Electronic Arts, a AAA video game developer and producer, has released its report for its fourth quarter and financial year that ended on March 31st, 2023. It details increased profits compared to previous years and significant milestones hit by the company.
In total, EA’s net revenue was $7.426 billion USD for the 2023 fiscal year. It was $6.991 billion USD for 2022’s fiscal year. Its last quarter saw $1.95 billion USD in net bookings (sales), which is an eleven percent year-on-year increase, pushed largely by the success of live service games like FIFA.
According to the report, FIFA 23 was its “most successful franchise launch in history,” with 7.3 billion dollars USD in net bookings since its release in September 2022. This is interesting, considering that the game received mediocre reviews; it got a 7/10 from GameSpot and IGN, 3.5/5 from Trusted Reviews and Tom’s Guide, and 4/5 from GamesRadar.
“Record live services performance and increased engagement, particularly from our EA SPORTS FIFA franchise, drove better-than-expected Q4 net bookings, capping a strong finish to the fiscal year,” said Chris Suh, EA’s chief financial officer.
“We’re excited to continue our momentum,” added Andrew Wilson, EA’s chief executive officer, “including the highly anticipated launch of EA SPORTS FC later this year.”
It was confirmed last year that FIFA 23 would be the last game from EA licensed by FIFA. EA will continue to produce football (soccer) games under the brand EA Sports FC. Meanwhile, FIFA is reportedly looking for another developer to make future FIFA games.
I can’t believe this is a real quote pic.twitter.com/whSMTA1hhA
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Two other franchises had significant successes this quarter: The Sims 4 reached “more than 70 million players worldwide” and Season 16 of Apex Legends saw “peak weekly active users up over 20% from the previous season.”
The report also detailed games that would be released by EA in their next fiscal year, as part of projecting their revenue.
Immortals of Aveum is one such game, a fantasy first-person shooter to be released July 20th, 2023.
It also included Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which EA is expecting to “primarily” drive their net bookings in Q1 for the 2024 fiscal year. Jedi: Survivor has received good reviews since its release last month. However, persistent bugs have been frustrating players, and plans to fix them were recently outlined by EA.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf was omitted, meaning it probably won’t arrive until at least April 2024.
EA faced criticism in March when it laid off more than 800 employees, around 6 percent of its workforce, after posting significant profits in its third quarter for the 2023 fiscal year. It was contrasted by the salary of CEO Andrew Wilson, who earns approximately 172 times as much as one of his employees.
Source: EA
