EA recently held its Q1, 2023 earnings call, and the company executives had some very interesting tit-bits to share, regarding their games, and the EA brand itself.
Starting off with Fifa, EA has continuously maintained that this year’s Fifa is going to be the biggest one to date. Still there were some concerns on the subsequent games as EA lost the rights to the ‘Fifa’ brand. Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts was confident of the franchise’s continued success, albeit under a different name, EA SPORTS FC. As expected, the brand will also retain all the usual players, clubs and leagues, so all that’s changing from next year is the Fifa name itself.
We delivered a strong performance across our business in Q1. Our broad IP portfolio, our amazing talent, and our growing network of players deeply engaged in our live services all serve as unique structural advantages, especially as we navigate the fluidity of the macro environment.
Another important tit-bit was how the company planned to weather the probable global slowdown going forward. Here too, EA’s executive were confident coming from a strong Q1. While the company foresees some uncertainty going forward, they don’t expect any changes to their bottom line.
The company also addressed rumors about a possible sale of the company to bigger players like Amazon or Apple. CEO Andrea Wilson reiterated that the company was in a very strong position, and soon to be “the largest stand-alone independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment in the world.” But like any good businessman, he didn’t shoot down any prospect completely stating, “Our objective always and my objective as CEO of this company is always to take care of our people, our players, and our shareholders. And should there ever be a way for us to do that differently the way we’re doing it today, I, of course, have to be open to that. But I would tell you today, we feel very, very confident and excited for our future.“
Recently there was also a lot of discussion on EA’s mobile business. The company expects a softer mobile market this year, but that should be offset by better financial results from EA SPORTS and Racing. While this is not ideal, mobile games do give EA a foothold in emerging markets where console or PC hardware penetration isn’t much. You can read the full transcripts here.