The company advances some of the titles it has underway and is “very confident” in its studies. Battlefield, FIFA, Star Wars and more.
Electronic Arts presented this Wednesday its last financial report corresponding to the quarter between October and December 2020 (Q3 / FY2021); a quarter of great economic results despite the pandemic, but also a report that served to give a glimpse of what the North American company is preparing for the future. There is a fact that has transcended strongly: they have 35 video games in development.
What are the main sagas and licenses that EA is acquiring?
The Electronic Arts Catalog from 2021: Roadmap
Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, was confident of the move that will involve the purchase of Codemasters, driving geniuses in exchange for 1,200 million dollars. Through parallel channels, this same week this transaction was given the green light at the end of this fiscal year; an agreement with 63 votes in favor of the 76 representatives of the table.
The Codemasters Operation: One Driving Game a Year
But EA will not only do with Codemasters, it will do with much more: licenses of weight.
Black Jorgensen, CFO of EA, has stated at the meeting that his goal from now on is to publish at least one driving video game a year. It would sound ambitious for any other company, but Electronic Arts currently has enough studios and equipment to make it possible.
DiRT 5
Because on the one hand there is Criterion Games, which is working on the next Neeed for Speed; but on the other they have Ghost Games, which will now serve as support for derivative tasks or receive outsourced work. If we add to that Burnout, which after two remasters seems to have a market demand again, the range widens. On behalf of Codemasters, EA is acquiring a team of more than 700 workers, licensees such as DiRT and DiRT Rally, Formula 1 (which they extended until 2025 a couple of years ago); also from Grid and Onrush.
Star Wars, a long-term plan
The fact that Ubisoft is working on a Star Wars video game does not make EA unable to continue to do the same with the Lucasfilm and Disney license; Nor that they extend their contract, which currently expires in 2023. Andrew Wilson has been very clear: they will continue to make Star Wars video games. Especially after consolidating several sagas and licenses, which invites them to continue exploring and exploiting the use of this great resource in the electronic entertainment sector. We’re talking about 52 million games sold, worth more than $ 3 billion in net bookings to date.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Battlefront 2, and Star Wars Squadrons are just a few of the names on the table; on the other hand are the Galaxy of Heroes —with a value of 1000 million dollars— and Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic.
Battlefield, BioWare, The Sims, Apex Legends and FIFA, house brand
In EA’s breakdown report (Electronic Arts Reports Strong Q3 FY21 Financial Results) we see that more names are in the offing. The confirmation of a new Battlefield in 2021, presumably developed by EA DICE, anticipates the return of a saga that will offer an experience of an “unprecedented” scale. But Ea also has a Medal of Honor, an intellectual property that can be explored in multiple ways.
Apex legends
Apex Legends, which has grown its installed base of players by 30% last year, has more than 70 million users and becomes the main free-to-play claim of the company. It will soon come to Nintendo Switch and there are no plans for it to stop being one of the pillars of the company economically. It is essential in your operations. We do not know if they are working on anything new related to Titanfall.
Regarding the sports section, Electronic Arts complements its report with large figures for licenses such as NHL, Madden and FIFA. In Europe, planet football, FIFA 21 and its Ultimate Team stand out, which has broken records with 6 million daily active players in December. With the UEFA license extended and more than 325 million games sold, EA now plans to develop six soccer-focused “experiences” on mobile devices. On the other hand, they have confirmed that EA Sports College Football returns for the first time since 2013. Important in North America.
FIFA 21
We continue with BioWare. EA has been “very confident” with the future of the authors of Mass Effect and Dragon Age. On the one hand, the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will be released in May, but from Dragon Age we know that the fourth part will be set in Tevinter. Its development continues. We are not forgetting Anthem, currently undergoing reconstruction.
We end up with two names that are not exactly minor: The Sims and Skate. The data from Electronic Arts itself speak for themselves: more than 33 million players and a new record for monthly players in recent dates. Will we have The Sims 5 in the future? Who knows, but the fourth part is still smooth sailing. Regarding Skate and Skate 4, the new installment, is being developed by Full Circle, a new EA studio located in Canada with veterans of the original deliveries.
When will we have the new Mass Effect?
EA has more licenses in its catalog, but these are the main ones. Of those 35 games in development, what are your bets?
References | EA Report
