Electronic Arts, the video game publisher behind titles such as Apex Legends, FIFA and Battlefield are reportedly looking to sell. This comes as the company lost the rights to the FIFA brand name and their latest installment in the Battlefield franchise, Battlefield 2042 flopped majorly, with concurrent players under 2,000 only 6 months after its release.
In a report by Puck, EA is in talks with Disney, Apple and several other companies in pursuit with a deal, however currently nothing is in the works.
“[CEO Andrew] Wilson and Electronic Arts have held talks with a number of different potential suitors, including Disney, Apple and Amazon,” says Dylan Beyers of Puck.
“Several sources familiar with these talks say EA has been persistent in pursuing a sale, and has only grown more emboldened in the wake of the Microsoft-Activision deal. Others say that EA is primarily interested in a merger arrangement that would allow Wilson to remain as chief executive of the combined company.”
Battlefield 2042 was met with terrible feedback and a rapidly declining player base due to being unfinished and unplayable. Credit: Dextero
EA had previously concentrated on acquiring other studios to increase in size, spending over $5 billion USD buying other studios. However, the company’s eagerness to “‘a more meaningful relationship’ than licensing deals” indicates that their methods have changed.
As Beyers mentions, there have been several acquisitions of video game studios over the past few months following the Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard deal, such as Sony with Bungie.
EA seemingly was progressing on a deal with NBCUniversal that eventually fell apart over pricing.
However, a purchase of EA is looking less and less attractive, as the company has recently abandoned or lost several of its biggest licensing deals, with its Star Wars exclusivity with Disney not being renewed in 2023, meaning other companies are able to develop games in the popular universe.
EA their most profitable fiscal year ever for 2020-2021 but may be preparing for that trend to end thanks to the loss of the FIFA brand and the flop of Battlefield 2042, which cost the company $2 billion USD to develop. The company is looking to terminate 200 customer service staff, according to Kotaku.
