In a recent financial call with investors, EA CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed that the company has no plans to increase the prices of its games, despite recent moves by competitors like Microsoft and Nintendo to raise their prices to $80. Wilson emphasized EA's commitment to delivering "incredible quality and exponential value" to their player base, citing the success of their co-op adventure game Split Fiction, which has sold 4 million copies.
Wilson elaborated on the evolution of EA's business model over the past decade, noting a shift away from traditional retail sales of physical game copies to a broader spectrum of pricing models. "In a world where everything we did 10 years ago was about selling shiny discs in plastic boxes on retail shelves — well, that's still a *part* of our business, but it's a significantly smaller part," he stated. The company now offers a range of products from free-to-play to deluxe editions, aiming to provide value at various price points.
"At the end of the day, whether we're doing something that costs a dollar, or we're doing something that costs $10, or we're doing something that costs $100, our objective is always to deliver incredible quality and exponential value for our playerbase," Wilson reiterated. He emphasized that when EA successfully combines quality and value, their business remains strong, resilient, and grows.
CFO Stuart Canfield added that there are no planned changes to their current pricing strategy, reinforcing Wilson's statements.
This news comes as a relief to gamers, especially following Microsoft's announcement last week of raising Xbox prices, including controllers, headsets, and some games. The price increase for consoles and accessories has already been implemented, and while game prices will remain unchanged for now, Microsoft plans to charge $79.99 for new first-party games during the upcoming holiday season.
The trend of increasing game prices is evident in the AAA gaming industry, with prices jumping from $60 to $70 in the last five years. Nintendo has also announced a $80 price point for upcoming Switch 2 exclusives like Mario Kart World and other Switch 2 Edition games. The Switch 2 console itself is set to launch at $450, a decision that has faced criticism from fans, though analysts argue that such pricing is inevitable amid current economic conditions.
Given EA's stance, fans can expect the next releases in popular franchises like EA Sports FC, Madden, and Battlefield to maintain the $70 standard edition pricing.
In other news, EA recently cut around 100 jobs at Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment, along with broader layoffs affecting approximately 300 individuals across the company.
