[jfsolo]

It hasn't been talked about here at all, but EA seems to have undergone a philosophical shift in the last several months. The decision to let Bioware remove the multiplayer aspect from Dragon Age and just be a single player game was huge, and the statements from the CSO in several articles a few days ago were quite interesting, some excerpts:

Quote:

EA’s own Laura Miele has confirmed that the publisher is making a drastic pivot for the foreseeable future.

Quote:

As I started this current role, I wanted to strip away some of the preconceived notions about what games we should be investing in and really start listening to players and incorporating their voice into our development process.

Quote:

When talking about this, Miele brought up franchises like FIFA and Madden. The sports series under the EA name have come under fire more often than not in the past, mostly regarding the more predatory practices of microtransactions adapting a Pay to Win model. Miele told IGN that this type of feedback is being taken in, but making changes to games like this on a larger scale take work and sometimes those changes can take years to be set in motion.

Quote:

“We have recently added advanced innovation teams that are heavily focused on tech development and dedicated to long-term game development,” Miele added when talking about EA’s sports games. “These teams explore innovation initiatives that players will get to experience in two to three years.”

Quote:

While EA retains the right to have the final say as the publisher, the company is moving in a direction to provide more “creative autonomy” that has always existed on some level, but will now be a bigger focus.

Quote:

With the retraction of EA’s previous stance that no one “likes single-player games,” it looks like the future of some of our most beloved gaming adventures may be brighter than many feared.

Now we know that MUT isn't going anywhere of course, but IMO a heavy investment in Franchise mode starting with 22 and then continuing every year without a year being skipped would show this to not just be PR speak.