Shares of Electronic Arts fell more than 15 percent on Thursday, hit by a surprise slowdown in spending on the football franchise that has shaped its gaming empire.
The videogame maker launched its latest soccer title, FC 25, in September, the latest in a series of top sellers. But this version did not receive the warm reception that its predecessors did, leading to a decline in revenue from the live services sector, EA’s biggest earner.
Jefferies analysts said that FC 25 faced mixed reviews as players lamented the lack of new features and innovation, including in-game physics and goal-scoring mechanisms.
Analysts said vocal criticism led to a comprehensive update in January, which “received an overwhelmingly positive response from players”.
However, as a result of the initial poor performance, EA lowered its annual revenue forecast on Wednesday. It also forecast a mid-single-digit decline in annual live-service bookings.
Weak spending on its Dragon Age: Veilguard role-playing game, launched in October, also contributed to the cut as players stuck with proven titles in an uncertain economy.
The move marks a major turnaround for the company, which had raised its annual bookings forecast in October, relying on the strong performance of its American football titles – Madden NFL and college football.
If the losses are sustained, EA was set to lose about $6 billion (about Rs 51,753 crore) from its market value of $37.3 billion (about Rs 3,21,684 crore) on Thursday. The stock trades at about 17 times its forward 12-month earnings estimates, compared to Take-Two Interactive’s 27.72.
EA makes money through the sale of its football titles as well as through spending by players within the game on services such as “Ultimate Team”, a method where people go in-game to purchase players for teams competing in online matches. Can use currency.
According to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, EA FC typically generates about $2 billion (roughly Rs. 17,248 crores) in sales annually, of which live-services revenue makes up $800 million (roughly Rs. 6,901 crores).
The previous title in the franchise, FC 24, was one of the best-selling games of 2023, according to Circana data, and comes after the end of a three-decade partnership with FIFA in 2022, which led to FIFA games being branded as FC Rebranded. ,
Analysts at MoffettNathanson said, “Ultimate Team is beginning to be viewed as the near Swiss watch of interactive media booking growth. If it holds steady, it puts enormous pressure on EA to fill the void.”
© Thomson Reuters 2025
