Electronic Arts issued a statement this week to inform its followers that NBA Live 20 has been cancelled and will not be releasing. The news of that cancellation didn’t come as a surprise to some since nothing had been said about the game lately, but unless you read through EA’s conference call or saw the reports and chatter that came from it, you might’ve missed the announcement. EA Sports shared a more direct message with its fans afterwards to confirm the cancellation and provide insights into the future of the series.
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The statement shared through the EA Sports Twitter account looked back on the studio’s past basketball games for consoles to lead into the update about NBA Live 20. It confirmed that the game wouldn’t be releasing this year but said that there’s “something fresh” in the works for the next generation of platforms.
“We’re excited by our progress but remain hyper ambitious – so we’re not going to release NBA LIVE 20 this season,” the statement from EA Sports said. “Alongside the NBA and NBPA, we have our sights set on creating something fresh for the next generation of players and platforms. We know we need to earn our future every step of the way, so we’re taking time to get it right for our players. We promise to check back regularly with updates.”
— EA SPORTS NBA LIVE (@EASPORTSNBA) October 29, 2019
When those updates will be provided wasn’t said, but EA Sports said it’ll be on the grind until it has more to say.
While the cancellation may be a disappointment to those who were looking forward to seeing the game’s release, the part of the statement that hints at the future of the series is an intriguing one. Saying that the “something fresh” that’s being worked on will be designed for the “next generation of players and platforms” indicates that it’s going to be a while before we see whatever the results of this project will be. So long that it certainly sounds like this game will be planned for the next generation of consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett.
A post on EA’s site provided more indications of this by referencing the possibilities of the next platforms.
“New platforms are coming that will bring social connection, accessibility and player creativity to the fore,” the post from EA said. “In a future of new possibilities, players shouldn’t be content with a game built for today’s realities and based on what we know to be possible, we feel we can go so much further with the new design.”
Expect to see more announcements from EA in the future regarding what’ll happen next with the series.
