EA’s Last Quarter Was One Of Its Biggest Ever Thanks To Apex Legends, Fifa, And Madden

EA’s quarterly results for Q3, which was the three months that ended with December 2021, were released late yesterday and it turns out, it was one of the company’s biggest ever. 

That’s due to steady growth in long-running franchises like Fifa, Madden, and Apex Legends. According to GamesIndustry.biz, EA’s revenues were up 7% in Q3, which equates to $1.79 billion and net bookings were also up 7%, to $2.58 billion. Net income dropped 69% to $66million, however. 

“Q3 was the largest quarter in the company’s history for net bookings, underlying profitability, and cash generations,” EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said in regards to the quarterly results. “Our portfolio approach will enable us to deliver organic growth in the double digits this year, continue to deliver strong cash flow, and provides a strong foundation for growth as we look to the future.” 

As previously mentioned, EA’s annual sports releases helped a lot, growing 10% year-over-year. Fifa 22 was last year’s best-seller in the West, while Madden NFL 22 was the top-selling sport game in the U.S. in 2021 and was also the third-best-selling of all time. Apex Legends saw a significant increase in sales, with a 30% rise year-over-year at the close of Q3. GamesIndustry.bizEA reports that players spent close to 20% more time on EA titles during fiscal year 2021 than in 2020. 

EA’s Q3 results would have been stronger if Battlefield 2042 had performed well. EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who made headlines late last year after saying NFTs and blockchain games are the “future of our industry,” said the launch of 2042 did not meet expectations during the quarterly results conference call, as reported by The Verge.  

“Battlefield 2042 was always an ambitious game, and our teams pushed to innovate across many dimensions, including massive scale and 128 player matches, new modes, new dynamic gameplay, and more,” Wilson continued. “Developing this game with our teams working from home for nearly two years ultimately proved to be challenging. Through our processes for testing and preparation, we believe the experience was ready to be put in our players’ hands. With strong stability, we launched. As more people played the game fully, they realized that there were unexpected issues we needed to fix. Some of the design choices we made with the game also did not resonate with everyone in our community.” 

Despite 2042 underperforming, Wilson said EA is “fully committed to realizing the full potential of the game,” according to The Verge. Wilson’s comments were made the day after EA Dice had delayed 2042’s first season to allow them to keep working on the game. You can read more information about 2042 here Game Informer’sBattlefield 2042 Review. 

You can see Mad Maggie’s new Apex Legends legend after the jump. Game Informer’s Madden NFL 22 review. 

[Source: GamesIndustry.biz, The Verge]

Did you play any EA games last year, or other EA-developed titles? Please leave your comments!