EA: More Than 20 Million Players Participated in ‘FIFA’s’ Current Season

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – More than 20 million players participated in the current season of “FIFA” competitive gaming and had 80% more average viewers over last season, publisher Electronic Arts said in an earnings report on Thursday.

The FIFA World Cup content update had over 15 million unique players during the first quarter of fiscal 2019, which ended on Jun. 30, added. “FIFA Mobile” also launched in China this quarter and reached #1 on the top downloads chart for iOS in that country.

Other EA titles are also doing well. “The Sims 4” player base reportedly grew 35% year-over-year, and EA said it received more than 60 awards at E3 this year, including “Best of” awards for “Anthem,” “Battlefield V,” and “FIFA 19.”

“Across new games, new platforms and new geographies, we connected more players around the world to more great entertainment in our first quarter of FY19,” said CEO Andrew Wilson. “We are striving to pioneer and lead for our players, with new EA Sports games and content on every platform, a first-of-its-kind subscription in Origin Access Premier, and growing competitive gaming tournaments for ‘FIFA’ and ‘Madden NFL’ coming in the months ahead. With every game, every service, and every experience, we are taking steps toward our vision to connect a billion people in play.”

EA’s total net revenue was $1.1 billion in the first fiscal quarter of 2019, down from the $1.4 billion it reported during the same period in 2017. It expects its net revenue to reach approximately $5.6 billion by the end of the fiscal year. The publisher also repurchased 2.3 million shares for $300 million during Q1 2019 and 6.2 million shares for $751 million during the trailing twelve months. It announced a two-year program to buy up to $2.4 billion common stock via the open market or privately negotiated deals in May.