In a recent financial call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson reassured investors and fans alike that the company has no intention of increasing its game prices, despite the recent moves by competitors like Microsoft and Nintendo to raise theirs to $80. Wilson emphasized EA's commitment to providing "incredible quality and exponential value" to its player base, citing the success of their co-op adventure Split Fiction, which has impressively sold 4 million copies.
Reflecting on the evolution of the gaming industry, Wilson noted significant changes over the past decade. "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 explained. Today, EA's pricing strategy spans a wide range, from free-to-play models to deluxe editions, ensuring they cater to diverse consumer needs and preferences.
Wilson further elaborated on EA's pricing philosophy, stating, "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." He highlighted that combining quality with value has proven to be a successful strategy for EA, fostering a strong, resilient, and growing business.
CFO Stuart Canfield reinforced this stance, noting that EA's current pricing strategy remains unchanged, as reflected in their financial guidance.
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. While the price increase for consoles and accessories has already been implemented, game prices are expected to rise to $79.99 for new, first-party titles around the holiday season.
The trend of increasing game prices is evident across the AAA gaming industry, with prices jumping from $60 to $70 over the last five years. Nintendo has also announced $80 pricing for upcoming Switch 2 exclusives like Mario Kart World and other Switch 2 Edition games. The Switch 2 itself is set to launch at $450, a decision that has sparked debate among fans, though analysts suggest such pricing is inevitable given current economic conditions.
Given EA's firm stance on pricing, fans can anticipate that the next iterations of EA Sports FC, Madden, and Battlefield will maintain the $70 standard edition pricing.
In other news, EA recently cut around 100 jobs at Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment, alongside broader layoffs affecting approximately 300 individuals across the organization, as reported by IGN last week.
