EA Q3 results "not the financial performance we wanted or expected"

gamesindustry.biz:

Electronic Arts has published its financial results for the third quarter of FY25, experiencing declines in revenue and net bookings.

CEO Andrew Wilson said it "was not the financial performance we wanted or expected," which was driven by the "temporary underperformance" of EA Sports FC 25.

EA pre-announced its Q3 results last month, in which it revised its full-year and third quarter guidance due two of its franchises – EA Sports FC and Dragon Age – not meeting financial expectations.

Here's what you need to know:

EA Sports FC 25 experienced a "high-quality and stable launch" in September 2024, but the momentum didn't last the entire quarter.

The overall Global Football franchise experienced a "mid-single-digit decline year-over-year" in the third quarter, leading to "lower-than-expected" sales of FC 25.

Wilson noted this result was due to players staying in past franchise iterations during the holiday period. The game also experienced "lower-than-expected engagement" due to "specific issues with balance."

An update was implemented on January 16, 2025, alongside the Team of the Year event, which Wilson said has seen a "strong response" and "positive gameplay sentiment indicators from our community." As a result, player retention for the title "surpassed expectations" last month.

As for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which launched on October 31, 2024, Wilson said that despite experiencing a "high-quality launch", its financial underperformance was due to the title not "resonat[ing] with a broad-enough audience in this highly competitive market."

CFO Stuart Canfield added that this reinforced "the importance of our actions to reallocate resources towards our most significant and highest-potential opportunities."

Last week, Dragon Age developer BioWare announced it was "reimagining" how it operated, with BioWare staff had been "redeployed" into other EA teams as it continues development on the next Mass Effect game. IGN reported that a "smaller number" of employees from the Dragon