Expect More Game Companies To Keep Buying One Another, EA Says--And For EA To Get More Involved

When you consider EA's prestige, media properties, incomprehensibly large net worth, and past purchases (Codemasters, Glu, Respawn), it can seem a bit surprising that the company hasn't played an even more active role in the games industry's recent consolidation trend. However, EA CEO Andrew Wilson has now confirmed that it's not for a lack of interest.

During EA's Q4 and FY 2023 earnings call, Wilson stated that not only does he anticipate more acquisitions and mergers in the entertainment industry going forward, but he loves the idea of EA becoming a "meaningful consolidator" itself.

"Will there be industry consolidation? Will there be broader entertainment consolidation? If I was predicting the future over the long term, I would say that's an almost certainty at some level," Wilson said. "I would love for us to have the scale to be a meaningful consolidator in that space. I think that we have tremendous assets with respect to the future of entertainment."

Included in EA's assets are long-running series such as The Sims, Battlefield, and Need for Speed, the entire EA Sports catalog, live-service games like Apex Legends, and licensed titles such as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The company also has a separate label focused on investing in titles from smaller studios: EA Originals. This catalog of games includes Hazelight Studios' It Takes Two, Omega Force's recent release, Wild Hearts, and more.

Wilson also shared the company's thoughts on Microsoft's potential acquisition of Activision Blizzard, stating that the company is "indifferent" as to whether or not the deal goes through. According to Wilson, the potential purchase would likely be of little consequence to EA or the company's long-standing relationship with Microsoft. "Whether it goes through or not, we'll continue to be the number one publisher on the Microsoft platform," Wilson said.

As of right now, Microsoft's purchase of Activision is still pending approval. The acquisition recently faced a major roadblock after the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority called to block the $68.7 billion dollar deal. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer stated that the tech company intends to appeal the decision and remains confident that the deal will eventually go through.