Battlefield 1 Starts Strong, as EA Talks Remasters, Teases Action Game and Titanfall's Future
EA had an "excellent quarter" overall, though it ended up posting a $38 million loss.
[UPDATE] During an earnings call that followed the publication of this report, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said the new action game from Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond is "three or four years out." This is the "gigantic," Assassin's-Creed-style action game that EA talked about before. It's in development at Motive Studios in Canada.
He also said during the call that EA expects new-generation console sales--PS4 and Xbox One--to amount to around 80 million units by the end of 2016 and 100 million by the end of 2017. Jorgensen also called out the install bases for the new consoles is 33 percent higher than where the Xbox 360/PS3 generation was 35 months after launch in the west, which bodes well for the industry overall, he said.
Additionally, Jorgensen teased that more Titanfall games are coming. He said EA expects to work with Respawn on more Titanfall games for "many years to come." Jorgensen said that overall, Titanfall is a "huge opportunity" for EA going forward.
This is no surprise, as Respawn boss Vince Zampella previously said more Titanfall games could come after Titanfall 2.
Finally, EA CEO Andrew Wilson again responded to the possibility of EA releasing remasters. He said EA is always looking at what it could do, but wants to make sure that if it does a remaster, that it feels meaningful. He boasted that EA has a portfolio of games that is "rich and deep" and that he's already heard lots of feedback from fans about remasters.
EA's Peter Moore previously said remasters are "easy money," but EA didn't want to do them because it would rather look to the future.
The original story is below.
Electronic Arts today reported sales for the three-month quarter running July-September, providing some insight into how the company is doing from a business perspective.
CEO Andrew Wilson said it was an "excellent quarter," with sales buoyed by the high-profile launch of Battlefield 1. The game's total player base after its first week was "nearly double" that of Battlefield 4's during its launch week, EA said, noting that Battlefield 1's player numbers continue to grow. Bear in mind that EA/Origin Access subscribers can play a trial of the game for free. The subscription service debuted in 2014, while Battlefield 4 came out in 2013. EA only said Battlefield 1's first-week player figure was almost double Battlefield 4's; no actual sales numbers were provided.
EA did not say how Titanfall 2 has performed, though it's less than a week old, having launched on October 28. An analyst said the game would be "substantially disappointing" in terms of sales, due in part to the fact that it launched between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
Additionally, FIFA 17, after its first week, had 20 percent more "engaged" players compared to the first week of FIFA 16. Additionally, almost two thirds of FIFA 17 players tried the game's new Journey story mode. Another bright spot for EA in the quarter were the Ultimate Team modes for FIFA, Madden, and NHL games, which saw their collective net sales rise 15 percent.
In terms of financials, net revenue was $898 million for the quarter; 63 percent, or $566 million, came from digital channels. EA posted a loss of $38 million for the quarter, which is better than the $140 million loss that the company booked during the same quarter last year.
EA will hold an earnings call at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET today to discuss these results and answer analyst's questions. We'll report back if anything noteworthy is discussed.
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