The global pandemic is keeping people staying home and looking for things to do. Gaming, in particular, has enjoyed a huge uptick in play time–and spending–due to the virus. Electronic Arts has now put that increase into perspective with hard data.
The company reported earnings for the quarter ended June 30, and it was the best June quarter in the company’s 38-year history.
EA posted total revenue of $1.46 billion for the period, while the company made a profit of $365 million. The overwhelming majority of EA’s revenue for the quarter–$1.1 billion–came from microtransactions, which are called “live services.”
“This was an extraordinary quarter, and we’re deeply proud of everything our teams at Electronic Arts are doing for our players and communities,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said. “We launched new games, deeply engaged players in our live services, and welcomed tens of millions of new players to our network. It was an unprecedented first quarter of growth in our business, and we will continue building on that strength with more innovative experiences, more groundbreaking content, and more ways to connect with friends and play great games throughout the year.”
EA CFO Blake Jorgensen added that “player engagement” numbers for EA’s games were “exceptionally high” and above EA’s own forecast.
The Sims 4, in particular, was a huge success for EA during the quarter, reaching more than 30 million players to date. The number of daily, weekly, and monthly active players for The Sims 4 reached “record highs” during the quarter.
Additionally, Apex Legends‘ new Season 5 update performed very well, reaching the “highest levels since Season 1.”
Madden NFL 20 was also a bright spot for EA during the period. EA said “player acquisition” for the series rose by nearly 140 percent, and Madden Ultimate Team engagement was up “more than double” compared to last year.
In total, EA released more than 30 new content updates for all of its console/PC games and more than 50 updates for its mobile titles during the period, which helped drive overall engagement.
This quarter also saw EA return to Steam, bringing almost 30 titles to the platform, including Mass Effect 3, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and others.
For more on the EA earnings report, check out the recent stories below.
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