The numbers are in for Electronic Arts’ fourth quarter and its overall 2023 fiscal year, and by all accounts, the behemoth is still behemoth-sized. The report’s figures count up the final three months and 12 months ending in March of this year, with both periods seeing some slight increases in revenue year-on-year.
Total revenue rose by 3% YOY to $1.87B in the last quarter, while the total revenue for FY 2023 went up $7.43B, a rise of 6% YOY. In both cases, much of the growth was attributed to live service games, which saw an 8% and 10% rise respectively, while full price games saw revenues dip over the period. The report nods in the direction of EA’s FIFA franchise as a primary driver of live service revenue along with Apex Legends and The Sims 4.
As one might expect, this means that the company is going to push investment into the “games as a plaform” chestnut moving forward. “As we think about building EA Sports FC for the future, The Sims, Battlefield, Apex, Skate, and other properties in our portfolio, we really think about that in the context of building games as a platform or content as a platform to drive these long-term businesses across [our pillars],” said EA CEO Andrew Wilson during the latest earnings call.
That said, it doesn’t look as if EA is going to throw single-player titles into the wood chipper, as Wilson promised investors the company will “follow up with a more focused, deliberate investment against telling blockbuster interactive stories.” However, Wilson also confirmed that a “great portion of [EA’s] investment” will go into games made for large online communities.
