Video Game Publishers Thrive in Earnings Reports

Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, and Take-Two Interactive are reaping the benefits of a potential customer base that now includes 2.69 billion gamers worldwide, per Statista. 

EA engaged more than 230 million players this past fiscal year and generated $1.67 billion in revenue during Q3 FY21. The numbers were driven by the growth of “Apex Legends” and the Ultimate Team modes in both “Madden” and “FIFA.” 

• In December, “FIFA Ultimate Team” saw a record of nearly 6 million daily active players.
• “Apex Legends” saw 30% year-over-year growth in new players.

Activision Blizzard reported even better earnings on the strength of the “Call of Duty” franchise, raking in $3.05 billion in revenue for its Q4 ending December 2020. 

• The franchise saw more than 100 million monthly active players and drove net bookings to approximately double last year’s level.
• “Call of Duty” premium unit sales grew more than 40% year-over-year.

Take-Two Interactive, the operation behind the “Grand Theft Auto” and “NBA 2K” series, reported $860.9 million in revenue in its Q3 earnings report.

“Grand Theft Auto V” was originally released in 2013, but sold more than one million copies last year. “NBA 2K21” has sold more than eight million copies since its November release.

The integration of free-to-play options, premium content, and the launch of Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles has bolstered the biggest publishers’ bottom lines.