
EA Games, or Electronic Arts, has perhaps earned the reputation of being one of the most controversial and hated gaming companies in history, largely due to their proclivity of squeezing money out of their customers and pushing poor management choices that ultimately ruin the reputation of some of their games. However, through all of this, EA has still managed to push out some fantastic games and excellent content that has earned them millions of returning, as well as new customers. The company is massively successful, amassing billions of dollars in revenue each year. We are going to be presenting you with some EA Games statistics and facts to paint a clear picture of the strides the company has made since its inception. We always enjoy providing you with the latest content regarding the gaming industry, so if you want to learn more, consider reading up on some video game industry statistics and facts!
EA Games sales and revenue stats
The first thing we have to take a look at are the revenue stats concerning the company so we can see how it has evolved over the years and the standard that it sets for other companies to look up to. The company generates billions of dollars in revenue annually, and it achieves record sales for the newest titles constantly. Let’s take a look.
EA Games’ net worth in 2022 is $34 billion.
(Source: Macrotrends)
- The company’s highest net worth was $45 billion in 2018.
- Its lowest net worth was $3.61 billion in 2012.
- From 2009 to 2022, EA Games saw a 474% increase in net worth.
The current value of the company is quite high considering its annual revenue, but it is not the highest it has been in years, in contrast to the annual revenue stats which saw more or less a linear increase in revenue. Even though the current net worth of the company is a bit lower compared to other years, it has still been steadily increasing and getting better the more time passes.
EA Games’ orders increased by 94% compared to the end of 2022.
(Source: Alpha Street)
- Revenue from full-game downloads increased by 69%.
- Revenue from live services and other minor elements increased by 27%.
- Revenue from full games increased by 75%.
To clear up any confusion that might arise, packaged goods are physical games made for consoles, PC, and handheld devices, meaning that this stat applies to the games that EA ships to retailers and consumers alike. However, that is not the only section where the company saw an increase, as online game purchases and live services also grew a lot compared to Q3 2022.
EA Games’ highest platform for revenue is console gaming at $1.10 billion.
(Source: Alpha Street)
- Their revenue from PC sales was $420 million.
- Their revenue from mobile games was $313 million.
This comes as no surprise since the vast majority of their games are marketed toward consoles. Games like UFC, The Sims, Madden, NHL, and FIFA tend to be much more enjoyable on consoles compared to PC because controllers are easier to master and the fun of sitting next to anyone you play with is a fantastic experience. This not only applies to EA Games in today’s time but also the various eras of console gaming and split-screen fun.
Electronic Arts has sold over 1 billion copies of their games across their most popular titles.
(Sources: VG Chartz, VG Sales)
- NBA Live sold 35 million copies.
- Titanfall sold 10 million copies.
- Dead Space sold 6 million copies.
- Command & Conquer has sold 30 million copies.
- Dragon Age has sold 11.2 million copies.
- Battlefield has sold 57 million copies.
- Star Wars Battlefront sold 21 million copies.
- Need for Speed sold 150 million copies.
- Medal of Honor sold 39 million copies.
- The Sims sold 200 million copies.
- SimCity sold 20 million copies.
- Mass Effect sold 20 million copies.
- Madden NFL sold 130 million copies.
- FIFA sold 280 million copies.
Moving on to total games sold now. Phew, one billion. The big B. That’s immensely impressive considering that other companies out there have much higher value but not as many sales. That is because EA tends to specialize in annual releases that gamers tend to flock to no matter what. Games like FIFA and Battlefield are incredibly popular and are EA’s biggest earners.
Electronic Arts spent $455 million to acquire Respawn Entertainment in 2017.
(Source: The Motley Fool)
- Respawn Entertainment was the original company behind the Titanfall franchise.
- The deal was for EA to pay $151 million upfront to Respawn, and to follow up with $164 million in equity over a longer period.
- Based on how Respawn Entertainment performs over the long run, there was also the possibility for incentives to be paid through 2022.
- Regardless of how Respawn performs, the figure they pay would not have much of an impact considering EA’s usual revenue.
Acquisitions are a massive part of the gaming market as large companies gather subsidiaries all the time, and EA started doing that by acquiring Respawn Entertainment Playdemic, which we’ll talk about shortly. The benefit of this acquisition is that EA now has a stronger grasp on the Titanfall franchise should it somehow take off after the poor performance of the second game, and even if nothing happens, the amount on the contract is negligible in the grand scheme of things.
EA’s Apex Legends reached over 50 million players in its first month.
(Source: Business Insider, SullyGnome, Reuters)
- The 2 million player mark was reached in less than 24 hours.
- The game broke Fortnite’s record with 25 million signups in a week.
- It became the most-watched game on Twitch, with over 390,000 concurrent viewers.
- Apex came as a clear competitor to Fortnite, which boasted over 200 million players when Apex Legends came out.
- This is further emphasized by the fact that Apex went free-to-play to contend with Fortnite.
- Since its release, Apex Legends has gathered over 2 billion hours watched on Twitch.
This was one of the most viral and intense game releases in the past few years, as Apex Legends came out as a direct competitor to Fortnite, the most popular battle royale in recent memory. In terms of raw player count and concurrent players, Fortnite is still in the lead, but the Twitch viewership situation is a bit closer.
Electronic Arts paid Ninja $1 million to promote Apex Legends.
(Source: Reuters)
- Ninja is currently the most popular streamer on multiple platforms besides Twitch.
- The day after Apex Legends came out, Ninja tweeted about the game and streamed it on Twitch.
- It was streamed to more than 13 million people.
- Another streamer by the name of Shroud was also paid to stream Apex, but the details of the deal were not disclosed.
- After the game launched and was propagated over streaming services, EA’s stock price rose by 16%.
It comes as no surprise that EA would ask Ninja to talk about their new game when it just came out as he is among the biggest faces on Twitch and has a huge influence on the games that his fans play just because he plays them. It was a very smart play from EA to also include other streamers aside from Ninja in their own deals, so Apex could have gotten the best start possible.
Electronic Arts was fined $11.7 million by the Netherlands for having loot boxes in their games.
(Source: PC Gamer)
- Loot boxes were ruled as being a form of gambling in multiple countries over the years.
- The Kansspelautoriteit decided it would take action against companies that kept their loot boxes in the Netherlands after a certain period.
- Most companies complied with the request, but EA did not.
- The fine was for $5.85 million to EA itself and $5.85 million to EA Swiss Sàrl.
- It took more time to resolve the issue as EA went to court, trying to defend its stance on loot boxes.
Loot boxes have been a plague on the gaming industry for a considerable time, largely because they are based on predatory microtransaction schemes that create a sense of satisfaction for everyone who opens one and gets a good item, leading to them buying more and more loot boxes to further their collection. It should be more than apparent why this marketing scheme is dangerous around impressionable children, and it was a poor move from EA to force loot boxes to stay. Shame on you, EA. Shame.
EA strengthened its hold on the mobile gaming sphere by acquiring Playdemic for $1.4 billion.
(Source: GamesBeat)
- While that might be a lot of money to give for a developer with just Golf Clash, the game itself is quite successful, with over 80 million downloads.
- It took 4 years for it to reach that figure.
- In 2020, Playdemic generated over $200 million in revenue, with a profit of $80 million.
- Golf Clash itself generated $185 million in revenue in 2020.
- The game amassed over $780 million in player spending.
We’ve mentioned Playdemic when talking about Respawn Entertainment, and the same points stand here. EA initiated this acquisition with the intent of getting a strong game developer with a very successful game under their belt, hoping to further boost their already successful mobile gaming sphere.
EA will likely sign a $588 million licensing deal with the Premier League for a post-FIFA series.
(Source: Destructoid)
- Since the FIFA series is getting rebranded to EA Sports FC, EA has been looking for licensing deals to improve its FC IP.
- The figure for this deal is double the amount between EA and FIFA.
- The contract should last six years with EA as the main partner for the Premier League.
Ever since the FIFA series was rebranded to EA Sports FC, there have been some changes happening within EA, from deals to partnerships, everything is slowly changing. One of those changes is the recent deal between EA and the Premier League for licensing rights over 20 of their English teams. It’s a step in a different direction, but still good for the company overall.
Electronic Arts’ mobile games generated over $1 billion in revenue by 2019.
(Source: Games Industry)
- All of that revenue was generated through its free-to-play titles.
- The Madden series generated $490 million, or 49% of this revenue.
- FIFA, on the other hand, generated $360 million, or 36% of this revenue.
- NBA Live grossed $140 million, or 14%.
- The lowest-grossing title was EA Sports UFC, with $2 million, or 2%.
- US consumers accounted for 62% of the revenue, followed by the UK at 5.7% and Japan at 5.4%.
Aside from their PC and console releases, Electronic Arts also has some strong roots set in the mobile gaming sphere, and a few of their franchises have been pulling in massive profits despite being mobile games. This is because they also focus a great deal on microtransactions within the games themselves like many other freemium games tend to do.
Saudi Arabia holds over $3.1 billion in EA stock.
(Source: TweakTown)
- Through the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia has invested over $38 billion in the global video game industry.
- Some of the leading companies for that fund are Capcom, Nintendo, Embracer, Nexon, and Activision Blizzard.
- An addition to that list is EA, for which Saudi Arabia holds over 24.81 million shares, up from 16.01 million shares in the past.
The final line of statistics is a bit unusual compared to everything else we’ve written, but it’s still an important part of EA and emphasizes its potential to grow further. Saudi Arabia is an unlikely, but present player in the gaming industry, as it has invested a considerable amount of money in it, and especially into EA. Why, we can’t really know, but it’s a boost in any case.
To sum up
And there you have some of the most relevant statistics and facts concerning EA Games! As you can see, EA Games has made some massive strides in establishing itself as a core element of the gaming industry and a huge player in the development of some of the most popular games in history. While the company might have experienced some controversy regarding some of its decisions in the PR department and marketing, these are just small details in an otherwise very strong empire. We are sure that the company is going to be making improvements to better themselves and steer away from the microtransaction model of video games, something more and more companies should consider as well. We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed the information we have provided and that you have learned something new!
Sources
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- “NBA Live (Series)”. VG Chartz, 2020, https://www.vgchartz.com/game/226224/nba-live/
- “Net revenue generated by Electronic Arts from fiscal 2005 to 2023”. Statista, 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/269696/revenue-of-electronic-arts-since-2005/
- “Electronic Arts Drops $455 Million on Respawn Entertainment”. The Motley Fool, 2017, https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/19/electronic-arts-drops-455-million-on-respawn-enter.aspx
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- “The new game challenging ‘Fortnite’ has reached 50 million players in its first month”. Insider, 2019, https://www.businessinsider.com/apex-legends-downloads-2-million-first-day-2019-2
- “EA’s ‘Apex Legends’ tops ‘Fortnite’ record with 25 million signups in a week”. Reuters, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-electronic-arts-apex-legends-stocks-idUSKCN1Q11NA
- “Top gamer ‘Ninja’ made $1 million to promote EA’s ‘Apex Legends’ launch: source”. Reuters, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-electronic-arts-apexlegends-idUSKBN1QU2AC
- “Electronic Arts faces €10 million fine over FIFA loot boxes in the Netherlands”. PC Gamer, 2020, https://www.pcgamer.com/electronic-arts-faces-euro10-million-fine-over-fifa-loot-boxes-in-the-netherlands/
- “EA’s $1.4B Playdemic purchase strengthens its mobile strategy”. GamesBeat, 2021, https://venturebeat.com/games/eas-1-4b-purchase-of-golf-clash-maker-playdemic-further-boosts-is-mobile-stable/
- “EA reportedly to sign £488 million Premier League deal for post-FIFA series”. Destructoid, 2023, https://www.destructoid.com/ea-premier-league-deal-fifa-sports-fc-football/
- “Sensor Tower: EA Sports free-to-play mobile games generate $1bn lifetime revenue”. Games Industry, 2019, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ea-sports-free-to-play-mobile-games-generate-usd1bn-lifetime-revenue
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