FIFA 23: EA's Live Service Games Remain a Money Machine in a Record Fourth Quarter

ign.com:

While it's blockbuster single-player titles like Dead Space that make the news headlines, massive live service games continue to sustain industry giants like EA for another year running. The publisher just reported a record Q4, nearing $2 billion in net bookings, with FIFA 23 taking the crown as the most successful in the series to date as its handoff to EA Sports FC looms.

In a press release, EA reported record net bookings of $1.95 billion for the quarter ending March 31, 2023, up 11% year-over-year. This was largely thanks to record live service game performance, especially from the FIFA franchise. In particular, EA reports that FIFA 23 is now the most successful game in franchise history, surpassing the sales of FIFA 22, and the FIFA franchise's net bookings grew 31% year-over-year in the quarter.

Notably, however, this is officially the last FIFA game from EA. With its partnership with FIFA coming to an end, EA has rebranded its annual soccer franchise to be called EA Sports UC, with new information promised in July. EA CEO Andrew Wilson has been dismissive of the value the FIFA brand brought to the series, and critically, the publisher will retain necessary partnerships such as its deal with the Premier League to keep the most popular teams in the sport in its games.

While FIFA is certainly EA's crown jewel, it did not carry the record Q4 alone. EA's portfolio was also helped along by Apex Legends, which saw "net bookings growth" in Q4, and The Sims 4, which has reached 70 million total players worldwide.

In total, EA achieved $1.87 billion in net revenue for the quarter, and $7.45 billion for the full year. It projects upcoming Q1 revenue to land somewhere between $1.83 billion and $1.93 billion alongside the April