Electronic Arts Inc, a producer of video games, surpassed fourth-quarter booking expectations on Tuesday as the newest iterations of its “FIFA” and “Madden NFL” series maintained strong player interest. The company’s shares rose 3.3% after the bell.
A trend that EA and its competitors, including Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and Activision Blizzard Inc., have focused on is how picky gamers have become about the games they buy and how many are sticking to their favorite franchises due to limited funds.
According to EA, “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” will join “Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle Earth” and “Madden 24” in their lineup of games for the upcoming fiscal year.
“Console and PC dollars are gradually shifting towards the most high-profile franchises, and EA has some of the most high-profile IP there,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Nick McKay.
Better-than-expected Q4 net bookings were fueled by record live services performance and greater engagement, especially from our EA Sports FIFA series, according to chief financial officer Chris Suh.
Compared to Refinitiv projections of $1.76 billion, EA’s net bookings for the fourth quarter were $1.95 billion.
According to data from market research firm Circana, three of EA’s games, including “FIFA 23” and the sci-fi horror game “Dead Space,” were in the top 10 best-selling games in the first three months of the year.
In addition, EA stated that it anticipates net bookings for fiscal 2024 to range between $7.30 billion and $7.70 billion, versus predictions of $7.52 billion. The bookings outlook for the present quarter was as anticipated.
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