EA investing in building "games as a platform"

gamesindustry.biz:

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Electronic Arts says its future lies in developing "games as a platform," building on the success it has seen with live service models for titles such as FIFA, The Sims and Apex Legends.

During an earnings call following its most recent financial results, CEO Andrew Wilson was asked by an investor about the impact macroeconomic uncertainty has on consumer spending.

Wilson said that some consumers rely more on familiar brands during such times, which puts EA in good stead, but that this current phase will pass and there will be opportunities to focus on new IP.

"But what we don't think that will outweigh is this movement to these broader social ecosystems that are games, games as platforms," he said, according to a transcript by Seeking Alpha. "What we are seeing if the evolution of the definition of a game."

He continued: "As we think about building [EA Sports] FC for the future, The Sims, Battlefield, Apex, Skate and other properties in our portfolio, we really think about that in the context of building games as a platform or content as a platform to drive these long-term businesses across [our pillars of] play, watch, create, connect.

"We think this will be longer-lasting than the present kind of macroeconomic climate. And certainly, that's where we're investing meaningful parts of our time, money and resources over the coming years."

Wilson added that this does not "take away from the opportunity" to launch more standalone titles like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. He said that a "great portion of our investment" will go into games that cater to massive online communities, but EA will "follow up with a more focused, deliberate investment