We guessed it a little, but Ultimate Team is a cash cow for Electronic Arts. Indeed, at the time of the publication of its last financial report, the American publisher formalized the sales generated by this mode in these different games, namely FIFA, Driving me crazy and NHL. And it is clear that this represents a significant financial slump. Daniel Ahmad, video game industry analyst at Niko Partners, posted a comparison of the numbers on Twitter, which you can see below.
How much does EA earn with Ultimate Team in FIFA, Madden, and NFL?
EA net sales from Ultimate Team:
FY 2021: 1.62 billion USD
FY 2020: 1.49 billion USD
Fiscal 2019: $ 1.37 billion
Fiscal year 2018: $ 1.18 billion
Fiscal 2017: $ 775 million
Fiscal 2016: $ 660 million
Fiscal 2015: $ 587 millionThe majority comes from the FIFA Ultimate Team ofc. pic.twitter.com/xUbNUx6R62
– Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) May 26, 2021
Therefore, there has been a constant development since 2015, reaching US $ 1.62 billion in fiscal year 2021. Note that this is 29% of the group’s total sales for the year. As expected it is Fifa Ultimate Team Which is the main driver. According to EA, the mode present in the soccer game constitutes a “significant part” of this amount. This is of course explained by the success of the license in comparison to many countries NHL
EA understands that this situation may not last
It should also be noted that despite the sanctions imposed by the American publisher, this amount continues to grow, especially in Belgium, where it is forbidden to buy FIFA points. Indeed, Belgian law equates this with unregulated gambling. In addition, investigations are ongoing in the UK and are expected to be completed this year. In addition, EA lost a lawsuit against the Dutch Gambling Authority in 2018 after the court ruled that the loot boxes were from Fifa Ultimate Team violate the law in this matter in the country. However, the company appealed this decision.
For its part, Electronic Arts defends itself by ensuring that its packaging system does not violate the rules that apply in the various countries. While it is evident that the application of new restrictive legislation could adversely affect performance, the group states in the report that “it does not believe that these various remedial actions can have a material adverse effect on its financial results”. But governments have been discussing virtual currency laws for years. So it wouldn’t be surprising if EA’s El Dorado saw more turmoil in the years to come.