EA previously delayed its Madden NFL 21 launch stream amid the protests, and other publishers have put their events and game updates on hold. Meanwhile, Summer Game Fest curator Geoff Keighley said that Valve’s Steam Game Festival will also take place one week later — it’s moving to June 16th-22nd.

The Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition will now take place one week later. June 16 – 22. #SummerGameFest pic.twitter.com/1t5lY2UdaK

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) June 5, 2020

EA Play typically takes place around the time of E3, but it’s part of Summer Game Fest this year. Although EA hasn’t said too much about what it’ll showcase during EA Play, you can probably expect a peek at its refreshed lineup of sports titles (Madden, FIFA, NBA Live and NHL). There may also be updates on the likes of Apex Legends and a peek at what EA games will look like on next-generation consoles.

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This holiday season likely won’t particularly be a holly or jolly affair what with the [wave broadly at the current state of everything] but at least we’ll see the debuts of not one but two next-generation gaming consoles. Ahead of its release at the end of this year, Sony plans to show off more than an hour’s worth of games from the upcoming PS5. So clear your schedule at 4pm ET on June 4th, grab a bucket of popcorn (or popcorn chicken, even) and hunker down for 60-some-odd minutes of digital escapism.

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It’s hard to imagine playing a MAdden NFL game not produced by EA. I mean the company’s been rolling out annual updates to the iconic sports title since 1990! And it looks like they’ll continue doing so for the foreseeable future as EA announced last week that it had yet again renewed its licensing deal with the NFL through the 2026 season… assuming there even is a 2026 season.

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Fool me once, Roberto Escobar, shame on me and my reskinned Galaxy Fold. Fool me twice, shame on you and your “gold plated” iPhone 11 Pros. At least throw in a cocaine hippo to sweeten the deal. Just what sort of game are you playing at here?

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Epic Games has juked its Fortnite players for a second time, once again delaying the release of Chapter 2 Season 3 until June 11th. But the folks at Epic are a thoughtful bunch and are making up for the lag by holding a one-off event net Saturday (June 6) at 2pm ET.

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It’s incredible, I’ve never seen anything like it. Judging by the length of his his last movie, Apple’s paying one dollar per minute for Martin Scorcsese’s next film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Eat your heart out Irishman, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ will still be running long after we’re all dead.

EA’s contribution to Summer Games Fest now has a specific date. The publisher has announced that an online-only version of EA Play Live will take place on June 11th at 7PM Eastern through the company’s website. It didn’t drop any clues as to what’s in the pipeline, although you can reasonably presume there will be updated versions of sports mainstays like Madden NFL, FIFA, NBA Live and NHL.

The event should be notable beyond the move to an internet-only event in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s EA’s first Play event where it’s likely to show PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X titles. While there’s a chance Microsoft’s Series X gameplay premiere might spoil some of the surprise, Play Live could show both more titles and provide a clearer sense of how EA will take advantage of the new consoles’ performance. It’s not certain if the first wave of PS5/XSX titles will offer meaningful gameplay improvements or simply represent graphical upgrades to familiar formulas.

The event will also encourage donations to the CDC Foundation’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with the NASCAR event, this is prompted in part by desperation. The absence of conventional sports has left Fox without much of its live programming. While the situation isn’t as dire as it is for stock car racing (the NFL season isn’t due to start for months), this gives Fox something to reel in viewers who’d otherwise have to wait a while to see live sports. If the Madden tourney is successful, it could lead to more virtual sports during the downtime and might expose many more people to esports.