entirely new IP

Electronic Arts

The folks behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect are working on an entirely new game called Anthem. We didn’t really learn much about it today -- those facts are being held back for Microsoft’s E3 presser on Sunday — but we did get a teaser video.

EA is into virtual humans and other stuff

The company pulled back the curtain a teensy bit on an internal incubator that is “focused on cutting edge technology.” That means SEED is looking into things like neural networks and virtual humans.

Finn and Captain Phasma will both be in Battlefront 2 ... eventually

Electronic Arts

We got our first (or second) look at Star Wars Battlefront 2 during the press conference. (A bit of Star Wars Battlefront 2 gameplay leaked earlier today.) The trailer showed off Star Wars mainstays and newcomers like Yoda, Chewbacca and Kylo Ren.

We also learned that the game will have a single-player campaign, which has players taking on the role of a TIE fighter pilot, and that Finn and Captain Phasma will both be coming to the game as free DLC post launch.

Also, all of this has trailers which are are absolutely worth your time to check out.

E3 2017 begins on June 13, with press conferences starting June 10. For the big announcements, make sure to check out our one-stop shop for the show's streams.