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The Sims 4 Passes 20 Million Players; EA Expects Live Services & New Battlefield to Drive Growth in FY21/22

Electronic Arts released its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2020, related to the period between October 1 and December 31, 2019.

Electronic Arts Logo, EA

Today Electronic Arts released its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2020, related to the period between October 1 and December 31, 2019.

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First of all,  the press release cites comments from Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson and Chief Operating and Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen.

Wilson defines the quarter an “excellent” one.

“It was an excellent third quarter, with our new games and live services delighting more players around the world. Our amazing creative teams at Electronic Arts continue to deliver some of the most high-quality, innovative and engaging experiences and content to a growing global audience.”

Blake Jorgensen mentions that the company expects live services to continue to drive growth beyond March and said growth to accelerate in the fiscal year 2022 (which starts on April 1, 2021) with the next Battlefield game.

“Over the last twelve months, we have delivered record live services revenue, live services net bookings and operating cash flow.

Our broad-based business model reduces our dependence on individual titles and enables us to deliver financial results for our shareholders by providing a constant stream of high-quality entertainment for our players. We expect live services to continue to drive growth in fiscal 2021 and for growth to accelerate in fiscal 2022, led by a new Battlefield.”

We also get a few highlights and financial metrics and heard that The Sims 4 surpassed 20 million unique players.

  • Digital net bookings for the trailing twelve months was $4.128 billion, up 15% year-over-year and now represents 77% of total net bookings.
  • During the quarter, EA launched Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, Need for Speed Heat and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
  • FIFA Ultimate Team matches were up nearly 40% year-over-year from launch through Q3.
  • During the quarter, The Sims 4 surpassed 20 million unique players worldwide life-to-date.
  • Net cash from operating activities was $1.104 billion for the quarter and a record $1.898 billion for the trailing twelve months.
  • EA repurchased 3.1 million shares for $305 million during the quarter, bringing the total for the last twelve months to 12.8 million shares for $1.217 billion.

Below you can see a table summarizing the latest financial statistics, which show sizable growth year-on-year.

We also get a few charts showcasing growth trends and digital net bookings by platform family and composition.

If you’d like to compare, you can check out the results for the previous quarter, which were disclosed in October.

About the author

Giuseppe Nelva

Proud weeb hailing from sunny (not as much as people think) Italy and long-standing gamer since the age of Mattel Intellivision and Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Definitely a multi-platform gamer, he still holds the old dear PC nearest to his heart, while not disregarding any console on the market. RPGs (of any nationality), MMORPGs, and visual novels are his daily bread, but he enjoys almost every other genre, prominently racing simulators, action and sandbox games. He is also one of the few surviving fans on Earth of the flight simulator genre.

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