There’s plenty of grinning in the gaming industry today, as the biggest companies are experiencing what it likes to be millionaires discovering diamonds in their backyards: They’re slightly richer! Electronic Arts has posted its earnings for the financial year ending on March 31, 2021, and the gist of this story is that the company had its best year ever since it was formed in 1982.
EA’s total revenue was $5.629 billion, up from the previous financial year where it made $5.537 billion, and it posted a profit of $837 million. EA’s net bookings, which are the total amount of products and services sold digitally or psychically by adding net revenue to the change in deferred net revenue for online games. That hit $6.190 billion, a 15% year-over-year increase thanks mostly to microtransactions which accounted for $4.06 billion.
To hammer home just how well those microtransactions performed for EA, CFO Blake Jorgensen equated them to being equal to the sale of 130 million console games. Other positive numbers were the 42 million new players brought in by EA’s 13 games launched in the fiscal year, with FIFA 21 being the biggest star. 25 million players across console and PC were recorded, FIFA’s Ultimate Team Mode 16% year-over-year, and no one mentioned that recent controversy over the game being a bit heavy-handed with its microtransactions.
Apex Legends continued to be a superstar as well, crossing the 100 million player mark and having around 12 million players per week on average. Other franchise games such as Madden NFL, The Sims 4 also did well, with EA’s slice of virtual life simulator reaching nearly 36 million players. Not bad for a game in its sixth year currently.
EA also noted that digital game sales were on the rise, 62% of games sold on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5 were digital sales when compared to 49% from the previous year. Overall, a good year for EA as it pushes ahead in the 2021 financial year, which will see more positive numbers thanks to Apex Legends season 9 and Battlefield 6, which will be revealed in June.
Last Updated: May 12, 2021
