EA's Battlefield 1 Sales Expectations Are Conservative

EA has discussed sales expectations for Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2, two of its biggest games of 2016. In its latest earnings report, chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen said it has projected Battlefield 1 sales to be "slightly under" what the franchise typically does in a year.

Despite this, EA is optimistic Battlefield 1 can exceed its projection: "Typically a Battlefield does 15 million in a year. Our guidance is slightly under that and we hope that excitement builds and it'll go through that number, but for now it's slightly under that number."

The sales guidance EA has issues could be considered as conservative, considering the overwhelmingly positive reception Battlefield 1 has received since its debut. A week after the first trailer was released it became the most liked trailer of all time on YouTube. It currently has 43 million views. However, view counts for trailers aren't necessarily indicators of future performance.

Respawn Entertainment's Titanfall 2, meanwhile, will perform better than its predecessor, according to Jorgensen. This is in part because there are more people with current-gen consoles, but also because the game will launch on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The first game in the series was exclusive to Microsoft consoles and PC.

"[The first] Titanfall did a little more than seven million units last time. It was early in the cycle, one of the few titles out there. We think [Titanfall 2 will] do more than that, but it's probably closer to 10 [million] than it is to 15, as built into our guidance. So 9-10 on Titanfall and just under 15 on Battlefield 1."

Battlefield 1 has a confirmed release date of October 21. Titanfall 2's release date is October 28, just a few days later. EA believes having both games launch alongside each other will strengthen its position in the shooter genre, instead of cannibalising the sales of both games.

"[Shooters are] a giant category in our industry, $4.5 billion, there's a very broad and diverse set of players who are looking to fulfill different gameplay motivations," chief executive Andrew Wilson previously said. "Some people play very quick play, some people play more strategic, some people want both in different context.

"We feel we have a really strong position to deliver the broader set of gameplay mechanics as it relates to the first-person shooter genre across two titles. I feel very confident that we are well positioned to do very well in that category in the year."

At E3 2016, EA confirmed Titanfall 2 will have a full story-driven campaign.

"Titanfall 2's single-player is crafted to dive deeper into the Titanfall universe, exploring the unique bonds between Pilot and Titan, and taking full advantage of the movement and combat, to deliver a feeling a feeling of being unstoppable together," EA's Devin Bennett said.