Sports, sports, sports: football simulators provided Electronic Arts with a record second quarter

American publisher and developer Electronic Arts published preliminary financial results for the second quarter of the current fiscal year. The reporting period was successful for the company.

Image source: Electronic Arts

As it became known, the second quarter turned out to be a record for Electronic Arts (among other second quarters) in terms of net sales – from July 1 to September 30 they reached $2.079 billion.

Based on the success, the company has raised its net income forecast for the entire current fiscal year to $7.4-7.7 billion, according to EA CFO Stuart Canfield.

College Football 25 was the top-selling game in North America in September

Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson emphasized that the success in the second quarter was made possible thanks to the results of the company’s sports games:

• Players spent 140% more time in American football simulations than in the same period a year ago;
• EA expects net sales of Madden NFL and College Football to exceed $1 billion in the current fiscal year;
• The company calls EA Sports FC “the largest franchise in the Western Hemisphere” based on the results of the last 12 months;
• The second quarter marked “a major step forward in realizing our vision” to make EA Sports the most valuable sports brand on the planet.

As for other projects, the audience of The Sims exceeded 500 million people (The Sims 4 grew by 15 million players over the past year), and the reworking of the battle pass in Apex Legends did not bring the expected increase in monetization.

With Dragon Age: The Veilguard due out any day, Electronic Arts expects to see “a great example of how our blockbuster storytelling captivates and connects fans in truly unique ways.”

Wilson added that the company has big plans for the next 6, 12 and 18 months, and also called for news about “our huge online communities, including Battlefield and Skate, in the coming quarters.”