EA says it must 'push creative boundaries'

Battlefield and FIFA publisher Electronic Arts has brushed aside assertions that it does not create enough all-new franchises.

Speaking with MCV, EA Games executive vice president Patrick Soderlund said the company is not risk averse and is in fact working on multiple new IPs at the moment.

"We are working on a new Mirror's Edge game, and although that's not a new IP, it is a revival done in a new way. We are developing Star Wars: Battlefront, which to us is a new IP, even though it isn't technically," Soderlund said.

"We have six to eight completely new IPs in the works. The day we stop making new IP is when we go onto life support," he added. "We need to incubate new ideas and push creative boundaries."

EA's pipeline of announced and upcoming titles includes sequels to the Need for Speed, Battlefield, Sims, Mass Effect, and FIFA franchises, with Titanfall one of its only major all-new franchises.

EA Labels president Frank Gibeau offered a similar sentiment last June, when he said the company had three to five new IPs for next-generation consoles in the works. He said then that EA has a responsibility to at least attempt to expand and diversify its software portfolio.

"It's an entertainment business. You have to surprise people and you have to take risks. If you don't, you die," Gibeau said at the time. "So constantly trying to stay fresh from an entertainment standpoint is a difficult challenge. But it's something we try to do at EA, and I think we have a better track record than most in being able to innovate and build franchises over time and introduce new ideas."