Electronic Arts’ latest financial report shows that the company has had a "record fiscal year 2022", revealing that although console and PC remain the dominant platforms, mobile saw the most dramatic increase in net revenue.
Net revenue increased from $1.346 billion in Q4 fiscal year 2021 (FY21) to $1.825 billion in Q4 FY22, with the vast majority unsurprisingly coming from live services, accounting for $1.387 billion – 76 per cent of total net revenue.
The EA player network also showed a significant growth which indicated a 16 per cent increase year over year with more than 580 million active players.
The FIFA franchise saw substantial growth of the EA player network with a total of 150 million accounts in FY22. Particularly, the report emphasises the growth in FIFA Mobile, with an 80 per cent year-over-year increase in new players, although the firm has announced it will end its partnership with the football body, and rebrand its football game franchise as “EA Sports FC”.
Net revenue increases across the board
EA revealed an increase in net revenue across console, PC & other, and mobile. While console increased from $879 million in Q4 FY21 to $1 billion in Q4 FY22, and PC & other climbed from $295 million to $420 million, mobile net revenue shifted from $172 million to $313 million.
However, mobile’s growth represents a 82 per cent increase, far outstripping gains made on console (24 per cent) and PC & other (42 per cent).
“Fiscal year 2023 and beyond”
Electronic Arts' expectations for the fiscal year 2023 of the same period include increasing net revenue from $7.600 to $7.800 billion. In addition, the company aims to boost its net income from $793 million to $813 million and net bookings from $7.900 billion to $8.100 billion.
“FY22 was a record year, with hundreds of millions of players around the world joining in our games to play, watch, and create with one another,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “With amazing games, built around powerful IP, made by incredibly talented teams, and outstanding engagement in our live services, FY23 is set to be a year of innovation and growth for Electronic Arts.”
CFO Chris Suh also commented: “We finished the year with another strong quarter of revenue and profit growth, driven by our live services business which was 85% of our net bookings in Q4. We have a strong foundation of deeply engaged players, rich IP and a resilient business model, which we will continue to invest in to deliver growth in FY23 and beyond.”
EA's financial results differ wildly from contemporary Activision Blizzard, with the firm's most recent financial results revealed a significant reliance on King's mobile performance to barricade against the substantial declines experienced by Activision and Blizzard core franchises.
