LOS ANGELES, Feb 2 — The video game giant behind games like Fifa, Madden, Mass Effect and Star Wars: Battlefront has revealed which of its releases was 2016’s bestseller, and outlined its plans for the next 13 months, which include a brand new game from its Dragon Age and Mass Effect studio.

Fifa 17 was the best-selling console game of 2016, according to Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson, and this year’s Fifa 18 will continue with the successful story-telling angle of its predecessor.

In addition to the usual spread of exhibition matches, league and cup tournaments, and online multiplayer (plus card-collecting mode Fifa Ultimate Team,) Fifa 17 allowed players to follow the fortunes of a single athlete both on- and off-pitch as they went from no-name status to international stardom.

New games in its NHL, UFC, and NBA Live franchises will also be made available towards the end of 2017 (northern fall.)

A new entry to driving game franchise Need for Speed is set for release before the end of March 2018, and Wilson said his company believed it is “the most exciting and best-looking Need for Speed we have ever produced.”

BioWare, the studio network behind online adventure Star Wars: The Old Republic, fantasy franchise Dragon Age and sci-fi space opera Mass Effect — whose Mass Effect: Andromeda is due March 21 — even has a separate release scheduled for early 2018, Wilson said.

The mystery game could “fundamentally disrupt the way people think about an action title,” he elaborated, a statement that can be dismissed as bullish executive talk or seen as the sort of chat of the type that preceded the launch of Activision’s hugely impactful action franchise Destiny in 2014. Perhaps both.

“In 2012, we began crafting a new universe full of new characters, stories, and gameplay... There’s nothing quite as exciting as building a new [franchise] from scratch, and it will be even more thrilling for us to share more with you in the future,” BioWare’s GM, Aaryn Flynn, said in a separate note.

A new Star Wars: Battlefront is on the way as well. That much was known: the previous one having launched in 2015 to coincide with theatrical blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives December 2017.

It’s now known that Canadian studio EA Motive is being aided by British racing specialist Criterion as well as Swedish Battlefield custodian DICE, both of whom were instrumental in developing the franchise’s 2015 outing.

Speaking of which, 2016’s Battlefield 1 was the franchise’s biggest launch in history and not only would it (and Titanfall 2) be supported with extra content.

Battlefield 1 is also part of eSports plans together with Fifa and Madden as EA increases its focus on multiplayer and competitive play at all levels. — AFP-Relaxnews