People love their sports, and publisher Electronic Arts is reaping the benefits of that.
EA reported the results of its fiscal Q2 today, and it turns out that Madden NFL, NHL, and FIFA are still bringing in the cash. Each of those franchises launched new iterations last quarter, and, collectively, they saw a 30 percent year-over-year growth in their monthly average players. This shows that sports are still a huge driver for the company’s business and a big reason it is one of the top game publishers in the world.
Considering EA spends a significant amount on licensing and exclusivity deals for leagues like the National Football League, it has to take this as a good sign that its sports business is still so dynamic and lucrative.
But EA Sports is not just keeping players more engaged with more people. The publisher began focusing more on its interesting live modes, most notably Ultimate Team, to generate secondary revenue. And it’s working.
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The Ultimate Team modes, where gamers collect players like they’re putting together a deck in a table-top game, for FIFA, Madden NFL, and NHL are all up 64 percent year-over-year. That mode spans both consoles and mobile, and it is turning into a money-making and engagement juggernaut for EA.
Speaking of mobile, Madden NFL Mobile, which the company shifted from a paid app to a free-to-play model in 2014, saw a year-over-year increase in game sessions of 300 percent. That means more players and an increased chance to attract paying players. And with EA making $2.307 billion from its digital sales during the 12-month period ending September 30, it seems like it has finding more and more people willing to part with their cash to better their digital sports teams.
