EA pledges huge investment for Apex Legends and EA Sports FC
Electronic Arts has some colossal game franchises under its belt. Some with wavering success *cough Battlefield* and others with year-upon-year prosperity, such as the annually-released sports games.
Over the years, these titles have amassed incredible play counts (roughly 200 million players in both FIFA and Apex Legends) and formed some of the biggest gaming communities known to the industry.
Now, EA wants to repay these "massive online communities," and will be investing "disproportionally" into "exponentially" growing the series that we love.
EA CEO vows to 'double down' investment towards its biggest online games
Click to enlargeThe stalwart game publishers are set for another exciting year as Apex Legends ramps up its content and EA Sports FC takes over from the established FIFA brand.
Alongside these already-planned updates and game launches, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson has promised to "double down" on investment into their six main franchises, with a focus on the communities themselves.
"As you look at us and our company, what you’re going to see from us is us really double down and reallocate investment towards these five or six massive global online communities that we have the benefit of growing," Wilson said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference, per VGC.
"We are very blessed in that we have FC, we have Madden, we have Battlefield, we have The Sims, we have Apex, we’re building out Skate. And so, we’re going to disproportionately invest in IP as a platform and really create the new world that is the flywheel of engagement."
EA compares Apex Legends potential to Star Wars and Marvel
Click to enlargeSome of EA's biggest projects outside of the sports games consist of Apex Legends and Star Wars, as they often publish Jedi-based titles in cohesion with Lucasfilm.
With a great understanding of the size of Star Wars, Wilson now thinks that Apex Legends could be moulded in a similar way, where you can "spawn" universes and ecosystems that will be instantly popular.
"We haven’t even reached close to what we think is the end of these incredible IPs," Wilson said. "As we think about building these out over time and really expanding what they do for people and what they mean for people, we think there’s exponential growth opportunity for us as a result of that.
"And it is this special thing that we have in our version of entertainment that traditional entertainment has not benefitted from, it just hasn’t...I do think the likes of The Sims, Apex, and Battlefield will spawn universes and ecosystems in the same way Star Wars and Marvel have."
Wilson concluded, "I do believe that's going to happen and it's not hard to get there when you think there are 170 million - 200 million people engaging with it daily." He also teased some unannounced projects in these universes, linked to Titanfall and Apex Legends, which could be EA's next step in building on top of the IP that millions of fans already adore.
