Electronic Arts saw its revenue jump from $3.7 billion to $5.5 billion for the fiscal year according to an official filing this week, and say the jump is proof “the value of the live services path we’ve been on now for a decade” says CFO Blake Jorgensen.
EA noted that the current coronavirus pandemic has driven engagement with their products, and there was also a one-time tax benefit recognized during the fiscal year. A big part of the earnings boost though came from Respawn Entertainment’s two titles – the single-player “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” and the free to play multiplayer shooter “Apex Legends”.
“Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” has topped ten million unique players since it launched in November and though a boost for single player games, games as a service have really taken off in the current pandemic.
Activision Blizzard announced in an official filing today they are set to exceeded their expectations for the quarter (with $1.8 billion in GAAP net revenue) due to the success of free-to-play multiplayer shooter “Call of Duty: Warzone” which has amassed over 60 million players to date in less than two months.
The game has also sold more units and has more players than “any prior Call of Duty title at this point after its release.” It’s having a knock on effect as bookings for the base game, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” more than doubled year-over-year compared to 2018’s “Black Ops 4” release.
Source: THR
